Response Corps Director

World Central Kitchen•Washington, DC

3d•$120,000 - $130,000

About The Position

At World Central Kitchen (WCK), we believe in the immediate, life changing power of a hot meal during a crisis. We are seeking an exceptional, strategic, and deeply committed team player to step into the vital role of Director of Response Corps. This is a dynamic and deeply impactful opportunity to build and lead our specialized corps of humanitarian professionals, ensuring we are always ready to mobilize rapidly and deliver hope and nourishment when the world needs it most. If you are an inclusive, adaptable leader eager to build an agile team and strengthen our global emergency response capabilities, we sincerely welcome your application. Please join us in building a more resilient world, one meal at a time. The Director of Response Corps is responsible for building and leading WCK’s specialized pool of trained response professionals, individuals with the expertise, readiness, and adaptability to mobilize rapidly during emergencies. This role combines strategic workforce planning with operational execution and multicultural people management to ensure the Corps is fully aligned with WCK’s priorities, integrated into the organization’s response framework, and equipped with the training, tools, and systems needed to deliver meals effectively during disaster operations. The Director oversees recruitment, onboarding, readiness, and deployment systems that uphold high standards of reliability, accountability, and local integration. This position works closely with Response Operations, Response Support, and People Response, to maintain a constant state of readiness, strengthen deployment capabilities, and continuously improve the Corps model based on lessons learned and evolving global needs.

Requirements

Proven experience in workforce management and strategic deployment planning, including recruitment, onboarding, and coordination of short-term, seasonal, or surge staff in fast-paced or emergency environments.
Alignment with WCK’s mission and values.
Proven ability to lead multi regional and multi cultural teams and coordinate surge deployments under pressure.
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain strong professional relationships, fostering engagement, trust, and collaboration across diverse networks of responders, partners, and local stakeholders.
Demonstrated experience designing or managing surge or reservist staffing systems, including recruitment, deployment, and evaluation.
Experience working with temporary staffing agencies, reservists, contract workers, or labor deployment systems.
Demonstrated ability to lead in complex, cross-cultural, and high-pressure contexts.
Valid passport and ability to travel internationally (30-40% annually).

Nice To Haves

8–10 years of progressive experience in emergency response, humanitarian operations, or related fields.
Proven team building and management experience.
Knowledge in recruitment, training, and performance management.
Knowledge of humanitarian surge networks or interagency coordination systems.
Familiarity with international humanitarian standards and best practices.
Experience with digital training platforms and skills tracking systems.
Bilingual capabilities, with Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic highly valued.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, structure, and ongoing evolution of the Response Corps to ensure global coverage and high-impact capability.
Maintain operational readiness through robust training, onboarding, and year-round engagement strategies that motivate Corps to respond when needed.
Build systems that balance global readiness with local autonomy and expertise.
Partner with Response leadership to ensure Corps deployments align with WCK’s mission and strategic objectives.
Develop and manage a global database model similar to surge staffing systems used successfully by global humanitarian aid organizations.
Identify and maintain, vet, and onboard a diverse pool of professionals and reservists with expertise in emergency response, culinary operations, logistics, and humanitarian relief, while capturing complementary skill sets in HR, administration, security, communications, fundraising, event coordination, and medical support to ensure rapid, flexible deployment capacity.
Ensure recruitment strategies and talent databases capture candidates’ unique skills such as specialized training, cultural expertise, and language abilities.
Collaborate with the Response team to vet and onboard Response Corps members in real time, while fostering ongoing relationships.
Work in close collaboration with Talent Acquisition People Response and Field Finance to implement onboarding strategies, address HR-related matters, create feedback cycles, and coordinate payment systems.
Utilize technology and data to guide decisions, track impact, and improve operations.
Oversee ongoing training programs and partner with Safety and Security to ensure Corps members follow WCK’s operational and safety standards.
Partner with Enterprise Technology, Response Support and People Response teams, to develop and implement digital tools that track skills, training progress, and deployment availability.
Integrate lessons learned from field deployments into updated training curricula and operational protocols.
Collaborate with the Chef Corps Director to identify strong candidates to join the Response Corps.
Design and manage a global readiness database that tracks availability, certifications, and past performance of all Corps members.
Establish and monitor performance metrics to evaluate deployment effectiveness, reliability, and overall impact.
Partner with the Response Team and People Operations to conduct after action reviews and feedback cycles to identify strengths, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
Coordinate with Technology teams to ensure real-time visibility of workforce capacity and surge readiness.
Foster a culture of professionalism, collaboration, and continuous learning within the Corps.
Oversee rapid mobilization processes during activations, ensuring deployments are timely, cost-efficient, and aligned with operational needs.
Work with community partners and Response operations to integrate local responders and reservists into WCK operations.
Possess sensitivity to trauma and stress: Recognizing burnout, vicarious trauma, and supporting mental well-being.
Ensure strong post-deployment reporting and evaluation systems to improve future activations.
Coordinate with Response Support on logistics, deployment preparation, and field needs.
Maintain dotted-line collaboration with Communications and Development teams to share stories, create ambassador moments, and amplify the Corps’ impact.
Partner with other WCK response teams to ensure the Corps complements and strengthens the broader operational network.

Benefits

ZERO Premiums: WCK covers 100% of insurance premiums for employees and their dependents, including medical, dental, vision, and group life coverage. Benefits begin on your date of hire.
Voluntary Benefits:
Options include:
Additional Life Insurance
Pet Insurance
Supplemental AD&D
Flexible Spending Accounts (Dependent Care and Health Care)
403(b) Retirement Plan:
WCK offers a 50% match up to 8% of employee salary deferrals, beginning within 30 days of hire.
Life & Disability Insurance:
100% employer-sponsored group life and disability insurance provided within 30 days.
Paid Time Off (PTO):
Responsible PTO, including vacation, sick, and personal leave, plus paid holidays.
Growth Opportunities:
Learning and development support to grow your career.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP):
Free and confidential support for life’s challenges.
Annual Salary Reviews and additional benefits outlined in the Personnel Manual.