General Secretariat
Protecting Children and Uniting Families Across Borders for 90 years
General Secretariat
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The ISS General Secretariat has been based in Geneva, Switzerland, since 1924. It is a legal entity recognized under Swiss law.
The ISS General Secretariat is in charge of the following collective tasks for the network:
- Guaranteeing the coherence and coordination of network's activities
- Developing and strengthening the operational capacity of network's members
- Coordinating, sustaining, supervising and assessing the functioning of network's activities
- Organizing the communication and knowledge sharing of the organization
- Representing the organization and advocating at an international level.
Its Secretary General (aka CEO) is currently Mr. Jean Ayoub, a senior executive in International and Humanitarian Affairs with more than 30 years of experience in development, emergency management, people and program management.
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Mr Ayoub has worked for 10 years at the Lebanese Red Cross and directed first aid teams nationally, in a country torn apart by civil war. He then joined the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), occupying various senior management roles among which Head of Mission on the field, USG and Director for Disaster Response & Operations, as well as USG for Cooperation & Development. During his 15 years of service at the IFRC, Mr Ayoub traveled to more than 100 different countries to support field operations.
He then moved on to be a Consultant on humanitarian issues and turnaround management, before relocating to Paris to take up the role of Director for the French Telethon (AFM), in charge of the fundraising, and member of the Governing Board. At that time, the Telethon crossed the €100m fundraising bar for the first time ever.
Mr Ayoub, a Lebanese national, joined ISS in 2008 at its CEO, based in Geneva. He is fluent in English, Arabic and French.
