He took up office as Director general of the University hospital of Geneva in September 2024; he previously served as Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 2020 to 2024.

In this latter role, Mardini steered the ICRC's diplomatic engagement with the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, Member States and UN entities to influence decisions on humanitarian issues across policy themes and geographic contexts.

[13] His tenure began during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed closely by the Russia-Ukraine international armed conflict, which precipitated a period of extraordinary humanitarian needs worldwide.

[14] At the same time, the gap between global humanitarian funding and needs widened to historical levels, with record shortfalls across the sector[15] necessitating significant budget reductions.

In 2021, Robert Mardini was elected life member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences - SATW,[18] "in recognition of his ability to mobilize his teams to provide effective emergency aid to victims of major armed conflicts."