Head of Unit of The Medical Department at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

MAIN RESPONSABILITIES, FUNCTIONS AND TASKS

General responsibilities and tasks of Heads of Unit

• The Head of Unit is responsible and accountable for the direct management of a group of technical medical referents, keeping also a functional link with a variable number of positions.
• Actively participate in the design of the different planning processes of the medical network contributing to the identification of objectives, initiatives and dossiers.
• Ensure that the initiatives and activities identified and prioritised in the Annual and Multiyear Plan of the Medical Department are timely endorsed and carried out.
• Ensure that Medical Referents will work through a “collaborative project mode” as soon as the solution requires different competencies within the same medical area or between areas.
• Link with other medical Heads of Unit to contribute to or receive inputs in transversal projects they lead or are involved in.
• Ensure that respect and adequate behaviour are leading principles in the management of the Unit and Medical Network, as well as between colleagues and with members of other departments.
• Contributes in the design and process of the different analysis activities organized and/or participated by the medical department.
• Knowledge management: oversight of the capitalization of medical experiences. HMS makes sure that the members of her/his Unit provide access to field staff and/or other Dpts. to key documents.
• Ensure cohesion of OCBA’s Medical Department enhancing communication and collaboration with MSF OCBA decentralized referents and regional units, working for alignment of strategic vision and supporting joint activities according to field operations’ needs.
• Develop an Annual Report on achievements of the dossiers/topics assigned and help to analyse and compile the Annual Reports of the Referents in the Unit.
• Collaborate with Medical Director in the development of the contents and strategies related to the “MSF Support Model”.

Team management (hierarchical and functional)

• Lead, support and coach the Unit of medical referents under her/his supervision.Evaluate their achievements (including performance evaluations).
• Support the professional career development of medical referents under her/his supervision together with the HR assigned responsible.
• Participate in the identification of the additional support required by the referents in the Unit and the technical platforms managed, proposing ToRs/JDs together with budget for validation, being involved in the selection process if required.
• Delegate/distribute responsibilities (e.g. acting as focal point for certain topic or dossier which doesn’t require a full-time dedication) to member(s) of their Unit when necessary.
• Follow up of the administrative aspects for the running of the Unit compiling the requests (travels, budget, holiday planning, etc.) in collaboration with Medical Department Support position.

Strengthening working dynamics

• As a priority, identify the interdisciplinary projects and working platforms within the Unit, related to other Units of the Medical Department or other Departments in OCBA, and ensure with the CMT that these platforms are functional and effective.
• Ensure that the multidisciplinary and interdepartmental platforms created to develop strategic priorities of Medical Department Multiyear Plan (those depending of her/his Unit) are fully operative, including involvement of external partners.
• Strengthen interaction with Operations and OCBA Regional Units developing the different responsibilities assigned and ensuring that priorities of the Unit are shared and discussed. This will be achieved in coordination with both Deputy and Medical Director.
• Ensure that referents of the Unit are interacting and taking part of initiatives (technical or operational) where their input is required and needed.
• Ensure that a good working dynamic and communication is also settled within the Unit, considering that priority will be given to the aforementioned platforms.

Vision and action plans

• Support and ensure that each referent of the Unit develops a vision and action plan regarding her/his technical area and covering the Strategic Plan period and aligned with Strategic Plan priorities.
• Ensure that these priorities are well acknowledged by the different platforms and considered for the Multiyear Plan of the Medical Department. Support the referent if she/he is being asked to present these action plans in different fora.
• Encourage that each referent action plan is presented to their respective Working Groups (WG) while challenges and nurtures their counterparts of different MSF Sections and WG strategic vision.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential for this position:

• Health Professional degree.
• Fluent in English and French (oral and written).
• Availability to travel.
• At least 5 years’ experience working with MSF or similar health & humanitarian organizations. Of which
• at least 2 years of field experience, including field managerial positions.
• at least 1-year experience as technical referent or operational health advisor.

Desirable:

• Experience in team management and project management will be highly valued. Specific training in Management.
• Specialization or previous experience in health domains.
• Public/International/Epidemiologic/Tropical Medicine health degree.
• Knowledge of recent developments in the field of humanitarian relief, international public health and tropical medicine.
• Experience with advocacy, communications, field research in low- and middle-income settings.
• Working knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic are assets.