Jobs at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

The HE advisor will be hierarchically and functionally accountable to the Head of Unit of the Medical Department. The position will provide technical support to the Operational Cells in HQ (Cell-based Operational Health Advisor “TESACO” and Cell Managers “Desks/RECOs”), the missions and projects (Medical Coordinators, HoMs, FCs, PMRs and HP Activity managers/supervisors), as well as to the rest of the advisors of the Medical Network and other departments as required (i.e. operations, communications, logistics, HR…).

While in the field, he/she works under the regular hierarchical and functional structures of the missions (Operations), while keeping in communication with the Medical Department.

MAIN RESPONSABILITIES, FUNCTIONS AND TASKS

Thematic guidance

• Enhance quality of care in the missions through the development and/or adaptation of health education guides, protocols, procedures, and tools ensuring its adjustment to the needs of patients, families and communities, and recognizing and respecting the specificities of the work of MSF (complex humanitarian settings).
• Promote the development of HE within MSF OCBA, identifying key priorities, and issues which need investment.
• Identify, interact and assess local and regional organizations with expertise in the domain of Health Education and propose partnerships with MSF OCBA regional hubs to facilitate provision of HE to our operations. Ensure a good documentation of resources identified to create a database.
• Collaborate with advisers in the medical department, operations, and logistics department to ensure the HE is considered in the strategies, materials and aids they develop.
• Collaborate with the communications department and/or other relevant departments to develop contextualized material for health education (i.e. videos, radio shows, etc.) and communication strategies for dissemination of health education messages. Support the adaptation of materials to field demands. Ensure when feasible and relevant participatory processes where communities are involved in the contextual and cultural adaptation of the key messages to enhance impact.
• Provide staff with access to health education resources and keep colleagues in OCBA regularly informed about the evolution of HE issues.

Provide support to program teams through field visits, and remote communication

• Support (and if necessary, conduct) assessments and surveys to determine health education needs.
• Give advice to cell and mission/field teams for the planning, development and implementation, of HE activities. The advice may be provided jointly with other technical advisers when relevant.
• Support on the monitoring/assessment, of HE activities: collaborating with relevant stakeholders to set goals and using available tools like HMIS for data analysis and decision making.
• Do Briefings and debriefings of mobile staff (mainly but not limited to HP AM, HoM, MedCo, FC, PMR) to share information and to learn which are the needs of field teams.

Active participation in medical network

• Participate in all activities organized by the Medical department, including weekly, monthly and process revision meetings, analysis discussions, and other relevant meetings.
• Explore new priorities to HE, including research, and support their implementation.
• Report regularly to the line manager on the development of her/his activities, orally and in writing if requested.
• Produce, with active collaboration of all advisors, an annual report based on the analysis of information from programs.

Learning and development

• Participate in, and facilitate when required, OCBA trainings, technical international meetings, and/or other knowledge sharing and capacity-building initiatives to contribute to the development of competencies and skills of the MSF HR workforce in this technical area.
• Ensure that knowledge and best practices related to the implementation of the area are compiled and shared.

Networking and representation

• Liaise with key relevant actors related to Health Education, social scientists and experts and use information from those interactions to feed internal discussion on Health Education and to promote improvement and innovation.
• Support the medical department in the identification of strategic partnerships with organizations and stakeholders that promote health education.
• Represent MSF OCBA position in terms of HE outside of OCBA (other MSF sections and intersectional Working Groups / Contact Groups, universities, colloquia, etc.).

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Bachelor of Science in Public Health or similar.
• Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) preferred.
• Up-to-date knowledge/experience in Health Education applied to humanitarian responses. Proven experience in planning, implementing and monitoring and evaluating health education programs.
• Ability to develop education materials and aids, and to promote and present health education initiatives.
• A minimum of 2 years of programme experience working for MSF or a relevant medical organization working in low-income countries, in health-related emergencies and/or humanitarian settings in the field of Health Education.
• Experience in research, namely in planning, development, production of reports and/or other technical/scientific documents, and in monitoring/evaluation of research processes and products.
• Fluent in English and French, both oral and written. Knowledge of other languages, like Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili, Hausa and other extended national/regional languages in MSF operational settings are an asset.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Computer skills: Office package (namely, Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Knowledge in qualitative data analysis software is an asset (e.g., NVIVO, MAXQDA, ATLAS).
• Willing to travel abroad, including to conflict settings.

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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.