Head of Mission at Medecins Sans Frontieres

Médecins Sans Frontières is a private, international organisation. The organisation is made up mainly of doctors and health sector workers and is also open to all other professions which might help in achieving its aims.Médecins Sans Frontières provides assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict. They do so irrespective of race, religion, creed or political convictions.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Head of Mission

Location: Nigeria
Contract type: Fixed-term contract
Contract duration: 24 months
Position start date: ASAP / March 2019

Mission

• The Head of Mission (HOM) is responsible for MSF’s operational response in the Country/Mission. He defines the mission operational strategy in collaboration with the Operational cell. He implements, plans and coordinates MSF programs in the mission, including identification of new humanitarian challenges.
• The HOM represents and defends MSF’s interests before third parties, according to the organization’s charter, policies, and ethics as well as international and national laws and regulations, in order to develop and effectively implement all the programs and projects in the mission.

Responsibilities
His responsibilities include:

• Initiating and leading the mission-wide operational strategy; including country policy, annual plan, budget and policy frameworks. Leading the management team translating the strategic objectives into operational activities. Monitoring developments in MSF’s general policies and strategies and adapting the annual plan of the mission accordingly.
• Monitoring and analyzing the political, humanitarian and medical situation in the country and in the region. Identifying potential fields of intervention and determining response strategies.
• Representing MSF towards external actors (national authorities, NGO’s, donors, military organizations, media, etc.) to create commitment and negotiate terms and conditions for field operations.
• Integrating an internal and external communication policy for the mission to advocate for change.
• Leading the implementation of medical-humanitarian activities in the mission.
• Coordinating with other MSF sections to initiate, coordinate and develop short- and long-term strategies in-country.
• Evaluating the progress and outcomes of activities to ensure that objectives are achieved and reporting to Headquarters
• Being responsible for the planning and coordination of all human, material and financial resources to ensure the overall performance of the mission
• Leading the mission and its staff, providing a clear vision for the direction of the mission and bringing staff together across functional and geographical lines to achieve the mission’s objectives
• Managing, coaching and developing direct reports in line with human resource policies
• Implementing Human Resources-policy and ensuring that MSF acts as a responsible employer in terms of working conditions and reduction of security and health risks.
• Ensuring staff and management team are aware of mission strategies, ambitions and implementation plans
• Ensuring the associative character of MSF is reflected in the briefing of all MSF staff.
• Ensuring the internal and external flow of information.
• Keeping staff and HQ informed and updated of context and security related issues.
• Producing all required planning and program performance reports in line with the HQ reporting cycle.
• Being responsible for all security aspects of the mission.
• Defining and ensuring the implementation of the security framework in the country, in order to ensure safety of staff and visitors across the mission.
• Ensuring the implementation of the Inter-operational directorate Security Agreement (ISA) in the mission, both in spirit and letter, promoting a culture of pro-active information sharing and collaboration.”

Qualities:

• Demonstrated ability to identify operational priorities and to translate them into relevant and adapted missions, projects or activities.
• Ability to perform assessments/evaluations in any kind of context and formulate consistent proposals.
• Strong leadership and organizational skills.
• Negotiation, communication and reporting skills.
• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure.
• Ability to train, mobilize and manage both international and national staff.
• Quality and results-based orientation.
• Analytical skill and strategic vision.

Professional Skills

• Minimum of two years in management positions at coordination level with MSF (PC or other coordination positions).
• Or relevant experience with other international INGOs on HOM/Country Directors positions (or equivalent) with previous MSF field experience.
• Fluency in spoken and written English essential (C1-C2 required)

Position's specificities:

• Field-based position with visits to HQ in Paris and Dakar
• Fixed-term and full-time contract (24 months, 100%) with possible extension
• Gross monthly salary: according to MSF salary grid
• Social Benefits: health insurance and living costs in the countries of intervention and in HQ, paid according to internal regulations
• Long Term assignments benefits: extra paid leaves, additional return tickets, home child allowance according to family status
• Family posting: the dependents of the international staff member are allowed to accompany him/her on assignment and will beneficiate from the family package. Package includes individual housing in quiet estate including access to leisure facilities, travel expenses and 50% perdiem for dependents, school fees for children and allowance for break-tickets.
• Home leave ticket (1x year) covered by MSF for the international staff member and his/her dependents
• Ideal starting date: ASAP / March 2019

Salary
Salary according to MSF salary grid.

Application Closing Date
28th February, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note: Only selected candidates will be contacted.