International Medical Secretary

Job Posting Organization:
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion, and natural disasters. Established in 1971, MSF operates in over 70 countries worldwide, providing assistance based solely on need, irrespective of race, religion, gender, or political affiliation. MSF International serves as the legal entity that binds MSF’s 24 sections, 28 associations, and 19 branch offices together, providing coordination, representation, information, and support to the MSF movement. The organization is committed to delivering medical quality care to populations in need, with a focus on ethical considerations and medical leadership as central to its mission.

Job Overview:
The International Medical Secretary (IMS) is the most senior executive medical leadership role within MSF International. This position is pivotal as it sits at the intersection of medical, operational, executive, and associative dynamics, ensuring that MSF’s medical identity and operational priorities are reflected in discussions and decision-making across the movement. The IMS collaborates closely with the International President (IP), the International Secretary General (ISG), and other international stakeholders while overseeing the International Medical Secretariat. The role involves managing a team of 56 colleagues and a budget of EUR 6.6 million. The IMS is responsible for providing strategic medical leadership, guiding medical-operational priorities, and ensuring that decision-making is informed by medical, ethical, and operational considerations. This position is crucial for maintaining coherence between the executive and associative arms of the MSF movement and promoting accountability in medical operations according to MSF's Charter and Principles.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic medical leadership to MSF International, ensuring that medical operations, ethics, quality of care, and patient-centered approaches are central to MSF’s humanitarian identity and strategic direction.
• Lead and chair the Medical-Operational Directorate Platform, facilitating collective decision-making on major medical-operational issues and ensuring alignment across medical, operational, executive, and associative bodies.
• Oversee the annual medical-operational mutual accountability exercise, providing recommendations to executive platforms and ensuring communication on outcomes to support critical reflection on operational relevance and accountability.
• Identify priority medical and medical-operational issues requiring movement-wide positioning and represent MSF externally on strategic medical humanitarian issues.
• Foster innovation, learning, and cross-movement exchange on evolving medical practices and standards, while ensuring that medical priorities are coherent and actionable across the movement.

Required Qualifications:
The position requires a medical doctorate as an essential qualification. A postgraduate qualification in public health, global health, humanitarian medicine, health policy, management, or a related field is desirable. Candidates must possess extensive senior leadership experience in complex international environments within medical humanitarian contexts, demonstrating proven leadership of multidisciplinary teams across multiple locations. Strong experience in influencing senior internal and external stakeholders and coordinating across decentralized structures is essential. Significant experience in MSF field operations is required, and experience with Governance Bodies is desired.

Educational Background:
Candidates must hold a medical doctorate, which is essential for this role. Additionally, a postgraduate qualification in fields such as public health, global health, humanitarian medicine, health policy, or management is highly desirable, as it complements the medical expertise required for the position.

Experience:
The role demands extensive senior leadership experience in complex international environments, particularly within medical humanitarian contexts. Candidates should have a proven track record of leading multidisciplinary teams across various locations and influencing senior stakeholders. Significant experience in MSF field operations is required, along with a strong understanding of governance structures within the organization.

Languages:
Fluency in English is essential for this position, while proficiency in French is desired. Knowledge of additional languages is considered an asset, enhancing the candidate's ability to engage in diverse international contexts and communicate effectively with various stakeholders.

Additional Notes:
This is a full-time contract position subject to a minimum term of 3 years, which is renewable once. The starting date for the role is set for 1st March 202

• Compensation and benefits will align with MSF's practices, offering a competitive package based on the current standards in the MSF entity establishing the contract. The organization is committed to fostering an inclusive culture that supports diverse voices and backgrounds, welcoming applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, nationalities, races, religions, beliefs, and abilities. MSF emphasizes the importance of safeguarding and preventing abuse and misconduct in its work environment, ensuring that all staff share this commitment.