Director of Medical Department at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international independent medical humanitarian action-driven organization, which offers assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation. 24 sections and 18 branch offices make-up the international movement and work in partnership around 6 operational centres.

The Spanish section of MSF was founded in 1986 in Barcelona. MSF-Spain has variousRegional Offices (Delegations) in the rest of Spain, Regional Branch Offices in Argentina and Nairobi as well as operational units in Dakar and Amman. In 2005 an operational partnership was established between MSF-Spain and MSF-Greece. Today the Operational Centre Barcelona-Athens (OCBA) has 5 Operational cells (1 in Barcelona, 1 in Nairobi, 1 in Dakar, 1 in Bogotá and 1 in Amman) and an Emergency Unit (based in Barcelona).

The social mission is focused on assisting populations, communities and individuals as it is expressed in the MSF charter, while continuously exploring new possible scenarios where response to medical and humanitarian crisis could be relevant. The quality, relevance and volume of operations have evolved significantly over the past years. MSF OCBA/ is currently active in multiple medical and humanitarian crises worldwide and contributes to the global response to emergencies of the MSF movement. The organizational units are organized into Departments: Operations, Medical, Logistics & Supply, Finances, Human Resources, Communications & Public Awareness, Fundraising, Projects and IT and General Direction.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Director of Medical Department 

Location: Based in any MSF OCBA hub (Barcelona, Amman, Nairobi, Bogotá and Dakar), at the Médecins Sans Frontières-OCBA Headquarters.
Employment Type: Full-time
Starting date: August 2025. 

Purpose of the Position

• The Medical Director participates and contributes in the organisational executive strategy and plan, in the definition of the Medical Network’s strategy, plan and objectives, and leads the definition of MSF’s medical policies guaranteeing its coherence and alignment towards the Executive Strategic Plan of the organisation, the Operational Policy and the departmental plan. 
• The Director of Medical Department (DirMed) leads the efforts for ensuring that medical care provided by MSF field programs ensures the best possible quality and range of services and programs to assist the populations, the application of the organisation’s policies as well as its deontological orientations.
• The DirMed also leads the follow up on the quality assurance of medicines, medical devices and specialised food supplied to MSF field projects. 
• The Director of Medical Department participates in the follow-up of the organisation’s global objectives, their analysis and subsequent definition of the organisational and operational policies, strategies and stances within the framework of Spanish society and the MSF international movement.

Placement within the Organisation:

• The Director of Medical Department is hierarchically accountable to the MSF OCBA General Director (GD) and is a permanent member of the Management Team. 
• The DirMed is responsible for overall management and direction of the Medical Department and represents the medical part of the organisation in different internal and external fora/committees. 
• The managerial body of the Medical Department is the Coordination Management Team (CMT), composed of three Heads of Unit, one Head of the Medical-Operational Unit, who is also the Deputy Medical Director, one Support Officer, and the Medical Director, who leads it and manages these 5 positions.
• Each head of unit manages an average of 10 positions, including advisors and officers, and oversees also with a functional link around 10 people in the medical network.  
• The OCBA Medical Network was established in 2023 to strengthen coordination, governance and management of all health-related resources within OCBA that support and guide MSF operations, facilitating their inclusion regardless of their reporting lines, and enhancing efficiency, and strategic alignment in the operational center. 
• The Medical Network is co-led by the CMT and the Heads of Unit of the OCBA hubs (Nairobi, Dakar, Amman, and Bogotá) and comprises approximately 70 people, including positions within the medical department and those based in other units and/or departments.
• The DirMed OCBA is currently a core member in the following MSF international
  platforms: The MSF Medical Directors platform, the MedOps (DirOps & DirMeds
  platform); s/he acts as Medical Directors Platform’s focal point for several
  different intersectional platforms and initiatives.

Main Responsibilties, Functions and Tasks

• Oversees and coordinates OCBA’s Medical Department human, financial, and material resources efficiently to achieve organizational objectives. 
• This involves planning, organizing, leading, and monitoring the activities of the organization under her/his responsibility. 
• Participate in the analysis and definition of policies, strategies and positioning of the Management Team. 
• Design, adapt and monitor the medical strategies defined by the Operational Centre. 
• Participate in the definition of international medical policies and strategies for the entire movement (As member of the Medical Directors Platform) 
• Draw-up and develop the Medical Network’s planning and ensuring coherence with the Organisation’s objectives. 
• Guide, manage and evaluate the members of the Medical Department under his/her direct responsibility, to guarantee the achievement of the objectives set by MSF. 
• Leads and supports the Coordination Management Team (CMT) of the Medical Department in their role as managers within the network. 
• Steers the Medical Network governance body composed by the CMT and Heads of Units of OCBA hubs, ensuring coordination and strategic alignment of health objectives and capacities in the organization.  
• Define and allocate resources and budgets for the Department and following up expenses. 
• Implement the necessary strategies to ensure that medical quality is pursued and implemented in all the field operational projects. 
• Ensure technical medical support to the Operational Cells through the Deputy DirMed and medical advisors of the medical area, according to needs and priorities. 
• Define guidelines and undertake the actions needed to ensure a proper follow-up of medical contents for field operations and their outcome. 
• Analyse and periodically inform the executive Management Team on the medical aspects of the organisation.
• Supervise and define the medical contents for training activities and participate in the definition of the training plans that better suit the Organisation’s objectives.
• Supervise and advise about the medical technical content for
  communications and fundraisings issued by the Organisation.
• Support the Human Resources Department in terms of health of staff and
  health issues in general nationally and internationally. 
• Leads OCBA Medical Professional Commission and MPC case management with the support of the Patient Safety Incidents Officer. 
• Ensure proper interaction with the Access to Products for Healthcare (APH).
• Participate, on behalf of OCBA, in regular meetings with Medical Directors from other sections under the coordination of the International Medical Coordinator. 
• Participate in the international joint DirOps and DirMeds meetings. 
• Participating, on behalf of OCBA, in medical meetings with external actors such as DNDi, International Organisms, Academic Institutions, etc. 
• Promote agreements and partnerships with external medical institutions, and with other medical structures of the MSF movement. 
• Validate all medical operational research being implemented by the operational centre and submit all medical research protocols to the MSF Ethics Review Board. 
• Follow-up medical ethical issues, patient safety incidents and medical malpractice issues. 
• Promote and coordinate the diffusion of MSF medical experiences both in scientific publications and in those addressed to the general public.

Requirements and Qualifications
Education and Experience:

• Medical profile with postgraduate studies in Public Health, and/or International Health and Tropical Medicine. 
• Experience of minimum 5 years in field medical-humanitarian projects with MSF or similar organizations.  
• Proven knowledge and experience in management of medical humanitarian projects. 
• Previous experience as Medical Coordinator and/or Head of Mission in MSF is desirable.  
• High command of English is mandatory.
• Spanish and French are an asset.

Skills, Competencies and Values:

• Full commitment to MSF principles and values.  
• High personal integrity and empathy. 
• Strong ability to inspire, motivate, coach, and manage a dynamic and diverse team and set an example of professional leadership. 
• Proven expertise in strategic and conceptual thinking, policy development, financial and people management, planning and monitoring of results. 
• Strong knowledge of developments in the field of humanitarian relief and international public health and tropical medicine. 
• Data management and analysis skills and literacy epidemiological software. 
• Talented communicator with excellent presentation and assertive negotiation skills and the ability impact and influence organizational decisions. 
• Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills with proven success in cultivating and maintaining networks with a broad and diverse set of stakeholders.

Conditions:

• Location: based in any MSF OCBA hub (Barcelona, Amman, Nairobi, Bogotá and Dakar), at the Médecins Sans Frontières-OCBA Headquarters. 
• It is a full-time job.  
• International travel: 20% including to MSF OCBA Units and offices, missions and projects, sometimes in unstable. 
• Minimum of 3-year moral commitment, with a maximum term of 6 years. 

Annual Gross Salary
HQ-7A level + secondary benefits based on MSF OCBA Reward Policy (Subjected to local conditions).

Application Closing Date
27th April 2025, 23:59 CET (Central European Time).

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

Note

• To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter
• MSF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, race, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. 
• We are committed to achieving a balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply. 
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. 
• MSF provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life.
• MSF does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment and discrimination. 
• All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo reference checks. 
• Médecins Sans Frontières, as a responsible employer, under the ̈Ley General de la Discapacidad de 2013 (LGD) ̈ invite those persons with a recognized disability and with an interest in the humanitarian area to apply for the above-mentioned position.