Emergency Preparedness Coordinator

MSF is an international, independent medical humanitarian organization. We are a non-profit, self-governed worldwide movement of more than 63,000 people.

We provide emergency medical assistance during armed conflict, natural disasters, outbreaks of deadly diseases and assist those who are excluded from healthcare. MSF delivers care based on need and when we see injustice, we speak out. We are an organization that remains impartial, knowledgeable, and effective, and this is what makes the difference between life and death.

People are our priority. At Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Artsen zonder Grenzen, we are committed to an inclusive culture that encourages and supports the diverse voices of our employees.  We encourage diverse applicants including individuals of all gender identities, ages, sexual orientations, nationalities, races, religions, beliefs, social and marital status, people with different abilities and all other diversity characteristics and how they work together.

The Emergency Department (ED) is part of the Operations department and plays a fundamental role in responding to humanitarian emergencies. The ED consists of an Amsterdam based Emergency Desk (E Desk) with managers and several associated advisors/officers, the Emergency Support Unit (ESU) with one Amsterdam based staff and additional implementing capacity and an Emergency Team for deployment in the field (currently 22 positions).  The E Desk conducts exploratory and assessment missions; initiates and manages large scale emergency interventions; supports the management of operations in in highly insecure environments and supports emergency interventions managed by regular desks; the ESU provides support to the organisation and existing missions in promoting and guarding emergency response capacity .

Currently and with immediate effect, the Emergency Department is looking for:

Head of Mission / Ops Deputy HoM / Medical Coordinator profile

Emergency Preparedness Coordinator

(70% in country programs / 30% office/home based)

Place within the organisation

• Overall: member of the Emergency Support Unit, reports to the Emergency Support Manager of the Emergency  Department in Amsterdam.

• Country program / desk: during in-country program assignments/support reports to relevant Operations Manager (or Health Programme Manager) or Management Team (MT) member(s) at the capital level, most likely Head of Mission (HoM) or Medical Coordinator (Medco)

• Functionally supports HoMs and MedCos in their responsibility for country EPREP planning, including other EPREP focal points

Main objectives of the position

You are responsible for the design, development, and implementation of Emergency Preparedness (EPREP) support activities in the countries of operation, as well as strengthening and improving EPREP policies, tools and guidelines based on feedback from these countries to improve the quality of MSF’s emergency preparedness and response efforts. You coordinate and contribute to the overall operational and emergency readiness of MSF OCA country programs.

The EPREP Coordinator:

• You transfer MSF Emergency Preparedness policy, guidance and tools to the country program by providing practical and technical implementation support to the coordination teams, in line with the specific aims of the OCA Strategic Plan.

• You maintain an overview of the status of emergency preparedness (EPREP) in all OCA country programs and compile a yearly overview and analysis of the self-reported emergency preparedness.

• You liaise with OCA desks and Operational Support Teams (OSTs) to better understand the desk/country program specific needs and contextual settings, define priorities and tailor support.

• You work closely with the People and Talent team to develop; update improve training modules to be delivered to both emergency preparedness and responsiveness.

• You work in close collaboration with the L&D team to identify, train and validate ERT facilitators and to provide ERT and other trainings (both remotely and in person) focused on emergency preparedness and response.  You remain the technical focal point for the ERT content

• You support HRCos and P&C colleagues to identify a pool of competent staff for the E-Register and to participate in training for emergency preparedness and responsiveness.

• You identify cross-learning opportunities, information sharing and implement experience sharing sessions, for example between/with different Emergency Response Unit projects (ERUs).

• You keep existing emergency preparedness guidelines, templates and tools presently in place up to date and contribute to new guidance.

• You collaborate with other MSF sections in order to share information, training materials and lessons learnt on improving emergency response capacity in existing MSF missions.

• When needed you step in as an emergency coordinator (ops and/or medical) or other country programme roles to undertake assessments and/or implement emergency interventions.

• You spend most of your time in the countries of operation.

Main responsibilities and activities

• Provide technical advice and support on emergency preparedness to country programs across OCA, through in country deployment, remote support and working with the respective operational desk

• Development of (emergency preparedness and response) knowledge and technical competencies through team trainings, team coaching, workshops, individual coaching and case management

• Cooperative process of EPREP support needs assessments, prioritized and structured EPREP improvement plans

• Development of emergency preparedness and response training packages, seminars and workshops based on collected data and needs

• Contribute to OCAs overall capacity to respond timely, appropriately and effectively to emergencies

• Document outcomes, progress, and challenges encountered during EPREP support, contributes to capitalization of lessons learned and continuous improvement of emergency preparedness and response in OCA.

• Contribution to emergency preparedness and response guidelines, operational strategies and tools

• Contributes to development and innovation on models of operations in emergency response and other research projects

Candidate Profile

Essential:

• 4+ years of experience in humanitarian aid working in country programs, strong background in emergency preparedness, response and training

• At least 48 months experience with one of the MSF sections in various projects/country programmes, of which at least two have been an emergency projects or a med/high security setting, and at least two in a key coordination position (EmCo, HoM, MedCo, Ops Dep HoM, Dep Medco).

• Experience in acute emergency responses, assessments, project planning and MSF mission/project start-ups.

• Proven experience planning and preparing Emergency Preparedness Planning in multiple contexts.

• Experience in working in close collaboration with various departments within the mission and desk management - operations, epidemiology, medical, logistical, financial/HR, watsan, etc

• Knowledge of emergency public health, rapid assessments, health surveillance.

• Knowledge of basic medical and logistical guidance and tools in MSF used in management of supply and emergency responses.

• Organizational skills, diplomatic skills and team player (can bring people along).

• People management skills. Ability to influence others in a positive way. Proven flexibility and solution-oriented mentality.

• Ability to work independently and be decisive in chaotic circumstances. Able to work collaboratively in teams and under stressful conditions.

• Positive, can-do attitude. Able to motivate a team, move a team into action, focuses on the achievements and does not get discouraged by the barriers to success.

• Fluent English language skills.

• Willingness and capacity to function as emergency coordinator at project level or at capital level.

• Proficient in Microsof