Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), an international medical humanitarian association founded in 1971, provides medical assistance to populations whose lives are threatened: mainly in cases of armed conflict, but also epidemics, pandemics, natural disasters or exclusion from care.
MSF WACA (West and Central Africa) was created in 2019 and aims to bring about a change in the dynamics of the MSF movement. WACA is driven by a significant number of doctors and humanitarians of Doctors Without Borders from West and Central Africa who wish to be heard, to contribute and above all to proactively assume responsibility for the humanitarian mission of the organization. WACA reflects an identity of humanitarians, an aspiration for MSF, a truly inclusive movement of people who share the values of empathy for others. Its strength is based on other MSF associations and its associative fiber is amplified by concrete operational objectives.
Why join us ?
You will find yourself a rich multicultural environment embellished with many relaxation areas to exchange or just create. The opportunity to test and learn. Every idea is welcome, your comments and opinions will be appreciated at all levels of the organization. The chance to be a key player in a growing and highly qualified team. And most importantly, great colleagues in a healthy work environment… (yes, yes..)
We are looking for: INNOVATION PROGRAMS COORDINATOR
Department: Operational Unit, Innovation
Direct Manager: Head of Innovation
Functional Manager: Head of Innovation Working %: Program Administration (20-40%),
Workshop Facilitation & technical support (10-30%),
Networking & Aligning (20-30%),
Innovation Liaison (10-20%)
Position based in: Abidjan/Ghana preferred. Hybrid locations considered with minimum 50% based in WaCA HQ.
Mobility: field and international HQ visit
Type of contract:Temporary (renewable)
Duration: 2022 Q4 – 2023 Q3
Position to be filled on: As soon as possible
General Objective
Making a “difference” is part of the core value of MSF WaCA and to do so, WaCA wants to develop a mindset of innovation among its staff at a strategic level.
WaCA is now seeking a creative and enthusiastic individual to fill the new role of Innovation Program Coordinator. This position will be a key contributor for WacA in developing and defining innovative practices to provide medical humanitarian assistance in the West and Central African region including in Sub Saharan Africa. As a part of the Innovation team, we are responsible for driving a culture of innovation and collaboration and supporting all innovation efforts to bring the most appropriate impact through ingenuity and anticipation.
As an Innovation Program Coordinator, you will assist in managing WaCA’s innovation efforts from opportunity identification, research development to pilots and experimentations. You will be inspiring our internal and external collaborators with content leadership and workshops on topics surrounding our innovation efforts. The coordinator will facilitate and provide support to a number of innovation projects that bring various stakeholders together to research, test and integrate innovations into WaCA’s systems and challenge incumbent ways of working.
Main responsibilities
The role assists the Head of Innovation in the investigation, development, management and delivery of innovative projects and solutions. Under the guidance of the off-location based Head, this position will liaise with innovators to deepen WaCA’s capacity for evidence-based innovation and transitioning concepts into solutions that improve operational outcomes at WaCA. Moreover, this position will work in tandem with the Head of Innovation to build-out innovation knowhow and networks in the region and grow WaCA’s innovation support within and beyond MSF.
Innovation Liaison (10 – 20%)
• Adopt and display human-centered design techniques to uncover insights leading to development and delivery of innovative programs.
• Act as the first point of contact to undertake project management and reporting for innovation.
• Contribute to innovation-planning activities
• Attend and document internal processes such as trainings and internal meetings, etc.
Program Administration (20-40%)
• Assist Head of Innovation to manage quality output of innovation program by, but not limited to:
• Investigating and scoping innovation opportunity areas to understand key challenges.
• Liaising with internal and external stakeholders
• Supporting program management from planning, coordination through to implementation of innovation projects.
• Facilitating resourcing of projects.
• Coordinating with relevant departments to execute program activities.
• Coordinating with stakeholders to acquire feedback from field.
• Managing any vendor workload in relation to project quality and execution.
• Championing the learnings to be incorporated into standard practices.
Workshop Facilitation & technical support (10-30%)
• Under the guidance of the Head of Innovation, help program innovation content:
• Develop workshop materials and tools for training on innovation and human-centered design methodologies to build innovation capacity across WaCA.
• Track and facilitate information sharing on innovative technical solutions of interest to WaCA operations and beyond.
• Facilitate working groups, in particular on project relevant and timely topics, stimulating innovative ideas and testing of new approaches.
• Organise and disseminate learnings through webinars, articles, workshops, etc. on innovative or technical topics
Networking & Aligning (20-30%)
• In lieu of off-location Head, manage innovation landscape relationships:
• Facilitate stakeholder engagement, including interactions with start-ups, academic organisations, other NGOs, partner MSF sections, and keen innovators for the humanitarian sector
• Maintain collaborative relationships with internal and external SMEs to partner on aligned initiatives.
• Coordinate scheduling and logistics for various events such as information sessions, Innovator meetings, and SME presentations.
• Assist in communications and outreach.
• Build and develop rolodex of contractors and consultants whose expertise align with WaCA innovation.
JOB PROFILE
Education / Qualification / Pre-requisites
- Significant exposure to innovation theories and practices, particularly with human-centered design approach
- West Africa based project or program management experience highly desired
- Bachelor’s degree preferred but not mandatory
Competencies / Skills
• Well organized and comfortable coordinating multiple people in senior roles – both inside and outside of the organization
• Interest in/knowledge of topics related to medical humanitarian initiatives
• Interest in/knowledge of progressive IT/technology developments, preferably in digital medical tools
• Willingness to work irregular working hours to accommodate international time zones
Aptitudes – Soft skills
• Proactive disposition, comfort with progress under uncertainty, willingness to learn and apply new skills
• An optimist that can work with varying ranks of collaborators and build strong alignments will succeed in this role
Professional experience required
- At least 1-3 years of relevant work experience
- Significant experience establishing innovative solutions in Africa and/or in low resourced settings highly preferred
Language skills
- Professional interpersonal communication and presentation skills for running meetings and building strong relationships, in English or French, and bilingual preferred
- Additional local dialects welcomed
Computer skills
- Existing fluency in online collaborative tools such as Miro/Mural, Zoom, Teams, SharePoint welcomed
- High aptitude with design software such as InDesign, Photoshop, figma, is an asset
- Experience with project management tools such as JIRA, slack, will come in handy
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In a dynamic work environment, MSF offers equal recruitment and development opportunities without any form of discrimination based on gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geographical origin, profile, physical disability, or any other discriminatory ground.
Female candidates who meet the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.
N.B.: This job description provides a framework for the main responsibilities and primary activities of the position. It is not exhaustive. Therefore, the responsibilities and activities of the position may differ from those described in this job description due to organizational and operational needs.
Deadline: 31st October 2022 18:00 GMT Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
How to apply
Kindly Apply via this link: INNOVATION PROGRAMS COORDINATOR (recruitee.com)