Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian medical association created 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.
Mission France is seeking an Intercultural Mediator for its project in Dunkirk.
CONTEXT :
MSF’s France Mission provides assistance to migrants in situations of great social, medical and/or psychological vulnerability in France and conducts advocacy work to facilitate their access to common law.
Since December 2017, Mission France has been providing assistance to migrants. It ensures medical, psychological, legal and social support for people excluded from healthcare and advocates for access to care for vulnerable foreign nationals, particularly women living in camps in the Dunkirk area.
Mission France currently has three projects:
– In the Île-de-France region. The project has been running since December 2017. Initially focused on providing medical, psychological, social, and legal support to unaccompanied minors undergoing appeals (day care and accommodation), it has evolved significantly by specializing in young women seeking recognition of their minority status. This is complemented by a mobile clinic run by a team of volunteers.
– In Calais and along the North Coast. Opening in summer 2023. Day center for unaccompanied minors offering respite and activities; mobile clinics for the general public (adults, families, minors), including mental health services. Seasonal activities complement these, with coastal outreach programs from spring to autumn for displaced persons rescued from shipwrecks, and in winter, emergency shelter for the most vulnerable.
– In Dunkirk. The project aims to address the growing needs of women, girls, and families in exile living in extremely precarious conditions on the Dunkirk coastline. In close partnership with the Refugee Women’s Centre, it focuses on providing women’s healthcare (gynecology, pregnancy monitoring, sexual and reproductive health), mental health care, emergency shelter for single women, strengthening the detection and response to sexual violence, and a documentation and advocacy component addressing violence and the lack of essential services in the area. The communication and advocacy component is central to this mission, which operates in a country with the resources to provide dignified reception but which deliberately neglects migrant populations.
But principal :
Supporting communication and interaction between beneficiaries (migrants and refugees) and the multidisciplinary team, addressing the consequences of language barriers, socio-cultural differences and discrimination, following MSF protocols and procedures, in order to improve access to quality healthcare and other relevant services and to enable a better understanding of local socio-cultural determinants.
Responsibilities:
Facilitating the relationship between patients and healthcare providers involved in medical consultations and mental health care, as well as between patients and the support provided by the socio-legal team:
- To provide quality interpreting between the multidisciplinary team and patients in their native language, taking into account the intercultural aspect, sensitivity and clarity of communication between the parties.
- To help the multidisciplinary team and patients address the negative consequences of socio-cultural differences and to identify and report obstacles that hinder equity and equality in access to services.
- Accompany and follow patients towards referral structures (health and social care establishments) if necessary.
- Supporting the therapeutic/social intervention by sharing relevant aspects of the patient’s cultural context with the multidisciplinary team, acting as a cultural intermediary.
- Participate in multidisciplinary meetings.
In collaboration with other members of the project team, provide information to patients on the functioning of the healthcare system and other support services (shelter, food, transport, legal support) provided by MSF and other actors, with the aim of promoting patient empowerment and autonomy.
To contribute to understanding the context and collecting data on medical and socio-legal issues, paying particular attention to vulnerabilities, in order to provide reliable information for operational decision-making:
- To ensure high-quality linguistic and intercultural translation when collecting testimonies for advocacy and communication purposes.
- Provide support for the implementation of assessments or surveys, as appropriate.
- Report all important information expressed by patients and communities, while guaranteeing confidentiality at all times.
- To provide support for media analysis and content creation for communication purposes.
Responsibilities specific to the France mission:
Under the responsibility of the Project Coordinator or the Medical Referent and in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team, including the Medical Referent who coordinates the patients’ care pathway. The intercultural mediator:
- Accompanies various professionals (caregivers, psychologists, social workers) as a linguistic and intercultural intermediary, to provide live interpretation during consultations and external activities, discussion groups or social outreach, thus enabling staff to offer a quality of care or psycho-social support that meets the association’s standards.
- Participates in activities, in close collaboration with all team members and constitutes the ideal bridge between women’s culture and caregivers.
- Provides support in identifying the needs expressed by women in different activities.
- Provides support in the development of linguistic and communication tools for exiled women in coordination with the multidisciplinary team.
- Participates in defining intervention strategies and activities by integrating cultural dimensions.
- Raise awareness among the rest of the team about cultural codes that could be a barrier to accessing services.
- Participates in the collection and capitalization of individual patient follow-up data.
Desired profile:
Education: Secondary education is essential; a degree in social sciences, social communication, or education is desirable. Training in intercultural mediation or interpreting is an asset. Knowledge of social protection, child protection, and reception and care systems for unaccompanied minors is desirable. Knowledge of migration dynamics and the affected population is desirable.
Experience: Experience in translation and/or cultural mediation preferred. Experience working with vulnerable populations, adolescents or young adults is desirable.
SKILLS :
- Teamwork & Cooperation
- Flexibility / Adaptability of behavior
- Sense of service
- Adherence to MSF principles
- Proficiency in computer tools (Word, Excel, etc.)
Languages: Fluency in French. Knowledge of one of the following languages is required: Tigrinya, Amharic, Farsi, Somali, Kurdish-Sorani, or English. Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.
Employment conditions:
Status: 6-month fixed-term contract with possibility of renewal. Full-time, 39 hours/week. Position based in Dunkirk with possible travel to other projects within the French mission. No remote work.
Compensation and benefits:
- €2767.75 gross monthly salary over 13 months.
- 22 days of paid time off per year. Supplementary health insurance fully covered by Doctors Without Borders.
- Meal vouchers with a face value of €11.00 (60% covered by MSF).
- Coverage of 50% of public transport subscription (weekly, monthly or annual) or bicycle kilometers.
Position available: June 15, 2026
Due to administrative constraints related to the duration of the contract, candidates must already have a work permit in France (citizen of the European Union) or a residence permit allowing them to work on French soil.
How to apply
Please send your application (CV + cover letter + diplomas) by email by May 18, 2026 inclusive , with the following reference in the subject line: MIC_DUNKERQUE_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME
to msff-france-recrutement@paris.msf.org
Only candidates whose applications have been selected will be contacted.
Job posting on MSF website: France Mission – Intercultural Mediator in Dunkirk (M/F) | Doctors Without Borders