Technical Deputy Medical Director (m/f/x) At Médecins Sans Frontières

CONTEXT

Within MSF the Operational Center Brussels (OCB), the Medical Department provides strategic direction and technical leadership, committing to keeping up to date on innovations in health care. We share the responsibility of the operational choices and the responsiveness, and we are involved in the support of our project teams co-developing context-adapted medical-operational strategies and defining levels of care. The department also does normative work (e.g., developing guidelines, tools), supporting their translation (e.g., trainings, quality improvement, information knowledge management) and enabling operational research and innovative ideas.

Composed of multiple specialists based across a network of units across the world, in:

• Brussels with the Brussels Medical Unit (BRUMED)
• Cape Town with the Southern African Medical Unit (SAMU)
• Luxembourg with the Luxembourg Operational Research unit (LuxOR)
• Beirut with the Middle East Medical Unit (MEMU)
• Abidjan with The Abidjan Medical Unit (AMU)

We work in close collaboration with operations, other OCB departments and MSF movement. We also provide technical support to the newest operational entity in MSF, West Africa, and Central Africa (WACA).

In the coming years, OCB has a willingness to encourage more people to work outside Brussels to develop towards a more networked Operational Directorate (OD) of Operational Hubs and Centers of medical expertise or regional medical support. They will be located closer to operations and to the existing regional expertise that can benefit MSF globally.

The different unit coordinators are part of the medical management team headed by the Medical Director.

To enhance multidisciplinary and interdepartmental work, the Medical Department is organized in “thematic circles”, which can be given a short- or long-term assignment. The main circles are the migration health circle, the outbreak control circle, the PMR circle, the knowledge management circle, etc. Each referent plays a role in multiple circles and most of them are participating in International Medical Working Groups on MSF movement level.

As Technical Deputy Medical Director, you hold one of the two positions of deputy medical director, alongside the Medical Director.

You line manage a large number of medical referents in Brussels, whereas the Operational Deputy Medical Director carries the functional management responsibility of the medical staff (Medical Officer and Medical Deputy Coordinator of Operations) working in operational cells and regional support teams (RST).

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

You are part of a core-management team under the leadership of the medical director, who will ensure the strategic management in the department as follow:

Strategic management

• Define the medical vision and the priorities in the medical department and the medical priorities within the operations in collaboration with operational management
• Prioritize and supervise the design and adaptation of the medical policies, medical strategies, medical guidelines, medical standards and tools within OCB
• Insure “quality care” and the stimulation of innovation
• Guarantee the efficiency and accountability of the medical support given to the operations and the change management within this support for the coming years
• Assure the connection to operational leadership positions on strategic Medical-Operational decisions as Prospects, critical choices, overview of the portfolio, etc.
• Assure the connection with the PMR’s and medco’s in the field
• Organize the planning, development and training of Medical Human Resources in the field in collaboration with the operations and the HR department
• Set the priorities and development of medical advocacy topics in collaboration with the operations and the analysis department

Specific responsibilities

People management

• Manage and act as a referent person for the referents based in Brussels and involved in the thematic of disease control, mother and child health, mental health, health promotion, SAGE topics (surgery, anesthesia, gynecology, emergency medicines), nursing, IPC, and laboratory
• Organize the recruitment and the evaluation of Referents of the medical department, supported by the HR department
• In collaboration with the different individuals, define the main priorities to be developed in the projects and monitors the outputs
• Assure linkages and coherence between the different medical expertise and facilitate opportunities for intradepartmental collaboration

Medical topics and strategies

• Take on the role of coordinator of some thematic circles
• Take the lead as medical department representative on the development of some complex new medical project strategies in collaboration with operations
• Coordinate the development of transversal strategies and action plans in the medical department

Medical files

• Be the focal point for the Tele-Medicine in OCB in collaboration with the medical management support position
• Ensure the overview and priority setting in the medical training ambitions of the Medical Department and field teams and contribute to its implementation with the MSF Academy, the Learning & Development Unit and other relevant departments
• Ensure the strategic design around quality of care and drive the files of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
• Oversee the Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) work in the department and take part in the OCB IKM steering committee
• Stimulate innovation within the field of medical thematics and connect with operations and relevant units (operational research, IT, legal …) to stimulate development
• Be a part of intersectional Working Groups and/or project’s Steering Committees

The repartition of these files can change over time according to the composition of the management team and evolving with the adaptations in the years to come

Communication

• Stimulate debate, identify, analyze, capitalize and disseminate good medical practices
• Contribute to the identification of public speaking topics and medical communication in support to the communication department
• Contribute together with the different experts in developing and maintaining a network of external experts, medical societies, research institutes/universities, scientific institutes and formalizes relations where relevant
• Participate and/or lead medical department meetings and workshops

REQUIREMENTS

Education & Experience

• Medical diploma
• Diploma or master’s degree in public health or epidemiology is an asset
• Minimum of 4 years of MSF international medical experience in MSF in low- or middle-income countries mandatory
• Experience as medical coordination is a strong asset
• Experience in headquarters as medical referent or in managerial medical positions is an asset

Competencies

• Strong people management skills and proven experience in a leadership role
• High level of medical credibility and general knowledge of medical technical topics and strategies applied within MSF
• Experience to connect “medical evidence” to guidelines and medical policies
• At ease with organization and team mobilization around multidisciplinary projects
• Analytical and strategic thinking with demonstrated talent for identifying, and improving complex work processes and set-ups
• Strong ability to adapt to different context, people and environment
• Demonstrate problem-solving aptitude, creativity and initiative
• Strong communication skills (both oral and written) at various levels, for often non-experts (pedagogical skills)
• Strong ability to lead and organise teamwork, promoting trust and enthusiasm
• Capacity to negotiate with different internal and external stakeholders
• Demonstrable understanding and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is an asset – Cross-cultural awareness

Languages

• Proficient level in English and French, both spoken and written mandatory
• Other commonly used languages in MSF (Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese) are an asset

CONDITIONS

• Expected starting date: 1st of April 2024
• Location: Brussels (Belgium)
• Mobility: willing to travel regularly (20% of working time) to MSF project locations, conferences, and meetings
• Contract type: Open-ended contract – Full-time – Homeworking maximum 40% per week
• Salary according to MSF-OCB HQ grid
• Meal Vouchers – Hospital Insurance (DKV) – Pension Plan – 100% reimbursement for public transportation costs
• Adhere to the MSF principles and to our managerial values: Respect, Transparency, Integrity, Accountability, Trust and Empowerment
• Adhere to the MSF Behavioral Commitments

Deadline for applications: 11th of January 2024