Cell 4 Intern At Médecins Sans Frontières en Suisse

This internship is part of an academic training program, a professional training program or a socio-professional integration program, and must meet the conditions set by the Conseil de surveillance du marché de l’emploi (CSME).

Context & Mission

Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent, international medical and humanitarian organization that provides care to people in need, people affected by natural or man-made disasters, and victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and without regard to race, religion, creed or political affiliation (MSF Charter).

The Cell Intern provides operational and administrative support to the Cell Team with an additional objective of working on at least one Medico-Operational dossiers during the period of employment. The Cell Intern function can be part of an academic course (‘cursus intra-ou extra academique’) or a federal program on professional integration. For this reason, most placements as Cell Intern require a 3-party convention with the academic institute concerned.

The intern will report directly to the head of the unit and will work in close collaboration with all members of the medical technologies and innovation unit, the IT department and relevant people from communication and other departments.

Tasks and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Cell Responsible (RP) the Cell Intern supports the Operational Cell as follows:

Operational Support (40%)

• Supports the cell in the organization of meetings (i.e. the weekly cell meeting (Mini Desk), Plan of Action discussions with field teams) including the preparation of agendas, taking minutes and the archiving of meeting documentation.
• Supports the cell in the management of information such as cell archiving, is the focal point for the online platforms such as Kompas and Share Point and manages the key tools for the organization of the cell (i.e. presence, field visit preparation).
• Supports the preparation of key Operational documents and Presentations for either internal or external use.
• Provides support to the RLO (Logistic Referent) of the cell: follow up of material to be sent to missions, ordering of maps via the GIS center.
• Provides support to the FINOP (Finance Referent) to prepare Power of Attorney for mission teams, follow up of contracts and partnership agreements, and the management of information related to audits.
• Provides adhoc support to the Directorate of Operations such as management of meetings, minute taking and the coordination of operational and planning documents (portfolio reviews, emergency updates).
• Monitors the news update and different reports on the context of the countries followed by the cell.
• By delegation from the RP can be asked to provide operational updates to the HQ (Point Info).

HR and Administrative Support (40%)

• Ensures the updating of the international staff tracking table (HR Update) (mission dates, job openings, obtaining documents)
• Follows up with international staff on documents required for their departure (informed consents (BIC), proof of life)
• Organizes briefings/debriefings of international staff with the cell members
• Consolidates, monitors and updates pre-departure briefing materials for international staff
• Welcome international staff on departure, introduce them to current operations and ensure they have the necessary documents
• Compiles a table of the cell’s mission positions to be opened, on a weekly basis
• Participates in monthly meetings to open positions and present the cell’s operational news
• Files the job descriptions of international staff as soon as a position is required by the unit’s missions
• Files documents for anticipated returns
• Follows up on other specific HR procedures as needed
• Develops HR statistics with the assistance of the RHOP

Medico Operational Dossiers (20%)

• Each Cell Intern, during the period of employment (from 6 months to 12 months) is expected to work on a Medico Operational Dossier. The dossier selected should combine (a) the operational needs of the Cell / Missions (b) academic requirements such as the need to complete a thesis and (c) if possible a link to the future career of the Cell Intern.
• The topic needs to be selected within the first month of employment and agreed with the RP, ensuring that there is a clear deliverable (written report, thesis, …).
• The final deliverable MUST be presented to the Operations Department at the end of the period of employment.

Your profile

• Have a tripartite internship agreement
• English : excellent writing and communication skills
• French : good written and spoken level
• Capacity of analysis and synthesis;
• Planning and organization;
• Knowledge of key issues of the humanitarian environment;
• Excellent writing skills
• Excellent knowledge of the MO environment (Powerpoint, Excel, Word)

Terms of employment

• A tripartite internship agreement is mandatory
• 6 to 12 months, according to internship agreement
• Full time (40h/week)
• Based in Geneva, Switzerland
• Start date : Beginning of September 2024
• Gross monthly remuneration 2’000.- CHF