Humanitarian Affairs Officers (HAOs) & Advocacy Managers help Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to expose the impact that conflict and neglect have on the people we serve and to advocate for them. They also ensure we maintain access to our patients. From carefully building a sensitive advocacy strategy to writing reports on the exclusion of certain communities from medical care, the role of an HAO is incredibly varied. Our HAOs are usually based in the capital city with frequent travel to our projects and are responsible for gathering information from all actors involved in the situation they are working in. They then use this to strategically advise on how MSF operates and communicates in situations that jeopardize our access to patients, our voice and our principles.
Role requirements
- Minimum 2 years relevant professional working experience from one or more of the following:
- Civil society organizations
- NGOs and humanitarian sector organizations
- Institutional and donor experience
- Legal experience
- Academic and research experience (preferably in the field of humanitarian affairs)
- Humanitarian and/or human rights advocacy
- Minimum 1 year experience working in humanitarian or development contexts with proximity to populations
- Data collection skills - qualitative research / human rights monitoring / refugee casework experience.
- Masters degree in one of the following fields: anthropology/social/political sciences, law, gender studies, protection, international relations, or other relevant subject
- Ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines and strong ability to multi-task
- Ability to work within a diverse team
- Good understanding of current humanitarian debates and of the dilemma/compromise nature of modern humanitarian interventions
- Fluency in French. Other languages such Spanish, Arabic, and/or Portuguese an asset.
Click here to see a generic job description and potential career path with MSF.
