Head of Emergency Team

The Head of Emergency Team is responsible for the strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight of MSF Ubuntu’s emergency prevention, preparedness, and response activities. The role ensures timely, effective, community-involved humanitarian medical responses to crises, aligning with MSF Ubuntu principles and operational priorities.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead MSF Ubuntu’s emergency preparedness and response strategy in alignment with MSF Ubuntu principles and operational priorities.
• Ensure emergency preparedness and responses incorporate strong community involvement and climate adaptation.
• Ensure emergency preparedness and response policies, systems, and tools are in place including surveillance, anticipatory action, early warning protocols, contingency planning, and surge capacity.
• Define emergency scenario stocks and supplies in collaboration with medical and logistics departments.
• Identify and lead capacity building in specific areas benefiting MSF Ubuntu and MSF movement.
• Contribute to strategic planning through critical reflections and learning.
• Set up the emergency team unit, hire staff, and develop MSF Ubuntu specific capacities.
• Promote interdepartmental collaborations including Safeguarding and DEI domains.
• Lead exploratory assignments and support opening and closing programs.
• Monitor contexts and identify potential emergency interventions.
• Lead and coordinate responses to emergencies, epidemics, conflicts, and crises.
• Provide strategic and technical guidance to emergency team members and country program teams.
• Support decision-making on activation, scale-up, adaptation, or exit of emergency interventions.
• Develop a vulnerability approach to emergency response to reduce community vulnerability to crises.
• Ensure emergency responses meet MSF medical, operational, ethical, and safeguarding standards.
• Promote integration of medical, logistical, HR, and security considerations in emergency preparedness and responses.
• Embed a learning culture through monitoring and evaluation including after-action reviews.
• Line-manage and support Emergency team members.
• Foster collaboration, accountability, and learning within the team and departments.
• Identify training and development needs related to emergency prevention, preparedness and response.
• Contribute to development of emergency pool and surge mechanisms emphasizing local and regional collaboration.
• Build a new way of working recognizing communities as first responders and reducing their vulnerability.
• Coordinate closely with other MSF entities, operational centres, and departments.
• Represent MSF Ubuntu in internal emergency coordination platforms and external humanitarian forums.
• Support alignment and collaboration with medical, operational, and support departments.
• Promote systematic learning from emergency responses including after-action reviews.
• Support evaluations, documentation, and dissemination of lessons learned.
• Encourage innovation and adaptation to improve emergency response effectiveness.

Requirements

• A master’s degree in social or political sciences or public health, (or) in logistics, business administration, or similar field is desirable, but not essential.
• Fluency/excellent level of written and spoken English. Knowledge of French, Swahili and/or Arabic is an advantage.
• Excellent knowledge and experience in Policy formulation, security management, human resource and financial management, cross/multicultural communication and collaboration.
• At least 8+ years of field/programs experience in medical humanitarian aid and working in senior management role.
• MSF experience as Emergency coordinator/Emergency Manager desirable.
• Commitment to and experience of advancing multicultural collaboration, learning, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.
• Excellent skills in Office Suite (advanced MS Excel and others).
• Solid knowledge of MSF tools (HR, Budgeting etc) is an asset.
• Excellent written and presentation skills across audiences of diverse backgrounds.

Skills

• Policy Formulation Support
• Security Management
• Human Resources Management
• Finance Management
• Cross-Cultural Communication
• Multi-cultural Team Collaboration
• Medical Humanitarian Aid
• Emergency Coordination
• Emergency Management
• Advanced Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office Suite
• MSF HR Tools
• MSF Budgeting Tools
• Written Communication
• Presentation Skills

Languages

English, French, Swahili, Arabic