Medical Internal Auditor (100%)

Place in the organisation

The Control & Audit Unit is a staff department that reports to the General Director and the Board of the association. The Controller is responsible to ensure the availability of quality data for decision making on steering and management control, for internal and external accountability and to supply expertise to the board and management on issues of governance and compliance to the principles of good governance codes, rules and regulations. Internal Audit is positioned in the Control & Audit Unit with the Controller fulfilling the role of Chief Audit Executive (CAE).

The internal auditor will conduct audits in the project countries and in the OCA office location. It is expected that about 4-6 field audits, each taking on average 10-14 days of travel to our mission countries will need to be conducted in a year.

Day 2 day of a Medical Internal Auditor

As the medical internal auditor, you will find yourself in very different situations depending on where you are and what you are working on. Every working day will therefore look very different from the other.

As a member of the internal audit team, you will work with colleagues in the team as well as with staff in the public health department to develop the medical audit methodology, discuss the audit planning and plan and prepare internal audits in our humanitarian medical projects. In preparing the audit you will interview a variety of staff, mainly medical staff working in the project and health advisors and specialists working in the public health department. For the audits, it is beneficial to have a full picture. Therefore, you will also liaise with your colleagues in, for example, the operations and the logistics departments.

On audit in the projects will mean travelling and visiting health programs and facilities. Meeting and interviewing medical staff at all levels within the medical organisation. Observes note, show-and-tell based on the auditing program that you are further developing piloting and embedding in the organsiation. Your report and recommendations will be tailored to the context and will further the quality of care of our humanitarian medical work.

Main responsibility

The internal audit function within the Operational Centre Amsterdam (OCA) currently consists of three staff. Within the OCA, a risk-based auditing model is used focusing at effectiveness and efficiency of our processes but also looking into competence of management, and compliance with (local) laws and regulations.

Auditing of medical quality is a new activity. The internal audit function is always further developing the set-up and implementation of internal audit, to ensure the function continues to contribute to the developing organization’s goals and the world we operate in. The principal objective of the position is to further develop medical internal auditing in collaboration with Public Health Department (PHD), and implement an effective medical audit program, integrated in the internal audit activities. The medical auditor’s role is to carry out medical audits in MSF-OCA field locations or support offices, with an aim to ensure compliance with internal and external standards and regulations for safe and effective care delivery, with a tailored approach that takes into consideration the medico-legal framework of MSF operational settings by:

• Identification of specific areas for auditing and development of audit guidelines/programs (externally sourced is possible) based on the principle of risk-based auditing;
• Gives advice to the Controller and Management Team on the recommendations made in audit reports and the monitoring of the follow-up of recommendations;
• Gives advice to operations staff (field and HQ) on control weaknesses and recommends improvements in processes, procedures and administrative organisation;
• Supports the maintenance of the organisation’s Risk Management and Fraud and Integrity Framework with focus on the mitigation of risks and in relation to the audit plan;
• Develops and maintains a network of staff that can join internal audits within and across the MSF (OCA) sections;
• Gives input in the training of MSF staff (courses and/or HQ middle-management) on the subject of accountability, fraud and integrity;
• Can act as the audit-team leader while preparing and performing audits in HQ and in the field.

Candidate profile

• Educated to a degree level in a relevant discipline, you will have at least 4 years’ experience in auditing different types of medical facilities. Combination of clinical background and medical operation field experience in an NGO providing humanitarian aid or a medical organization is preferred.
• You are able to look at processes and projects at a more strategic level, however, don’t forget that audit also requires a structured approach with sound underlying evidence, well documented.
• You are able to rapidly assess the operational and sanitary context of a given audit location in order to tailor auditing practices and objectives to patient population and medico-legal frameworks available locally.
• You are able to make improvement recommendations based on audit findings that are appropriate for the setting and that prioritize fundamental patient safety aspects of healthcare systems, healthcare management, and patient care delivery.
• You are able to evaluate and evolve the medical auditing package with time, as OCA further develops and implements its Clinical Governance Framework, MEAL Framework, and internal standards for safe and effective care delivery.
• You have a current understanding of internationally-recognized quality of care vocabulary and priorities and have experience in auditing adherence to quality-of-care practices in a variety of healthcare settings (different types of care facilities, different patient populations, etc).
• You have an understanding of the organizational culture that is needed to support successful auditing and improvements based on audit results.
• You are an enthusiastic self-starter, are results-driven and persistent, yet behaviorally sensitive to cultural and contextual factors. You are able to cooperate at all levels in the organization. Integrity is key for you.
• You are a great team player. You are good in cooperation and working as a team, to ensure the team achieves the best result possible, irrespective of your role in that team.
• Excellent communication skills in English (written and oral) is essential and additional proficiency in French is preferred.
• You are willing to travel at short notice and to insecure contexts.