MSF Academy Pedagogical officer (m/f/x) – MSF Belgium

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides assistance in more than 60 countries to populations in distress, to victims of natural or manmade disasters and to victims of armed conflicts, without discrimination and irrespective of origin, religion, creed or political affiliation.

MSF Academy Pedagogical officer (m/f/x) – MSF Belgium

CONTEXT

The MSF Academy for Healthcare is an initiative that has been created with the aim to increase the quality of healthcare provided by our staff to the patients we assist in the missions. The Academy has a growing portfolio of projects addressing specific learning objectives of different categories of healthcare staff in MSF. All these projects are chosen in line with overall MSF operational and medical priorities.

A large focus is on MSF’s national staff, especially in the countries with the largest gaps in human resources for health (HRH) capacity. Presently, a lot of effort goes to nursing staff of MSF hospitals in Africa. More recently, the Outpatient care initiative has been implemented with pilot initiatives in the field. The Academy develops adapted curricula and invests a great deal in clinical mentorship in the wards. The nursing training programme has field teams in CAR, South Sudan, Mali and Sierra Leone and it is planned to be expanded to other countries in the coming years. We hope to install a much stronger learning culture within the MSF operations. Beyond MSF projects, the Academy connects also to health authorities to work on accreditation of its learning and punctual support to governmental programs.

In 2020, the Outpatient care initiative saw the light, aiming at strengthening the competencies of the staff proving external consultations in health centres in terms of diagnostic, clinical decision-making and patient management. The programme is now being implemented with clinical mentors in the field in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and South Sudan, and soon also in Nigeria. Finally, in 2021 the MSF Academy started an initiative to improve the management of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in MSF-supported structures, and two longer-term academic courses: a Post-Graduate Diploma in Infectious disease (PGDipID) tailored for medical doctors, and a two-year course for medical managers in the organisation, called Fellowship in Medical Humanitarian Action.

The portfolio of project of the MSF Academy is growing, and projects are increasing in scope and complexity, the workload of the overall team has increased, and we recognize the need to reinforce the capacity of the ‘global team’ of the Academy. The core team MSF Academy is currently composed of 5 project managers, among which the director himself, the goal being to have a quite horizontal management structure. The secondary circle will bring in the technical support to the projects, whether long-term or more punctual (e.g. for content development etc.). Then, finally, the Academy also includes field positions for the implementation of specific projects in the missions.

The Academy aims to maintain the same overall educational approach in all its projects: competency-based learning; as much as possible on-the-job training with the presence of strong tutors or clinical mentors; and seeking to achieve appropriate accreditation for all trainings, often in collaboration with partner teaching institutes.

Overall, the main tasks of the Global team can be divided in 5 categories:

• Leadership and Project initiation
• Project management of existing projects
• Administrative follow-up and support to existing projects or to the overall structure
• Technical expertise, guidance and support for the different programmes (nursing, learning, curriculum development, mentorship, etc.).
• Accountability, monitoring and evaluation for the MSF Academy overall and initiatives individually

It was a choice to invest strongly in a technical team. Otherwise, as a relatively small team, all members agree to join in the all 3 first tasks.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The MSF Academy Pedagogical officer will be responsible for assuring the pedagogical quality of the MSF Academy programmes. This position will work under the technical supervision of the MSF Academy Pedagogical Referent who is the guarantor of the overall pedagogical approach and strategy of the Academy. Nonetheless, the Pedagogical officer will not only participate in the definition and reorientation of the global strategy, but will also have full responsibility for the pedagogical aspects of the development, implementation and field support for various programmes, a.o. the Basic Clinical Nursing Care (BCNC) programme and the Fellowship in Medical Humanitarian Action.

More specifically, the responsibilities will be:

• Ensure the pedagogical quality of the design of the concerned programmes by accompanying and leading the programme teams in the instructional design. Build capacity of the concerned teams in designing quality learning activities and training materials – give regular feedback on contents developed and contribute to necessary revisions.
• Ensure the quality of the MSF Academy’s pedagogical approach in the implementation of both programmes. For the BCNC programme, there is a specific responsibility towards the implementation with the field teams in two countries of intervention, this entails the following: 1/ assure quality of the implementation strategy and regular follow-up; 2/ participate in the recruitment, briefing and induction of new pedagogical managers and mentors; 3/ be a referent for the country representatives and pedagogical managers; 4/ assure general quality assurance of material and activities and during field visits, assure sharing of experiences of the field can be looped back to the general quality of the programme.
• Organise and implement some of the facilitation of MSF Academy’s scheduled remote trainings for mentors on facilitation and clinical mentoring (known as eTOF and eTOM)
• Permanently keep abreast of developments within the field of adult education, remaining connected to pedagogical innovations and professional networks

REQUIREMENTS

Education & Experience :

• A degree in Education Sciences, Pedagogy or Instructional Design
• At least 5 years of professional experience post-diploma, with at least 3 years in positions relevant to the job description
• Professional experience in low-resource context, African countries in particular is an advantage
• Experience in designing training curricula and organising trainings for health professionals
• Experience in instructional design
• Experience in facilitating virtual classes
• Experience in designing and facilitating face-to-face adult learning

Personalcharacteristics/interpersonalskills :

• High level of professional autonomy while remaining a team player
• High sense of creativity and interest for innovation, while remaining practical and realistic
• Expertise and interest in e-learning, with good computer skills
• Ability to achieve quality with high effectiveness
• Ability to build strong collaborative relationships in an international environment
• Ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders to ensure that goals and objectives are met
• Excellent organisational ability
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary, multicultural remote team
• Ready to travel on a regular basis

Languages:

• English and French Mandatory (Excellent command of French or English and professional Working Proficiency (B2) of the other language). Arabic is an asset.

CONDITIONS

• Expected starting date: September 2022
• Location*: Brussels (Belgium). Eventual other locations of Dakar (Senegal), Nairobi (Kenya) or Beirut (Lebanon) where MSF Academy team members are based can be discussed
• 3 to 5 Field visits per year
• Contract type: Open-ended contract
• Contract duration: permanent
• Full time
• If Brussels: Belgian contract. Salary according to MSF-OCB HQ grid. Meal Vouchers – Hospital Insurance (DKV) – Pension Plan – 100% reimbursement for public transportation costs
• If Nairobi, Dakar or Beirut: The contractual terms, conditions and salary will be established according to the place of work and in respect of MSF standard function and salary grids.
• Adhere to the MSF principles and to our managerial values: Respect, Transparency, Integrity, Accountability, Trust and Empowerment
• Adhere to the MSF Behavioral Commitments

* For the locations in Dakar, Nairobi and Beirut, the final outcome depends on local legal limitations (residency, work permit, etc.) and on agreement with the hosting MSF office in these locations. The local contract and standard salary grid will then apply

Deadline for applications: 18 July 2022