MSF Academy Resource Manager (m/f/x) – MSF Belgium – Brussels

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 Resource Manager (m/f/x) – MSF Belgium – Brussels

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. The hospital nursing & midwifery initiative, accounting for over half of the Academy’s resources, has field teams providing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes in CAR (Central African Republic), South Sudan, Mali and Sierra Leone and it plans to expand to other countries in the coming years. In 2020, the outpatient care initiative also started field implementation, aiming at strengthening the competencies of the staff proving external consultations in health centres in terms of diagnostic, clinical decision-making and patient management; it is now being rolled out with clinical mentors in Sierra Leone, Guinea, South Sudan and Nigeria. In 2021 the MSF Academy started an initiative to improve the management of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in MSF-supported structures, and enrolled the first yearly groups of participants into its two longer-term academic courses: a Post-Graduate Diploma in Infectious diseases tailored for medical doctors, and a two-year course for medical managers in the organisation (Medical coordinators (Medcos) and Project Medical Referents – (PMRs)). We hope to install a much stronger learning culture within the MSF operations. Beyond MSF projects, the Academy also connects with health authorities to work on accreditation of its learning and punctual support to governmental programs.

The portfolio of projects of the MSF Academy continues to grow, projects are increasing in scope and complexity, the workload has significantly increased, and we recognise the need to reinforce the capacity of the ‘global team’ of the Academy. The global team is currently composed of 5 project managers, among which the director himself, the goal being to have a horizontal management structure. The secondary circle will bring in the technical referents to the projects, whether long-term (profession-specific and pedagogically focused) or more punctual (e.g. for content development etc.). In the field, the Academy also includes specific positions for the implementation of the various programmes in the missions (e.g. representatives, pedagogical managers and clinical mentors).

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

• Leadership and Project initiation
• Project management of existing projects
• Resource management
• 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

More information on the MSF Academy and its initiatives can be found on www.msf.org/academy.

Positioning within the organisation

The Resource Manager reports hierarchically to the MSF Academy’s Deputy Director and is part of the Management Team of the Academy.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. You are accountable for the overall finances of the MSF Academy

• You design global yearly and multiyear budgets and ensure accuracy of the regular forecasting exercises (field and HQ budgets), in collaboration with the Operations and Finance Departments
• You control budgets and accounting; support and coach the program managers, project managers and country representatives in budget definitions & follow-up
• You ensure that the budgets are properly transposed into mission budgets for country and day-to-day activities (Wefin etc.) – transversal across Operational Centers (OCs), as MSF Academy is hosted by different OCs, depending on country of intervention
• You will also be assisting Academy reps & Finance coordinators (fincos) in putting in place processes for monthly cashflow needs definitions for MSF Academy activities
• You ensure that all expenses are accounted for in the right projects, and that all invoicing from the various sections back to MSF Academy are accurate, complete, and filed on time

1. You are the key interlocutor for all financial matters of the Academy

• You are the direct interlocutor for the financial department of the Operational Center of Brussels (OCB), the IO (International office) and the TIC (Transformational Investment Capacity) and also for all funding units and fundraising teams across the movement relating to financial reporting
• You actively participate in the definition and adoption of an internationally agreed financial governance and agreement for the Academy, and guarantee its respect once adopted
• You elaborate all relevant financial analyses in relations to the Academy’s financial agreement with the OCs’ needs, and for all external evaluations of programs
• Internal control management

1. You design and lead the administrative and support functions at the MSF Academy

• You are responsible for the global needs analysis and design of the overall approach for administrative and procurement-related issues of the MSF Academy
• You Guide and coach the project managers in terms of budget definition & follow-up and supply management for the field
• You Centralise all HR needs for the global team (long term and punctual needs), and manage recruitment, administration issues and onboarding of all new staff
• You Centralise all contracting out and admin follow-up of consultancies and external providers
• You are the focal point for general planning of events (meetings, workshops etc.)
• You are the line manager for the MSF Academy’s assistant and other additional supports

REQUIREMENTS

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (Finance, accounting, Economy, Business administration, Law, Human Resources), Master’s degree preferred
• At least 5 years of work experience in financial and budgetary management
• At least 18 months of previous work experience with MSF both at field and HQ level in a financial position
• Experience in project management, HR and admin

Competencies

• Excellent mastering of MS Office, and familiar with MSF financial tools a plus
• Strong organisational skills and analytical mind
• Able to cope under pressure, highly flexible and dynamic
• Autonomous, flexible and creative
• Strong team player with interpersonal skills able to interact at all levels

Languages

• Proficiency in both French and English, written and spoken

CONDITIONS

• Expected starting date: November 2022
• Location: Brussels (Belgium). Another location (within a 2-hour time difference) can be discussed if MSF has a strong footprint in the country of residence of the preferred candidate.
• Contract type: Open-ended contract – Full time (potentially 80%)
• Occasional field visits will be required
• If Brussels: Belgian contract; Salary according to MSF-OCB HQ grid – Meal Vouchers – Hospital Insurance (DKV) – Pension Plan – 100% reimbursement for public transportation costs – In-house canteen at fair prices
• If other locations: The contractual conditions will be established based on the station, on administrative / legal constraints and in respect of MSF function grids and salary policies
• 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 eventual other location, the final outcome depends on local legal limitations (residency, work permit, etc.) and on agreement with the hosting MSF office in the location. The local contract and standard salary grid will then apply

Deadline for applications: 3 November 2022