Regional Logistics Team Leader South America (m/f/x) – MSF Belgium – Rio de Janeiro

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.

Regional Logistics Team Leader South America (m/f/x) – MSF Belgium – Rio de Janeiro

CONTEXT

Mid-2019, MSF OCB (Operational Center Brussels) launched a reform aiming at providing more autonomy to the projects: the Field Recentralization programme/FrC. Following a first phase in Southern Africa, Central Africa (CA), then MSF operations in Europe and eventually South America located operations (today Brazil and Venezuela) were selected to develop a regional and innovative and transformational support approach to operations that will be implemented in the region from 2022 on.

Amongst other changes a core Regional Support Team (RST) will animate the network in the region by ensuring the optimal autonomy of the projects and the strategic support to the projects according to the principles of subsidiarity. Cell 5 who has overseen operations in the region, has gradually handed over the operations starting from the creation of a core Regional team, foreseen to be fully in place around end of 2022. The speed of this full transformation will depend on the operational and contextual reality of each project and each country.

The Field Recentralization program therefore impacts the role of teams at the project, country and regional level. At each level, the roles and responsibilities will be adapted and different from those currently played by the projects, the unit and the coordination teams.

A core “Regional Support Team – South America” (RST 5) will be based in Brazil and it be will be the interlocutor of the projects and of the country support team (today called the coordination teams), if any, in Brazil, Venezuela, any future contexts in the region in collaboration with the MSF Brazil section (MSF-BRA) who will host the team and support it in some domains.

A Memorandum of Understanding that is currently being finalized between MSF BRA and MSF-B (legal entities respectively of MSF-Brazil and MSF-OCB), listing roles and responsibilities will be the framework on interaction between MSF-BRA, MSF-B and the RST 5.

This RST will initially be made up of senior Ops, Med, HR, Log, Fin and Supply profiles. For some of these last positions a hybrid function may be designed sharing responsibilities with roles at the country or section level.

• After the opening of these positions, there will be an in-depth analysis to define in detail what specific support to the projects remains essential at the country level. Various areas of expertise are necessary for the proper functioning of the projects. Today’s Venezuela coordination teams (along with RST and MSF BRA) will be invited to further reflect on the best operational support towards the project teams. It is assumed that there will be no coordination team per se in Brazil.
• Project teams: a more autonomous project team can only be reached through the strengthening of teams, taking into account the specificities & the life cycle of each project. The investment in staff development, an efficient exchange between projects and a new way of collaboration with country & regional level are a few examples of how this can be established.

To obtain greater autonomy for projects, a strengthening of responsibility and skills at the project level is essential. This strengthening will be accompanied by a transformation of the responsibilities of the current coordination teams with potentially a change of titles in these teams.

At the same time, autonomy includes the duty for the project to consult the teams at the country and regional level and the technical referents/experts concerned. Each operational team must have access to the expertise and internal knowledge of MSF (eg referents at the regional / global / headquarters level).

Finally, Field Recentralization promotes a participatory managerial approach by including project staff in strategic decisions, while keeping a clear decisional line.

OCB in South America:

• OCB is currently covering Venezuela and Brazil in the region
• Venezuela is the bigger operation in the region with a complexity of a government that does not want to collaborate with NGOs. The modus operandi was a low-profile intervention under the umbrella of a local MSF Venezuela. Nowadays the situation in this aspect have improved and OCB is leading the representation and trying to get a proper registration, we are more visible than at the beginning of the operations
• In Brazil OCB has the intention to open a new validated project in Paras State (North of Brazil) for neglected populations, and a second TB (Tuberculosis) project in selected prisons in Rio de Janeiro
• There is the intention to have more projects in the future
• The supply of medical product is difficult as (most of) the countries in South America are not open for pharmaceutical importations.
• The region has also a high bureaucratic system sometimes difficult to understand

The Regional Log Team Leader is connected to the RST, line managed by the Regional Operational Team Leader South America and functionally managed by the LSU Coordinator.

MAIN OBJECTIVES

As Regional Log Team leader for the Latam region, you will be responsible for the identification and response to the programmatic Log issues in the region. Depending on the revision of the role and responsibility over 2023, you will coach the Log Coordinator (Venezuela) and the projects Logs in Brazil. In both cases the autonomous functioning of the project team is encouraged.

You will be mobile in the region of the Latam operations in order to:

• Facilitate interaction & communication with projects & country teams
• Facilitate the synergy with the MSF Brazil section
• Develop regional networks, primarily with other MSF initiatives in the region, such as the Latam Emergency Hub

You will be responsible for the coherence of OCB Log standards in the region and takes part in the dynamics of the Logistics department and of the MSF Brazil section. As member of the RST you will also have a decision-making role on new operations in the region, framed by the operational prospects of the OCB and the allocation of resources. You will have a key role in monitoring the security context and the physical access and in responding to humanitarian medical emergencies in the region.

Finally, you will play an active role in the design of this new regional setup, which will be dimensioned to the new operational ambitions in the region.

RESPONSIBILITIES

As Regional Log Team Leader, you will:

• Assess, evaluate and propose an adapted logistic set-up and a clear path to reach it in collaboration with the Regional Support team members and with the capital and project teams.
• Ensure a set-up which is offering appropriate support to the projects aiming at providing them more autonomy & increasing access to internal knowledge & expertise.
• Ensure a smooth flow of information and participate in the definition of an efficient logistic set-up and clear definition of roles and responsibilities between the partner’s sections, the projects, country teams.
• Promote a networked approach within the Logs in the region (use virtual meeting tools) in the different locations, linking the projects together and linking similar roles in the region.
• Optimize regional sharing of information, experiences, ideas, successes and failures.
• Evaluate the log set-up according to the expected answer in his context, propose an adapted log strategy for OPs RST Latam’s requirement, aligned with the log orientations Keep a global overview of the assets in the region deployable in case of emergency.Enhance and develop regional capacities with the functional support of the Logistic Department and in collaboration with MSF Brazil to ensure compliance with local legislation.
• Actively collaborate with the Log support unit dynamics and broadly with the Log department one.
• Support emergencies and, within this scope contributes to the Latam Emergency Hub
• Participate in EPREP discussions and challenge strategies. Find opportunities.

REQUIREMENTS

Education & experience

• A minimum of 5 years of humanitarian experience
• Minimum of 2 years of experience as MSF Logistics coordinator
• Relevant and solid experience in coaching
• Work experience in the region is an asset

Competencies

• Strategic vision
• Leadership
• Management and development of staff
• Service orientation
• Teamwork and cooperation
• Coaching & mirroring attitude with the teams

Languages

• Proficiency in English
• Proficiency in Spanish and/or Portuguese
• Knowledge of French is an asset

CONDITIONS

• Expected starting date : 01/03/2023
• Location: Rio de Janeiro
• Up to 30% mobility in the region
• Contract type: Fixed-term contract – Full time
• Contract duration: 1 year
• Salary as per MSF Field salary grid
• The contractual conditions will be established based on the station, on administrative / legal constraints and in respect of MSF function grids and salary policies
• Family position possible under certain conditions
• Adhere to the MSF principles and to our managerial values: Respect, Transparency, Integrity, Accountability, Trust and Empowerment
• Adhere to the MSF Behavioral Commitments

Deadline: 1 February 2023