International Medical Secretary

Location:Geneva, Switzerland Contract:Full-time contract subject to a minimum term of 3 years, renewable once Starting date:01st March 2027 Deadline to apply:30th October 2026 Compensation and benefits:MSF practice is to offer the C&B package current in the MSF entity establishing the contract. CONTEXT Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural disasters. MSF offers assistance to people based only on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. MSF International is the legal entity that binds MSF’s 24 sections, 28 associations and 19 branch offices together. MSF International provides coordination, representation, information and support to the MSF movement and implements international projects and initiatives as requested. As a medical humanitarian organization, medical leadership is central to MSF’s social mission, enabling the organization to provide medical quality care to populations in need. The International Medical Secretary (IMS) is the most senior executive medical leadership role in MSF International. The position sits at the intersection of medical, operational, executive, and associative dynamics and ensures that MSF’s medical identity, medical-operational priorities, and ethical considerations are reflected in movement-wide discussions and decision-making. The IMS works in close collaboration with the International President (IP), the International Secretary General (ISG), medical and operational leadership platforms, and other international stakeholders, while overseeing the International Medical Secretariat. Overall, the IMS currently oversees 56 colleagues and a EUR 6.6. million budget. As a member of the MSF International Office (IO) Leadership Team (LT), the IMS also contributes to IO direction, policy and other movement priorities. PURPOSE OF THE JOB As the most senior executive medical leader in MSF International, the IMS works jointly with the IP and ISG in ensuring coherence between the executive and associative arms of the MSF movement, enforcing accountability and implementation of medical operations according to the MSF Charter and Principles, and promoting leadership with integrity. It provides strategic medical leadership across MSF International to strengthen MSF’s medical identity, guide medical-operational priorities, and ensure that executive and movement-wide decision-making are informed by medical, ethical, and operational considerations. Chairs the relevant international medical-operational platform(s) and leads the International Medical Secretariat in order to support coherence, accountability, and forward-looking positioning of MSF on key medical humanitarian issues. Represents MSF on selected high level external medical platforms, leading MSF’s international medical positioning on priority issues, influencing the greater global health discourse and ensuring MSF is equipped to engage with a changing humanitarian and global health environment. ACCOUNTABILITIES OF THE ROLE 1. Provide strategic medical leadership to MSF International, including ethical oversight The incumbent will provide senior medical perspective to MSF Movement executive leadership, promoting the centrality of medical operations in the articulation of the organization’s humanitarian identity and strategic direction. They ensure that medical operations, ethics, quality of care, patient-centered approaches, and safeguarding are central to MSF’s humanitarian identity and strategic direction. The role provides senior leadership on key medical-operational issues, institutional positioning, and implications for the movement; oversees quality assurance and supports the development of medical policies across fields. It fosters innovation, learning, and cross-movement exchange on evolving medical practices and standards and leads the International Medical Secretariat. As a member of the Leadership Team, they contribute to strong cross-functional collaboration and the effective functioning of the International Office. As a result, the medical priorities, medical identity, and medical-operational realities are reflected in movement-wide direction and executive decision-making. 2. Lead and steward collective medical-operational reflection and prioritization and strengthen coherence and collaboration across medical, operational, executive, and associative bodies The incumbent will chair the Medical-Operational Directorate Platform, setting its strategic direction and enabling collective decision-making on major medical-operational issues. They will facilitate shared analysis, alignment, and follow-up on priority medical-operational challenges, opportunities, innovations, and cross-movement investments. The role is expected to maintain effective links between relevant MSF international platforms and medical/operational actors, bringing forward key concerns and recommendations and supporting mutual understanding across strategic, executive, and operational levels. They will collaborate closely in steering MSF Access. As a result, MSF’s international medical priorities are coherent, relevant, and actionable across the movement; and key medical issues are connected across the movement 3. Lead the medical-operational mutual accountability processes The role oversees the annual medical-operational mutual accountability exercise, including reporting, analysis, and reflection processes. It provides recommendations to executive platforms and ensures communication on the process and its outcomes, supporting critical reflection on operational relevance, medical strategy, implementation of agreed ambitions, and accountability against movement priorities and international commitments. MSF will have stronger collective reflection, learning, and follow-up on medical-operational performance and commitments. 4. Lead MSF’s international medical positioning on priority issues and represent MSF externally The incumbent will identify priority medical and medical-operational issues requiring movement-wide positioning, representation, or engagement, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, while supporting the development of coherent medical messaging and positioning with internal stakeholders. They will represent MSF with selected external actors, networks, and partners on strategic medical humanitarian issues, and contribute to guiding DNDi. MSF will thus be better equipped to engage with a changing humanitarian and global health environment and influences relevant health stakeholders as adequate. In close collaboration with MSF technical representation by IMC. AUTONOMY, COMPLEXITY Autonomy to think and act The IMS operates with a high degree of autonomy within the mandate of the role, setting priorities for the International Medical Secretariat and exercising independent judgment on complex medical-operational, ethical, and representational matters. The role is expected to advise senior leadership, represent externally, shape agendas, set and advance medical policies, and determine how to advance collective medical priorities, while aligning with MSF’s governance, executive frameworks, and institutional direction. Complexity of the environment The role operates in a highly complex international environment involving multiple governance and executive bodies, diverse operational directorates, cross-sectional dynamics, and evolving humanitarian and global health challenges. It requires navigating ambiguity, balancing medical, operational, political, and associative perspectives, and building alignment in situations where interests, priorities, and interpretations may differ. SAFEGUARDING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ROLE The incumbent commits to contribute to a safe, supportive, inclusive, equitable, diverse, respectful and healthy workplace, free from abuse