Humanitarian Affairs Manager Full Time NEW

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. In Kenya, MSF-OCG (Switzerland) has a project in Dagahaley refugee camp and a project working to improve access to healthcare for Young/Adolescent and Key vulnerable populations in Mombasa County. MSF-OCG also responds to emergencies in the North-Eastern and the Coast regions of Kenya.

Duration: 12 Months (3 months’ probation period; renewable based on performance)

Start Date: February 2025

The selected candidate will report to the Deputy Head Of Mission and will receive techinical support from a Humanitarian Affairs Advisor (Headquarters).

Main Purpose

The Humanitarian Affairs Manager is responsible for actively monitoring and providing analysis of the relevant medical-humanitarian issues within Kenya. He/She manages advocacy activities across the MSF-OCG Kenya mission, in line with MSF policies and values and following the Operational management line. The Humanitarian Affairs Manager is a member of the MSF-OCG Kenya mission Country Management Team (CMT) and acts as a sparring-partner for all operational and medical teams.

Accountabilities

CORE TASKS

• Defines, implements and where relevant coordinates all MSF-OCG Kenya mission humanitarian affairs and advocacy activities on behalf of the Country Management Team (identifying medical-humanitarian issues of concern to MSF, drafting advocacy strategies, addressing medical-humanitarian priorities, and ensuring that advocacy objectives/activities are included in project and country-level operational strategies).
• Supervises the quality of project-level data collection tools (in line with MSF ethical guidelines) for analysis and advocacy purposes.
• Analyses and reports on key medical-humanitarian issues and trends.
• Provides regular updates on humanitarian aid system dynamics (e.g. other NGO and Donor community planning, Red Cross movement activities and positioning, etc.) to increase the leverage and impact of MSF-OCG advocacy in line with operational plans, regular activities and medical-humanitarian advocacy objectives.
• Drafts ad-hoc talking points and internal/external reports in relation to the main medical-humanitarian concerns while strengthening the integration of advocacy activities (analysis, critical reflection, contextual understanding, positioning) and operational communications.
• Advises CMT and (Dep)Head of Mission/Medical Coordinator on perception related to positioning and operational strategy in collaboration with the Field Communication Manager to reinforce good acceptance for the MSF-OCG Kenya mission projects.
• Drafts regular situation reports for the CMT and/or Headquarters as well as reports for external use in line with the MSF-OCG Kenya mission advocacy strategy.
• Line manages, supports and develops the capacity of the Humanitarian Affairs Officer.

DATA COLLECTION – ANALYSIS

• Designs and supports the implementation of data collection systems with regards to the medical-humanitarian context both within projects and at Kenyan national level (including potential regional/global repercussions, and local political/socio-economic developments in project locations), to provide reliable information for operational positioning and strategic decision-making.
• Provides data and discourse analysis in support of the (Dep)Head of Mission to inform MSF-OCG Kenya mission’s positioning in-country (from project-level to country-wide dynamics), particularly in terms of political / operational environment (legal/regulatory frameworks, donor/aid agreements, socio-economic developments, etc.).
• Proposes improvements in the methodologies and tools used while providing capacity-building and trainings/workshops to in-country teams as required.
• Undertakes actor mappings and stakeholders’ analyses on behalf of projects while providing guidance / support to Project Coordinators for the management of relations with local authorities.
• Provides strategic advice to the (Dep)Head of Mission and Medical Coordinator for national-level organizational positioning.

REPRESENTATION – COMMUNICATION

• Supports networking needs by participating in representation duties in non-project locations (on delegation from the (Dep)Head of Mission), including towards domestic civil society organizations, professional groups (doctors’/nurses’ associations), and local universities.
• Links with other MSF entities within Kenya to share analysis, define common positions and develop inter-MSF advocacy initiatives.
• On request/project basis, interacts with the international MSF advocacy network (reflection centres, HRT network, MSF Access to Products of Health campaign, etc.) to provide updated and contextualized medical-humanitarian content to support the defining of tailored advocacy strategies and messages.
• Leads discussions, trainings/workshops, briefings, etc. on the country’s medical-humanitarian context, MSF/humanitarian principles, international humanitarian law, medical ethics, and advocacy activities/strategies to raise the awareness of MSF-OCG Kenya mission’s national and international staff on these topics.

ON REQUEST

• Undertakes in-country assessments (in relation to data gathering/context analysis or exploratory assessments) and other work-related traveling as required.

CONTEXT-SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Maintains and provides on request solid analysis on the Kenyan refugee environment (policies, Shirika plan and differentiated assistance), Young/Adolescent and Key vulnerable populations, and any changes to overall health/humanitarian policies which affect these specific groups. Relevant analysis will require close engagement with all actors involved, (from governmental offices to international actors), to keep updated of developments and their potential impact.
• Contributes to a broader reflection within MSF-OCG on protracted refugee settings and on improving access to health services for young/adolescent and key vulnerable populations.
• Feeds the mission’s understanding and analysis of the medical and socio-economic impact of emerging issues such as climate change (repeated droughts and floods), the eveolving national/regional political context, and disease outbreaks.
• Supports exploratory missions and contributes to improving MSF-OCG Kenya mission’s context analysis, notably through the creation of an extensive network of key interlocutor

Requirements

Education

Essential: Masters’ level (Social/political sciences, -Medical- Anthropology, Law, Protection, Gender studies) with first-rate writing skills and excellent research / analytical skills

Experience

Essential: Field humanitarian experience in similar contexts (conflict, disasters, resource-poor environments) – previous MSF or other humanitarian NGOs advocacy experience required. Advocacy/Campaigning organizational experience is an asset.

Languages

Essential: English & Swahili

Knowledge

Essential: Computer literacy (database design/analysis, MS package, and internet-based research). Good understanding of current humanitarian debates and of dilemmas in modern humanitarian interventions