Anthropology Unit Lead at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

Rationale/Objective for Position

The Anthropology Unit Lead is responsible for establishing and leading the Anthropology Unit within MSF East Africa. This role is central to building trust and acceptance with the communities we serve by designing programs, tools, and approaches that deepen understanding of social and cultural dynamics. By embedding anthropological insights into operations, the Unit Lead will strengthen MSF’s commitment to a more people-centered approach, ensuring that humanitarian interventions are contextually appropriate, culturally sensitive, and ethically sound. The unit will play a transversal role to contribute to MSF becoming a more people-centered organization.

This position will be hierarchically and functionally accountable to Executive Manager

Tasks & Responsibilities

Strategic Responsibilities

• Actively participate in the development and review of the overall organizational strategy.
• Develop, review, and implement Anthropology Unit strategy.
• Contribute to organization-wide strategies and processes to advance MSF’s thematic and operational priorities, its methodological approaches, and values for strong community engagement strategies.
• Provide socio-cultural and situational analysis to guide operational decisions, humanitarian access, and program design.
• Develop and implement more people-centric and community-led approach systems and activities.
• Build knowledge within the movement to contribute to organization learning.

Technical and Operational Responsibilities

Anthropology Unit Positioning, Operationalization, and Management

• Position the Anthropology Unit as a technical support platform for MSF operational missions in the region.
• Develop and implement the Anthropology Unit framework and applicable approaches in relation to MSF field operations.
• Establish and build the structure and the capacities of the Unit.
• Identify key areas of interest and develop pertinent links and partnerships with operations across other MSF entities in the region and globally.
• Contribute to organizational decision-making through formal and informal engagement, especially through participation in leadership meetings and cross-organizational working groups.
• External networking and partnerships.

Program Development and Operations Support

• Support and advise the operations teams during the conception, implementation, and monitoring of medical and paramedical projects.
• Continuously consolidate information on local knowledge and practices during emergencies/crises to enable productive dialogue and accommodation between affected individuals, groups and communities, and field operation teams.
• Support the operations teams on context and security analysis and management.
• Organize, conduct, and facilitate field visits and intersectional forums wherever and whenever it is necessary across MSF units and sections.
• Contribute to missions and prepare mission reports for implementation and dissemination.
• Provide rapid social/situational analysis during emergencies, outbreaks, and humanitarian crises.

Build Knowledge and Learning Promotion

• Conduct field capitalization and operational research on thematic and emerging areas relevant to medical and paramedical projects/programs across MSF.
• Initiate and contribute to collaborative programs for enhancing innovation, new interventions, and leadership in emerging areas of humanitarian interest across the movement.
• Facilitate dissemination of research results, learnings, and best practices through internal and external platforms including publication.
• Collect, analyze, and update cognitive material related to MSF missions in East Africa.
• Identify relevant stakeholders and actors in anthropology applied to the humanitarian context.
• Develop, plan, and facilitate trainings for the Unit's and other sections as may be needed.
• Build, manage, and update the Unit's database.
• Assist in creating and refining research questions as a base for developing rigorous concept notes and study protocols.
• Ensure methodologies chosen are adequate and appropriate to the research question.
• Draft or review study documents to ensure adherence to MSF Ethics Review Board (ERB) guidance and requirements for ethical review.
• Provide technical support and guidance to Principal Investigator(s) and the research team at large, strengthening their research skills.
• Provide editorial and writing support of OR outputs: assist in writing manuscripts, research or policy briefs, and other outputs related to OR.
• Data analysis: Provide direct support to ensure appropriate data management, solid data analysis, and theoretical interpretation of findings, including statistical analysis where applicable, based on reflexivity, positionality, and acquired theoretical knowledge on the specific topic.
• Support the sharing of research findings, both internally and externally, including publications and presentations at conferences/workshops.

Transversal and Intersectional Capacity Strengthening and Contribution

• Formulate effective interventions for impactful responses while building local capacity for community engagement and local health promotion.
• Participate, support, advise, and foster strategic engagement and partnership with other relevant Units, sections, and operational missions.
• Engage in transversal and intersectional information-sharing and lesson learning on key policy and strategy issues and contribute to building synergies across programmes and Sections.

Other Responsibilities

Ubuntu support:

• Offer support to the Head of Community Engagement in their implementation of the Community Engagement across the project portfolio. All support to be agreed with the Head of Community Engagement before any activities are delivered.
• Field visits to Ubuntu projects as per request

Others:

• Lead, mentor, coach and supervise staff in the Anthropology Unit.
• Develop annual plans and budgets for the Anthropology Unit. • Develop and supervise terms of reference for consultants and short-term experts as may be needed.
• Organize, contribute to, and facilitate thematic communities of practice in the region and across the MSF movement • Ensure accurate integration of EDI & Safeguarding aspects into all policies and practices within the unit.
• Recognize, respond, and document any form of abuse or inappropriate behavior and alert the safeguarding unit of any suspected potential abuse.
• Compliance Assurance - Ensure that all data processing activities within the unit comply with relevant data protection laws and regulations in your area of operation, including the Data Protection Act, 2019 and support your team to receive necessary training in this area.
• Policy Adherence - Enforce data protection policies, procedures, and guidelines within the unit, ensuring that all team members are aware of and adhere to these protocols.
• Proactively participate in the individual performance management process including objective setting, performance monitoring and performance evaluation.
• Recognize and reinforce strong performance in the Anthropology unit; identify and encourage improvement where needed; and ensure quality and timely performance management process is carried out for the Anthropology unit.

Qualifications

Education

• A Master’s degree in Anthropology, from a recognized academic institution.
• Excellent knowledge and experience in cross/multicultural communication and collaboration.
• Fluency/excellent level of written and spoken English; knowledge of French and other languages is an advantage.

Experience

• At least five (5) years of demonstrated experience in medical humanitarian field operations, in any relevant field.
• Complex development sector project management experience.
• Experience in knowledge generation and research, community engagement, or a similar role.
• Experience working in a multi-cultural, diverse environment, including urban and rural communities.
• Published papers would be advantageous.
• Demonstrated experience in the subject matter, including design strategies in a multifaceted and diverse stakeholder organization.
• Commitment to and experience of advancing multicultural collaboration, learning, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.