Head of Community Engagement at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

Purpose of the Role

• The Head of Community Engagement reports to Director of Operations; member of Executive Management Team.
• Key role: Institutionalize CE strategically and operationally across all departments (Operations, Medical, Advocacy, Communications, HR); ensure people/community-centredness, protection, equity, empowerment, and AAP in all projects/decisions; lead development/implementation of CE Policy, Framework, and Operational Manual in collaboration with partners.
• This position will be hierarchically and functionally accountable to Director of Operations.

Tasks & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Lead the development, implementation, and institutionalisation of the Ubuntu Community Engagement Framework, including related policies, standards, and operational tools.
• Embed People-Centred and Protection principles across all operational departments (Medical, Logistics, HR, Advocacy, Communications).
• Integrate Information, Education, Communication, and Health Promotion (IECHP) strategies into the CE framework to ensure communities receive timely, accurate, and culturally relevant health information.
• Advise the Director of Operations and Management Team on CE strategy, alignment, and performance.
• Ensure CE approaches reflect the 7 Cs and MSF’s operational values of interdependence, equity, and solidarity.
• Promote interdepartmental collaboration and coherence across CE, AAP, Protection, Inclusion, Safeguarding, and IECHP workstreams.

Context Analysis, Security Management, and Access Negotiations Support

• Work in close coordination with the access and security teams to provide community-level analysis that informs security risk assessments and access strategies.
• Develop community networks and provide insights on local tensions, power dynamics, and perceived threats to support acceptance-based security management.
• Support the access and security teams in the development and implementation of nuanced security management and access approaches grounded in community acceptance.
• Facilitate engagement and sustained community dialogue to build trust, relationships and assist access negotiations.
• Analyse community perceptions and relationships with non-state actors to assist the access and security teams in enabling access to hard-to-reach and contested areas.
• Support negotiated access processes to ensure programming proceeds safely and with informed community consent.

 Technical Guidance and Project Support

• Provide expert support to programmes, countries and projects for the practical integration of CE into planning, assessments, project design, implementation, and evaluation.
• Strengthen participatory mechanisms such as community committees, dialogue platforms, and patient charters to enable community leadership and shared decision-making.
• Oversee the development and delivery of IECHP initiatives, including community awareness campaigns, educational sessions, and communication materials tailored to local needs.
• Supervise the integration of social science, anthropology, and qualitative research into operational design to improve contextual understanding and local ownership.
• Ensure all departments in the projects and in the OD embed community engagement as a transversal, cross cutting issue.
• Ensure CE and IECHP learnings inform adaptive programming, protection strategies, advocacy, and health promotion interventions.

Safeguarding, and Inclusion

• Apply established safeguarding and protection frameworks within community engagement activities, in close coordination with Safeguarding, DEI, and Medical teams.
• Ensure community engagement approaches are ethical, culturally appropriate, and protection-sensitive, in line with organisational DEI and safeguarding standards.
• Support project teams to engage meaningfully with diverse and historically marginalised community groups, based on guidance and priorities defined by the EDI function.
• Act as a technical resource to programme teams on inclusive and safe community engagement practices, without assuming policy or compliance ownership.
• Build partnerships with external experts, IECHP specialists, and humanitarian protection networks to strengthen Ubuntu’s community outreach and health promotion competencies.

Knowledge Management and Capacity Building

• Develop and implement a Community Engagement Learning and Knowledge Management Strategy in collaboration with Operations and L&D teams.
• Oversee CE and IECHP-related training materials, toolkits, and learning modules (including integration in Tembo and MSF CE Communities of Practice).
• Mentor CE focal points, IECHP teams, and programme leaders (HoPs, MedCos, Project Coordinators) to build a strong leadership pipeline in both CE and health promotion.
• Coordinate documentation and dissemination of best practices, lessons learned, and operational innovations in CE and IECHP.

Representation and Partnerships

• Represent MSF Ubuntu in MSF international platforms on CE Technical Working Groups.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with civil society organisations, CBOs, patient and survivor networks, local health systems, academic institutions, and IECHP networks.
• Engage with regional advocacy coalitions, research forums, and humanitarian coordination bodies to advance Ubuntu’s CE and IECHP agenda, in close coordination with AARN department.
• Promote knowledge sharing, advocacy, and cross-learning between MSF OCs, IECHP experts, and external partners.

Qualifications

Education:

• Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Anthropology, Public Health, Development Studies, or International Relations or equivalent. Relevant professional experience would be considered in lieu of the above qualifications.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of professional experience of working with communities, preferably in humanitarian or public health operations, with at least 2 years in senior project leadership roles in Community Engagement.
• Proven track record in developing and implementing CE or AAP frameworks within complex humanitarian contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in capacity building, mentoring, and cross-departmental coordination.
• Experience with MSF operations or similar international humanitarian organisations highly desirable.
• Knowledge of international protection standards, accountability frameworks, and EDI principles.

Languages:

• Essential: Proficiency in English.
• Desired: Swahili, Arabic, French or other MSF working languages.

Competencies:

• Commitment to MSF Principles
• Strategic Vision
• Leadership and People Management
• Results and Quality Orientation
• Behavioral Flexibility
• Teamwork and Cooperation
• Communication and influence.
• Service orientation.
• Cultural competency.
• Initiative and innovation.
• Conflict resolution and promoting dialogue.