Mobile Support Technician PCA at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

MAIN PURPOSE

• To provide 1st and 2nd line (remote or in person) technical support to MSF missions in people-centered approach and to contribute to capacity building of field staff through the application and transfer of technical know-how and expertise, to enable the development of the missions in perfect working conditions and optimize the impact of the projects with a specific focus on the community engagement aspects related to PCA.

ACCOUNTABILITIES
In collaboration with the field coordination teams, work with mission staff (and in particular with Health Promotion/Community Engagement manager) to promote relevant technical awareness and to improve technical delivery in PCA, providing support and advice in accordance with Terms of Reference agreed with the mission, normally comprising the following responsibilities:

• Carry out a rapid assessment (using participatory processes) of the level of engagement and disengagement with the community and other key stakeholders (patients and caregivers, MoH, staff, other actors). Use this process to define a (rough) baseline of the level of social acceptance of MSF activities and levels of satisfaction from communities and staff.
• Facilitate the design or adaptation of the engagement strategy with key stakeholders (community, patients and caregivers, MoH, staff, other actors) involving the project coordination team.
• Develop and initiate the implementation of a plan to establish participatory and inclusive engagement with key stakeholders (in the facilities and in the communities) and to set up relevant and adapted feedback/accountability mechanisms, ensuring that the perspectives/interests of the various segments of the population are taken into account
• Support in the implementation of CE toolkit and establish mechanisms to document and analyse key information gathered through engagement with key stakeholders (qualitative and quantitative) and ensure that it is used to:
•  Detect needs/gaps and monitor/evaluate/learn/contribute to the improvements of the quality of services provided under a continuous quality improvement framework
•  continuously improve the understanding of the population and how the crisis is affecting them, and
•  for strategic discussions of the project’s overall strategy (operational adaptation, engagement and advocacy)
• Strengthening transversal collaboration and facilitating (through training, coaching or mentoring) in-depth understanding of the people centred approach.
• Facilitating team learning and providing on-the-job training on technical basics related to specialisation according to MSF standards to effectively implement relevant methodologies, systems, and tools and ensure best practice is delivered.
• Through learning and documentation of best practices, develop informative content related to PCA for dissemination within MSF-OCBA under the supervision of the PCA manager.
• Upon request of the hierarchical manager and in coordination with the relevant technical referents in HQ, develop new policies, tools, protocols and SOPs related to his/her area of expertise (with a local, regional or even global approach).

Contributing to the continuous learning and development of the department by:

• Drafting reports and action plans following field visits to capture experiences and lessons learnt.
• Contributing to the development and testing of field tools, practices, guidelines and policies based on insights gained in the job.
• Developing and maintaining knowledge of practices and approaches within the area of expertise, and to share this knowledge with others to enhance operational effectiveness.

Providing direct field intervention:

• Upon request, participate in emergency operations. 

REQUIREMENTS
Education:

• Either (1) a university degree in social sciences, social communication, health promotion or related studies, or (2) sufficient relevant work experience to develop the necessary expertise to fulfil the role (which would include community engagement and/or project management experience).

Experience:

• 5 years of relevant experience.
• At least 3 years’ experience in community engagement in the field, of which at least 2 in a humanitarian setting.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitation of participatory processes.
• Demonstrated capacity for interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
• Experience in the development of strategies and workplans.
• Experience in training.

Languages:

• English and French essential (Spanish desirable).

Knowledge:

• Essential computer literacy (word, excel and internet).

CONDITIONS

• Home based, with frequent field visits (between 50-70% of the time).
• Full time job.
• Temporary position (maternity cover): 6 months with possibility of extension of maximum 1 year.
• Annual Gross salary: L5 IRP2 (divided in 12 monthly payments) + secondary benefits based on MSF OCBA Reward Policy.
• Starting date: 1 October 2023.