Für MSF im Ausland arbeiten

Heading off on mission with Médecins Sans Frontières is no trivial matter. In addition to using your professional skills, you will need to demonstrate commitment to the populations at risk and respect the values described in the MSF Charter.

The values laid out in the  Charter – neutrality, impartiality, non-discrimination, personal commitment, medical ethics and respect for human dignity – are lived and practiced daily, through decisions made by the organisation as a whole and by each of its members individually. We expect MSF staff to understand these values and make them their own.

Before taking the first steps to work with MSF abroad, you should understand the reasons behind your decision. Are you idealising our work, or making an informed decision? Do your motivations and values go hand in hand with MSF’s mission?

It is also important that you understand the day-to-day realities facing MSF employees who often live and work in unfamiliar surroundings, under difficult and stressful conditions. If you want to leave for an MSF mission, we recommend that you read through the sections below. This will help you gain a better understanding of the implications of making this commitment.

When applying to MSF, you need to be aware that we work to improve access to healthcare for vulnerable populations in countries where the following factors can be in play:

• Flagrant abuses of human rights.
   
• Women, men and children, depending on their ethnic, social or tribal origins, may not be able to enjoy rights that are generally accepted and recognised in western societies.
   
• Homosexuality may be punished by the law.
   
• Rape may be used as a weapon of war.
   
• Infectious diseases and epidemics are common.

For MSF, the safety and security of staff is a priority. You may be asked to live and work in unstable countries where your life could be in danger. For all of our projects, handbooks have been created to limit risks as far as possible.

Working with MSF in the field means representing MSF day and night, every day of the week, even during your free time and on holiday. Everyone is responsible for their own safety and the safety of their team. 

Following MSF’s security rules may limit your movements and interactions with the local population outside of working hours. However, it is essential that you understand that your actions, as a member of MSF’s staff, can have an impact not only on the people you are interacting with but also on the MSF project and, as a result, can directly impact upon beneficiaries. As such, it is vital that you follow the rules laid down by MSF. When your working day is over, you may have to observe a curfew and may have to remain within the MSF compound.

When working abroad with MSF, you will have to adapt to many changes, including food, accommodation, daily routine, recreation and language. A new lifestyle is awaiting you, where free time and privacy can be in short supply. You may have to share your bedroom and bathroom. You need to be sure that you can do without normal creature comforts before applying to MSF.

MSF projects can take place in locations where the weather conditions are not always mild (extreme heat or cold, high humidity, heavy rainfall or desert climate). You will also be a long way from your friends and family for several months at a time. Communication can be difficult.

Working in the field requires you to be in good health and have a healthy lifestyle which ensures that you remain so. This is in fact the best way to avoid diseases and to be able to carry out all the tasks required of you. As such, appropriate vaccinations are also essential, as are certain preventive measures (against malaria, for example).

Working in the field with MSF can create a stressful environment. Many factors can contribute to this: completely changing environment, basic living conditions, local food, distance from friends and family, potential health issues, strained relationships between fellow team members, feeling unsafe, frequent project changes and relationships with the local authorities that can be difficult, etc.

Have you asked yourself the following questions ?

• How do you handle stress in your daily life?
   
• Being part of a field team means you need to be ready to offer solutions at any time. Have you previously lived and worked in a group of 3 to 10 people for extended periods?
   
• Are you a good communicator and leader?
   
• Can you put aside your personal problems so that you can carry out the work you are asked to do?
   
• What do you find stressful and how can you handle this within a team?

Working abroad means leaving your loved ones for a certain period of time, usually between 6 and 12 months. What impact will being away for up to a year have on your private life?

Also consider the impact a difficult working environment will have on your morale. Being assigned to a mission abroad is of course exciting, but the return home can be trying for both you and your family: working in the field leaves its marks.

There are cultural differences and while they can be enriching, they can also lead to misunderstandings. Punctuality at work, relationships with superiors and between men and women can vary between countries.

Being tolerant of people who think and act differently than you is essential. Tolerance and mutual respect are key values within Médecins Sans Frontières.

MSF bases its humanitarian actions on the principles and values included in its Charter. These values and ideals – neutrality, impartiality, non-discrimination, personal commitment, medical ethics and respect for human dignity – are lived and practiced daily, through decisions made by the organisation as a whole and by each of its members individually.

Going on a mission for Médecins Sans Frontières requires preparation and thought. In addition to offering your professional skills, you must show dedication to populations under threat, respect the values and principles outlined in the MSF Charter, and behave responsibly.

These values and principles are put into practice every day, through decisions made by the organisation as a whole and by each individual member. We expect MSF staff to understand our values and embody them.

We are looking for people that want to commit to multiple missions. Hiring and training an employee is a major investment for MSF and we want to hire expats who want to grow within the organisation.

Previous experience helps to ensure that skills are of a sufficient level and ensure credibility with local contacts. Internships are not recognised as professional experience.

During conflicts and other violent situations, MSF teams offer healthcare services to the entire population, provide care to refugees and people who have become displaced within their own country.

Given the nature of our mission and the contexts we operate in, we ask that our staff leave for missions without their partner and/or family.

Applicants recruited by the Brussels headquarters must have good French and English language skills. These two languages are the most used on missions. Knowledge of Arabic (as well as Spanish or Portuguese) would be a major asset.

In order to leave with MSF, you must be in good health and have received the standard vaccinations (as a minimum: measles, yellow fever, DTP and polio). Depending on which country you are sent to, you may also need to receive additional vaccinations and take preventive measures to avoid certain diseases.

Before sending off your online application, carefully read the page on ’working in the field’ and in particular the sections general criteria and profiles sought. 

If you would like more information, you can attend one of our information sessions. 

You can also contact the MSF Luxembourg HR department by email via catherine.jager@luxembourg.msf.org

Fill in our application form here.

Only applications accompanied by a cover letter and CV in French or English, plus a copy of your degree will be considered.

Apply here if you are a surgeon, orthopaedic surgeon, gynaecologist or anaesthetist!

The protection of your personal data is import to MSF. By submitting your application, you consent to MSF using your personal data. For more information, consult our privacy notice to job applicants.
 

We will examine all applications and do our utmost to give a response within one month.

If you meet all of our recruitment criteria, we will contact you for an initial telephone conversation about your application. This discussion will be used as the basis for whether or not you are invited to proceed to the next step.

The interview will take place in our offices in Brussels, by telephone or by Skype.

We may also ask you to carry out an individual field practice drill.

If you are recruited, you will follow training for a first mission which will last one or two weeks, depending on your profile. 

This training takes place in Brussels or in one of our partner sections and is fully paid for by MSF.

When you are recruited, you will be added to a reserve pool for your profile. When a position matching your profile and skills is available, you will receive all of the information and briefings before leaving for the field.