Médecins du Monde: Medical Field Advisor

OCCUPATION DESCRIPTION: Medical Field Advisor job description

I.   CONTEXT OF INTERVENTION

Médecins du Monde (MdM) is an international humanitarian organization whose mission is to provide medical care for the most vulnerable populations, the world over, including France. It seeks to stimulate voluntary commitment from doctors, other medical care providers, and from those whose expertise in other fields is needed for its activities, to enlist all competent support required for the achievement of its projects, and to seek at all times to encourage close working relationships with populations in its care.


MdM France is present in Bulgaria since 2004, in the neighborhood “Nadezhda” in Sliven. Through the years, the project evolved, and currently, under the umbrella of “Environmental health”, the project has two main health components: “Sexual and reproductive health and rights” and “Mental health and psychosocial support”.
The mission plans to conduct exploratory missions, and potentially develop other similar activities elsewhere in Bulgaria or in Romania, in order to increase the presence of the organization in the region and develop a European vision and advocacy strategy on public health for the most vulnerable.

II.    MAIN MISSION:

To provide technical supervision in the design, planning and implementation of the mission’s paramedical activities. To ensure the operational roll-out of the intervention strategy, technical support, quality and relevance of the activities, practices and information. To directly or indirectly lead/supervise teams (line management or operational management).
To participate in the definition of the country strategy led by the general coordinator.

III.    MAIN ACTIVITIES:

Support to the operations

• Participate to the design and monitoring of projects activities and participate to the validation in terms of organization, relevance, consistency and structure.
• Make recommendations and proposals to modify and adapt activities and identify opportunities to develop new activities, in accordance with the coordination team. Follows the referral system, monitors, adapts, analyses and proposes advice (advocacy line) to the GenCo and the medical referent in head-quarters, on MdM’s field of work.
• Create and disseminate tools, guidelines and training and awareness-raising materials according to the needs of the mission.
• Provide technical supervision, capacity building and support for teams (MdM and/or partners), identify training needs.
• Implement and monitor the collection of data, manage and train teams on this matter, compile and provide data analysis
• Participate to plan resources (logistics, finance, HR).
• Participate to the technical evaluation of partners.
• Monitor the budget for these activities and contribute to the construction of the budget.
• Monitoring of medical safety of project teams within the context of the MdM policy and procedures, and under the HQ health advisor  

Analysis and reporting

• Carry out public health analysis and epidemiological monitoring at the national and regional levels.
• Design and conduct needs and impact assessments with the general coordinator.
• Contribute to the health and paramedical components of draft proposals and donor reports.
• Write activity reports, capitalization reports, summaries, etc.
• Analyze activity reports from MdM and/or partner teams

Representation and advocacy

• Identify national and regional actors in the theme and participate to (or lead if necessary) the relevant network
• Contribute towards advocacy work
• Be the technical representative of MdM with authorities, partners and other NGOs
• Dissemination of medical / scientific data and results if necessary, with the advocacy officer and in accordance with the General coordinator.

IV.    MANAGEMENT

• The medical field advisor is working in close collaboration with all team members, and especially with the Project manager.

The medical field advisor is providing technical support and is responsible for the two technical officers of the project (SRHR + MHPSS Officers).
-    Planning and monitoring activities and implementing corrective action where necessary

• Depending on the evolution of the mission, the field medical advisor may manage and lead a team (information, setting objectives, monitoring activities, managing leave, recruitment, discipline, security, training, skills management).

• Advise, arbitrate, and support measures to be taken in the event of difficulties, malfunctions and incidents, in accordance with the general coordinator.

This list of activities is not exhaustive and may change depending on the situation.

V.    MAIN SKILLS:

• Excellent organizational skills / Ability to classify and to manage priorities
• Ability to listen and share decisions / Ability to take effective decisions according to the context
• Flexibility, reactivity, anticipation, adaptability, capacity to take initiatives
• Understand national and international medical and paramedical standards and protocols and MdM frameworks.
• Understand a healthcare system (including organisation, curriculum of medical profiles and national healthcare programmes), analyse medical data and indicators, summarise the broad outlines (public health capacities).
• Capacity to assess needs, evaluate the impact of actions, adjust and adapt operational activities to the constraints, define operational strategies, outcomes, results.
• Good analysis and writing skills.
• Organized and results oriented mindset.
• Ability to transfer competences to colleagues, build capacities in others, develop tools according to the needs.
• Good social and communication skills: create and develop a network of professionals, work in a multi-disciplinary team, discuss and negotiate with healthcare authorities.
• Integrate and communicate MdM values and positions
• Master the language of the coordination (French or English) and the language of the country (Bulgarian)
• Use the Microsoft Office Pack, Management skills

VI.  HIERARCHICAL AND FUNCTIONAL LINKS

Hierarchical link: General Coordinator (line manager), SRH and MHPSS Officers (under the responsibility of the Medical field advisor
Functional link: Medical Advisor (HQ)

VII. PROFILE AND CONDITIONS

Medical or paramedical background as doctor, nurse or midwife. Depending on the profile, a public health education can be an option.
Technical skills in health project management.
Previous experience as a health/medical advisor or health/medical coordinator in humanitarian/development context is an asset.
fixed term (1 year with possibility of prolongation) Bulgarian labor contract with Médecins du Monde branch Sliven. Based in Sofia or Sliven, frequent travels (minimum 1 week per month).

If you are interested, please send your CV to MdM at adminco.bulgaria@medecinsdumonde.net