MSF-OCBA is looking for a Community Engagement Advisor For The Sahel & West-Central Africa (Position based in Dakar))

· MSF OCBA (Operational Centre Barcelona & Athens) is a medical humanitarian organization focused providing medical and humanitarian services to people affected by violence in conflict zones. We have a clear emergency drive and are committed to provide care to those more in need

We are seeking a dynamic individual with experience in humanitarian action and a sound knowledge of best practices in community engagement. We see community engagement through a broad lens which encompasses many facets of how conflict and violence affects our target communities. We want to put comprehensive needs and realities of people and communities at the centre of care delivery, empowering people to have a more active role in the design of care provision.

We are in an exciting moment of transformation to increasingly people centred models of care and delivery and we are looking for someone who enjoys the challenge of transformation work in this key area. Community engagement transcends all our work and we are also prioritising the application of a Protection lens in our work. The main priority of the work will be to land people centred approaches and protection and to devise practices that seek to better understand the needs of the different population segments and incorporate them into our programme design. We want to provide support of proximity to projects/missions of West and Central Africa to enhance comprehensive understanding of patients and community’s needs and hence adapt people-centred approaches to best provide medical and humanitarian response, including protection. Experience and lessons learnt will have to capitalize and shared amongst projects, mission and different stakeholders in order to maximize improvements on analysis and response to communities needs.

The person we seek should have a social sciences or humanities background and a solid experience in working with communities. The person will have excellent interpersonal skills as there are many cross organisational interlocutors and it is important to link with other disciplines and to avoid working in silos. We are increasingly moving towards multidisciplinary advisory models. The person should be a good communicator, digitally competent and able to work with, and produce outputs in a variety of mediums. The person should come from a cultural background compatible with working in the Sahel and West-Central Africa region and be prepared to travel to all project locations.

Qualifications, skill set & Experience

· Background in social sciences (sociology, anthropology or similar)

· Solid experience in community engagement in humanitarian sector

· Excellent interpersonal skills

· Capable communicator in multiple mediums

· Fluent in French and English

MSF OCBA is a people-focused humanitarian organization that offers a diverse, collaborative, and inclusive work environment. We believe this approach enhances our work and we are committed to equity in employment. We embrace diverse backgrounds of people working together to exhibit their passion in action for the social mission of MSF.

Médecins Sans Frontieres, as a responsible employer, under article 38 of “Ley de Integración Social del Minusválido de 1982 (LISMI)” invite those persons with a recognized disability and with an interest in the humanitarian area to apply for the above-mentioned position.