Head of Emergency Team

## **MSF Eastern Africa is looking for a Head of Emergency Team**

*Do your skills and experience not precisely match the requirements? At MSF EA, we strive to create a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace, recognizing the need to increase access to professional opportunities for historically underrepresented groups. If you're interested in this position but your experience doesn't align perfectly with the selection criteria, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the ideal candidate for this or other positions.*

*Firmly committed to safeguarding patients, community members, staff, and all those in contact with the organization from all forms of abuse, including sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH), we will take all necessary steps, through rigorous vetting processes, to ensure that confirmed perpetrators of abuse do not join the organization.*

*For this position, contact level with patients and children is categorized as **High** risk and will be monitored with this in regard.*

## ***Introduction***

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an international independent medical humanitarian organisation that provides assistance to people affected by conflicts, epidemics, and natural or human-made disasters and excluded from healthcare. We provide this assistance without discrimination, irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation.

## ***About MSF Eastern Africa***

MSF Eastern Africa is the regional institutional office of MSF. It focuses on representation and networking, recruiting and supporting staff from the region, communications and fundraising, as well as working on other dossiers of importance to MSF such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Data Protection, mutualization, training, medical operational support and environmental health.

## ***MSF Ubuntu***

**MSF Ubuntu** is the newest Operational Directorate of Médecins Sans Frontières, grounded in the philosophy of Ubuntu – “I am because we are”. With a strong emphasis on interdependence, interoperability, and locally grounded action, MSF Ubuntu aims to strengthen medical humanitarian response by placing communities at the centre of decision‑making.

## ***Rationale/Objective for Position***

The Head of Emergency team (E-team) is responsible for the set up, strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight of MSF Ubuntu’s emergency prevention, preparedness and response activities.

The role ensures timely, effective, community involved humanitarian medical responses to crises, in line with MSF Ubuntu principles, medical standards, and operational priorities.

The position plays a key role in shaping emergency strategy of the OD, strengthening readiness, supporting country program teams, and ensuring quality, accountability, and learning across emergency interventions.

This position will be **hierarchically** and **functionally** accountable to the ***Director of Operations (DirOps)***.

## ***Tasks & Responsibilities***

**Strategic Leadership and Emergency Preparedness**

- Define and lead MSF Ubuntu’s emergency preparedness and response strategy (applying a ‘disaster management cycle’ approach) in alignment with MSF Ubuntu principles and operational priorities.
- Ensure MSF Ubuntu’s emergency preparedness and responses incorporate a strong community involvement and people centeredness, and climate scanning and adaptation in all stages of emergency response.
- Ensure emergency preparedness and response policies, systems, tools are in place (including surveillance, anticipatory action, early warning and action protocols, contingency planning, and surge capacity etc).
- Define emergency scenario stocks and supplies required in close collaboration and working with the medical and logistics departments.
- Identify and lead building strong capacity on specific areas (for e.g. nutrition, vaccination, community WASH etc) benefitting MSF Ubuntu and MSF movement.
- Contribute towards wider development of MSF Ubuntu’s strategic planning through critical reflections and learning.
- In conjunction with the DirMed and DirOp, set up the e-team unit, hiring appropriate staff and developing MSF Ubuntu specific capacities.
- Promote interdepartmental collaborations and coherence including Safeguarding, DEI domains

**Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response Management**

- Lead exploratory assignment in identified locations and support opening and closing programs (includes stable settings).
- Continuous scanning and monitoring of contexts and identify potential emergency intervention as per MSF Ubuntu’s strategic plan and priorities.
- Lead and coordinate responses to emergencies, epidemics, conflicts, and other crises.
- Provide strategic and technical guidance to emergency team members, country program teams during preparedness and response (including Emergency preparedness plans in country programs).
- Support decision-making on activation, scale-up, adaptation, or exit of emergency in