Project Manager - MSF ACCESS

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Nairobi, Brussels, Dakar or Rio de Janeiro

Contract: Permanent contract at 100%

Duration: Indefinite

Starting date: 01 September 2025

Deadline to apply: 06.07.2025

Compensation and benefits: MSF practice is to offer the C&B package current in the MSF entity establishing the contract.

This job description may evolve according to the finalized MSF ACCESS Strategic Plan, although its main parameters (scope, area of expertise) should not be essentially altered. Until that key stage, the incumbent is expected to demonstrate a degree of flexibility in the performance of their work. 

I. MSF INTERNATIONAL

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural disasters. MSF offers assistance to people based only on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

MSF International is the legal entity that binds MSF’s 24 sections, 27 associations and 18 branch offices together. Registered in Switzerland, MSF International provides coordination, information and support to the MSF Movement, as well as implements international projects and initiatives as requested.

MSF Access 

Médecins Sans Frontières works tirelessly to improve the accessibility, availability, affordability, appropriateness and quality of products for health care for the populations it assists and their communities. While this is a collective effort across the organisation, the MSF Access team plays a central role as it identifies and implements a priority selection of access projects, offers expert support for access activities elsewhere in MSF, and brings together information and analysis relevant to MSF’s access work. The MSF Access team, overseen by an Executive Board, is based around five regional hubs: Kuala Lumpur, Nairobi, Brussels, Dakar and Rio de Janeiro.  

II. POSITION BACKGROUND

The MSF Access Project Manager will support the project management elements of validating, evaluating, executing, and scaling projects and portfolios across the MSF Access team. That way, the Project Manager will impact the project mode basis for MSF Access, which is prescribed to run most if not all activities on a project management and planning basis. The impact of supporting and leading the staff in a unified project management methodology and a shared system and tool is to achieve the set goals and outcomes. In the first part of this position, the project manager will spend a significant part of their time on supporting the relevant MSF Access team members to format the Strategic Plan ambitions into a project logic. 

III. PLACE IN THE ORGANISATION

The Project Manager is part of the MSF Access team of MSF International. He/she reports to Head of Resources and works closely with key staff in all five Operational Centres of MSF.         

IV. MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• The core accountability is the coordination and functioning of a smooth and manageable project management and planning, its supporting systems and tools and widespread understanding, improvement and implementation of Project Management mode within MSF Access. 

• The position is responsible, as delegated and within the approval hierarchy, to independently propose policies, guidelines, defining process around project planning and/or systems such as asana and continuously improving these processes. Next in line to validate those is the Head of Resources. 

• Provide independent project management support and expertise to team members and managers working on MSF Access related matters, assisting in developing and strengthening project cycle steps (proposals, implementation, monitoring, etc), closely collaborating with MSF Access Fund and sections/Operational Directorates, and providing quality assurance for projects followed/supported. This is a hands-on position that continuously supports our project mode within the MSF Access and in itself works on continuous improvement. 

• Serve as the focal point for all projects, support the MT overseeing a portfolio of approved projects, providing support for project reviews, issue and risk management, audit reviews, etc. 

• Act as a Project Management Technical Referent, providing advanced project management methodology and best practices support to the MSF Access team and specifically Project Sponsors and Project Leads. This includes development, contribution, analysis, improvement, training validation and participation in project management across MSF Access. Supporting the MSF Access team to ensure that projects are delivered on time and on budget, Objectives and Key Results (OKR) are reasonably set and followed, supporting in their follow up in systems such as asana, and assisting with monitoring and reporting on the projects. 

• Build and maintain internal and external networks that can be used to connect project teams, for example when monitoring and reporting requires working on projects with other MSF entities, or a known expert in a particular domain. As MSF Access carries the mandate to monitor and report on Access to Products for Healthcare developments in the movement, this needs to be part of our project planning and reporting cycle and systems. 

• Evaluate, analyse, and report on project progress, successes and lessons learned, contribute to developing presentations, documentation and other communication vehicles with the Project Lead and Sponsor, the MT and SEB, and possibly other bodies.

• Certification in Project Management, relevant education such as in business administration, information management or equivalent or more than 3 years of recognized experience in project management.

• 5 years of Project Management experience. Can be within MSF or equivalent work with other complex international organisations. 

• Extensive knowledge of, and experience in, project management methodologies. 

• Experience in humanitarian operations is an asset. 

• Demonstrated ability to provide quality assurance and coaching to project teams. 

• Experience in change management in both organizational change management and project change management contexts. 

• High level of computer literacy with MS Office tools, Project Management system asana, and internet

• Experience and understanding of access-related issues and stakeholders 

Specific Requirements:

• The ability to autonomously understand, review, analyse, challenge, and validate access-related small to large scale project plans and management in systems such as asana, business cases, project governance plans, timelines, and budgets.

• The ability to autonomously run the full project cycle within project management and use systems such as asana for support. This includes supporting the management of project risk analysis, reviewing project issues and risk logs for multi-faceted, complex, and high stakes projects

• The ability to support and coach project teams, providing expertise and critical challenges, whilst maintaining objectivity in a non-decisional role

• Thought leadership – strategic mind set with creativity, experience and expertise that enables out of the box thinking

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

At MSF, we are committed to an inclusive culture that encourages and supports the diverse voices of our employees. We welcome applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, nationalities, races, religions, beliefs, ability status, and all other diversity characteristics.