Flying Tropical Medicine Implementer At Médecins Sans Frontières en Suisse

Flying, 12 months – 100%

Field-based position with visits to the headquarters in Geneva

Scope of responsibilities

Tropical disease programs and outbreak response are the cornerstone of MSF’s activities. In recent years, OCG has responded to outbreaks of malaria, cholera, measles, leishmaniasis, viral haemorrhagic fevers and other infectious and (neglected) tropical diseases for which the OCG Tropical Medicine Unit is the main source of technical expertise within the Medical Department.

There is a need to provide sustainable support to field teams across the various medical dossiers overseen by the Tropical Medicine Unit. These include (but are not limited to): responding to the different phases of outbreaks; training in preparation of and during epidemics; implementing preventive strategies and fever algorithms in tropical settings; and integrating measures to minimise the risks and impacts of such epidemic-prone diseases and other relevant health hazards, including from the perspectives of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Planetary Health(PltH). For this, a flying position is seen as essential, whereby the flying Implementer can – in collaboration with the respective referents within the Tropical Disease Unit – provide longer-term technical support for the above activities; accompany the field teams with providing guidance, tools, and trainings; and adapt the support according the identified needs.

Functional responsibilities

General

· Act as a member of the Medical Department, and the Tropical Medicine Unit (includes Tropical diseases, Epidemics, Neglected Tropical diseases, Planetary Health and Antimicrobial resistance at HQ. The Flying Tropical Medicine Implementer works under the hierarchical supervision of the Tropical Medicine Unit medical leader and the technical supervision of the (Neglected)Tropical Diseases, Planetary Health and Antimicrobial Resistance advisors

· As part of medical support team, translates the OCG ambitions and strategic plan into actions in the field

· Provide clinical support to the field teams

Implementation

· Accompany field teams with implementation of up to date guidelines, protocols and tools fitting field reality

· Provide implementation support during the role out of preventive strategies for malaria or other diseases at community or health care level (ICCM, SMC, MDA,..)

· Support field teams to integrate tropical disease/fever management transversally and in different settings (CHW, OPD, IPD)

Epidemics

· Provide longer term technical and organizational support to field staff during first phase of epidemic response

Training

· Train field medical staff on epidemic response

· Train field medical staff on clinical aspects of tropical diseases, including AMR and PltH considerations

· Identify clinical and training needs and other tools to improve prevention and management of prevalent tropical and infectious diseases

Tools

· Co-development of practices and tools together with field and HQ medical support

· Use existing Tropical and Neglected Tropical disease guidelines to adapt and contextualize clinical algorithms for field teams as needed

Monitoring

· Support appropriate monitoring and ensure relevant indicators are followed

Reports and Debriefing

· Provide a written report from each deployment, summarizing key achievements, challenges and next steps

· Provide a debriefing to relevant mission and headquarters staff

Responsibilities to MSF

· General knowledge of MSF

o Has a general understanding of the association, its functioning, structure and values (charter).

o Is aware of MSF’s objectives and activities in general and in the working context.

· Co-operation with other departments

o Able to communicate with counterparts in other departments regarding transversal projects

Your profile

Education

· Medical doctor with clinical experience in Infectious and/or Tropical diseases and Epidemics (cholera, Ebola, Covid-19, malaria, Neglected Tropical Diseases)

· Specialization in Infectious or Tropical diseases is an asset

· Diploma or Master in Tropical medicine, Public Health, International Health or Epidemiology degree is an asset

· Training in Antibiotic Stewardship is an asset

Experience

· Min. 2 years’ experience working in low-resource settings with MSF or similar medical organization.

· Knowledge of recent development in the field of tropical medicine

· Recent clinical and programmatic experience in tropical and epidemic diseases

· Experience in providing training

· Experience in Neglected Tropical diseases and Antimicrobial resistance is an asset

· Experience in, or at least demonstrable familiarity with, key principles and practices relevant to Planetary Health

Languages

· Fluent English

· Fluent French

Competencies

· Collaborative spirit

· Team spirit

· Autonomous

Personal qualities

· Ability to teach and listen

· Open-minded and diplomatic

· Good communication skills

· Availability to spend per field visit up to 12 consecutive weeks in the projects

· Ability to work with multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural persons

· Ability to create adapted, practical SOPs and tools based on existing guidelines

· Ability to understand data and identify relevant indicators

· Ability to formalize and synthetize findings in reports.

Working conditions

· Field-based position with visits to the headquarters in Geneva.

· Practical working conditions in the field are in accordance with the MSF OCG volunteer manual.

· Gross monthly salary: CHF 5,500 for a 100% position (proportional to the occupation rate)

· Ideal start date: May 1st, 2022

· Benefits: Health insurance and living expenses in the countries of intervention and at headquarters, paid according to internal regulations.