Entrepreneurship in the territories: is it the right time?
Médecins Sans Frontières, association médicale humanitaire internationale créée en 1971, apporte une assistance médicale à des populations dont la vie est menacée : principalement en cas de conflits armés, mais aussi d'épidémies, de pandémies, de catastrophes naturelles ou encore d'exclusion des soins.
The main objective of the Operations Department at the Paris Operational Center (OCP) is to improve the quality of MSF’s operational response by designing, supervising, and ensuring the effective implementation of its humanitarian medical activities. The Department consists of eight operational cells, transversal units, and project teams. OCP is developing a “Migration” Unit.
Purpose of the “Migration” Unit:
Following an internal reflection within the Operations Department on the specific nature of humanitarian projects for migrant populations, OCP decided to establish an operational unit dedicated to the European migration route. This unit aims to directly manage the programs in its portfolio (currently France and Libya), support and encourage projects for displaced populations led by other OCP operational cells, and, where appropriate, support initiatives within the MSF movement. We also envisage operational and research partnerships with entities outside MSF.
Cross-cutting challenges in these countries include the need to develop expertise that is scarce within MSF (protection, legal, social), the legal and administrative complexity of these contexts, and the heavy burden of interventions targeting populations that are particularly difficult to assist.
Specifically, the Migration Unit aims to:
- Develop knowledge and expertise on migration within MSF OCP;
- Systematically foster multidisciplinary work in defining strategies and implementing operations and relief efforts;
- Ensure our projects are integrated into the broader aid and reception landscape, including participation in coordination, establishing support mechanisms, collaborations, and partnerships;
- Develop an operational model adapted to this unit’s organizational structure by defining roles and responsibilities between field teams and headquarters. The goal is to build a framework suited to addressing migrant needs, enabling missions to autonomously assume responsibility for operational project implementation within the strategic framework.
In Libya and France, there are two main pillars of intervention:
- Develop multidisciplinary approaches focused on vulnerable migrants (homeless, detained, victims of trafficking and torture, mobile and excluded), addressing their needs holistically: medical, protection, social, and legal;
- Contribute to improving practices, and where possible, influencing policy change through communication and advocacy actions—particularly in France regarding unaccompanied minors, and in Libya concerning access to protection and humanitarian evacuations.
In Libya, our operations have been suspended since late March by decision of a Libyan security agency. We are currently working to restart activities. As of March 2025, our projects included:
- Two fixed bases: Tripoli (follow-up for hospitalized patients) and Zuwara (day center);
- Medical care and referrals in detention centers, depending on available space;
- The “Out of Libya” project aimed at evacuating migrants from Libya to Italy and other third countries (including France);
- Support for the national tuberculosis control program;
- Coordination of the mission from both Tripoli and Tunis.
Plans for work in other contexts and situations are currently under review.
To support restarting activities, OCP is recruiting a Finance and Human Resources Coordinator for Libya mission.
This recruitment will be carried out in accordance with the criteria of the MSF OCP's FIRHCO pool, which will allow the successful candidate to join the OCP pool for possible future assignments, without any additional procedures, if he/she wish so.
Main responsibilites
Under the authority of the Head of Mission and under the functional supervision of the Human Resources Coordinator and Finance Coordinator of the Migration Unit based in Paris, you will be responsible for ensuring the completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and integrity of the mission’s financial and HR administration:
- Ensure the accuracy and completeness of budgeting and financial reporting for the mission, including compliance with requirements from donors and local authorities.
- Guarantee adherence to MSF and local financial, administrative, and human resources policies and procedures to achieve mission objectives effectively, while maintaining strict control over resource allocation.
Accountabilities
- You will be an active member of the Mission Coordination Team (MCT), contributing to the mission’s objectives definitions and missions’ strategic plans.
- As a member of the coordination team and in close collaboration with them, and the Field Managers, you will define and implement the organizational structure set up of the mission and its projects, designing charts and jobs, as well as the different levels of responsibility and delegation, in order to efficiently ensure mission strategy deployment and to provide a value driven organization.
- Together with the Mission Coordination Team and the Field Managers, you will plan HR operational and budget needs in order to efficiently ensure the required sizing and capabilities of the mission.
- You will support the Mission Coordination Team and Field Managers in the recruitment processes, ensuring coherent management of administrative and legal procedures (recruitment, end of contract, payment of national and local taxes, proper upkeep of personnel files, management of overtime, etc.), all across the mission in order to meet resources needs in a convenient manner.
- You will support the Mission Coordination Team and Field Managers in detecting training needs according to operational requirements, in evaluating people’s performance and in implementing the associated action plans in order to improve people’s capabilities and their end results contribution to mission goals.
- You will define and coordinate the local implementation in the field, in accordance with MSF practices and local regulations checking the monthly calculations of salaries and taxes, a fair rewarding policy in order to ensure internal equity, and adequate competitiveness and legal compliance.
- You will coordinate the implementation, according to MSF policies, of career development programs to high potential collaborators in order to increase long term commitment and contribution.
- You will define and coordinate the internal communication policy, in collaboration with all field coordination teams, organizing personnel meetings and broadcasting MSF values and vision, in order to boost people commitment, active participation and adherence to corporate values.
- You will coordinate the implementation of all administrative local protocols and procedures, organizing regular information meetings with all the personnel and systematically participating in briefings of all the coordinators and managers concerned (locally hired and international mobile), supervising the administrative processes for International Mobile staff and managing conflicts when appear, in order to ensure labor legal compliance and to improve employer branding awareness.
- You will coordinate, in close coordination with the medical services, the implementation of safety/security/medical protocols in order to ensure healthy and risk-free working conditions for both the Coordination and field staff.
- You will provide support and guidance to line management in handling staff (International Mobile staff and locally hired staff) conflicts.
- You will coordinate the implementation of Homere (HR software) including the preparation of the payroll (in line with local legislation regarding social security/tax payments).
- You will be responsible for producing and coordinating the mission’s annual budget, in the most accurate and realistic manner, together with budget holders and in coherence with the annual operational plan, to update this budget throughout the budget cycle.
- You will be responsible for monitoring expenses versus budget on a regular basis, analyzing variances and deciding corrective actions if necessary.
- You will produce regular and adequate indicators to monitor financial health of the mission, to produce and share relevant cost analysis.
- You will be responsible for ensuring proper implementation and respect of MSF policies and guidelines, design or adapt relevant local policies, procedures and tools for optimized management of the mission financial resources.
- You will be responsible for the definition of the financial strategy for the mission together with the Head of Mission and in collaboration with the technical referent at HQ.
- You will be responsible for training and coaching all finance staff in the mission in all aspects related to accounting finance and budget, as well as sensitize key executive staff such as coordinators, budget holders and relevant managers on financial risks and the extent of their financial responsibilities.
- You will be responsible for assessing and mitigating the financial risks on the mission, ensuring that reliable internal control systems are in place, and financial ethics is respected within the mission
- You will be responsible for checking that the administrative procedures related to taxes and payment of social security obligations are followed, and comply with established legal procedures in the country:
- You will be responsible for coordinating and always ensuring the operation of the treasury for the smooth running of operations and maintaining as much control as possible about the security risks.
- You will monitor the payment of suppliers and staff salaries.
- You will be responsible for coordinating and supervising local audits relating to accounting, tax, labour matters as well as promoting internal audits, in order to determine the legality and veracity of the accounts of MSF's mission.
- You will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing the monthly closing of accounts with the aim that the statement reflects the financial reality of the mission.
- You will be responsible for implementing a relevant organizational set-up of the mission, to ensure that all financial obligations are met, while risks are mitigated.
- You will be responsible for the proper application of HR policies and associated processes (recruitment, training, briefing/debriefing, evaluation, potential detection, staff development and internal communication) in order to ensure both the sizing and the amount of knowledge required for the activities he/she is accountable for.
- You will ensure all Mission’s staff are briefed on the proper use of MSF resources and ethics-related expenditures.
- You will be responsible for the collection of information on resources and for translating them into a budget.
Context specific accountabilities
Human Resources
- You will develop and follow up the HR strategy & objectives for both Libya and Tunisia and guide the HR set-up and dimensioning as new activities are planned in Tunisia and Libya, including the creation of new posts and setups to address previous challenges with our internal functioning (interdisciplinary, specificity of Migration activities, specific positions, safeguarding approach…).
- You will guide the development of HR guidelines, updated internal regulations, policies and procedures for Libya and Tunisia.
- You will oversee the review and implementation of revised Compensation and Benefits for Libya and Tunisia.
- You will ensure suitable working conditions & team life in a context specific to migration operations (specific psychosocial issues, interdisciplinary team management, remote working and technically complex environment).
- You will be responsible for management of International Mobile Staff and Locally Hired staff administration and potential disciplinary files, disputes and legal cases in a technically complex environment.
- You will be responsible for creating a specific Learning and Development strategy as part of opening or reopening a mission.
- You will put in place a specific HR strategy taken into account the safeguarding risks at stake in Migration activities.
Finance
- You will be responsible for mitigating financial risks across the mission, ensuring robust internal control systems are in place, financial ethics are upheld, and that the local regulatory framework is understood, monitored, and fully mastered by both missions.
- You will oversee the development or adaptation of relevant financial policies and procedures in compliance with the Libyan and Tunisian legal frameworks.
