Senior Executive Assistant to the General Direction

Job Offer
(strictly no recruitment agencies)

Join MSF OCG as a Senior Executive Assistant to the General Direction!

We are looking for passionate candidates ready to contribute to our humanitarian mission.

Below, you will find the job details and the qualifications we are looking for.

Inclusivity and Diversity at MSF

Do your qualifications and experience not exactly match all requirements of the job?

At MSF OCG, we are committed to an inclusive culture that supports and amplifies the diverse voices of our staff members. We strive to create workplaces where teams of people with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, perspectives, ideas and experiences work together to advance MSF's social mission and create better outcomes for our patients and the communities we work with.

We understand that some people may hesitate to apply for employment if they don't meet all listed job requirements. Research shows that this is especially true for women. If you believe your profile is a good match for this position, we invite you to apply even if you don’t fulfil every listed qualification.

We encourage applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, ethnicities, background, religions, beliefs, ability status, and all other diversity characteristics.

MSF does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment. All selected candidates will undergo reference checks.

Context & mission

Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent, international medical and humanitarian organization that provides care to people in need, people affected by natural or man-made disasters, and victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and without regard to race, religion, creed or political affiliation (MSF Charter).

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent humanitarian organization that provides medical aid to victims of man-made or natural disasters, armed conflicts, epidemics and endemics. Its Operational Centre in Geneva (MSF OCG) directly manages medical assistance programs in 33 countries worldwide.

The General Direction of MSF OCG is one of the eight departments of MSF OCG and is made of several units comprising a total of 30 people. The Executive Assistant (EA) directly reports to the Director General (DG) and is a resource person for the day-to-day functioning of the General Direction (GD) and the smooth running of the Management Team. The EA works closely with the DG and the two Deputy DG.

Tasks & Responsibilities

Daily support to the General Director and the GD office:

• Manages the Director’s General calendar and inbox, ensuring timely responses, follow-up of emails and prioritization of the most sensitive matters.

• Provides support to internal and institutional communications for the General Direction, drafting and editing emails, memos and communications for and on behalf of the DG, etc.).

• Ensuring proper preparation of the DG ahead of meetings (preparatory files, logistics).

• Organizes the attendance of the DG to external conferences and events.

• Coordinates travel arrangements (flights, hotels, visas) while encouraging an environmentally responsible approach.

Coordination of the Management Team (MT) Meeting (as a platform):

• Builds the agenda of the MT meetings with the support and validation of the DG and/or Deputies;

• Has a proactive role in the preparation of the session with the topic owners to define the objectives of each session and the collection of pre-readings.

• During the meeting, ensure respect of the planned agenda and manages time dedicated to each session.

• Write the outcomes of the meetings, highlighting key elements of discussion, decisions and next steps, and follows up on their validation by the Management Team in a timely manner.

• Ensure the regular follow-up of outcomes of MT meetings.

• Organizes the logistics of each MT meeting (room booking, sending of agendas and pre-readings, etc.).

• Supports the preparation of the Executive to MSF-CH Board Meetings and OCG Congresses (reminder of deadlines along the year and ensuring the sending of pre-readings to the Board and Congress in a timely manner).

• Manages the absence calendar of the MT.

• Upon request, organization of team building activities and “Au Vert”.

Support to the management of the General Direction department budget

• Check all invoices related to the General Direction before payment.

• Follow-up expenses made using the DG’s credit card.

• Verification and follow-up of signatures and validation of documents by the DG and Deputies (financing contracts, new positions, donors’ letters, power of attorney, expense reports, etc.).

• Ensures that the deadlines linked to the HQ Annual Cycle are met (KEOPS, HQ Commissions, Prospects, Plan of Action, Annual report).

• Drafts and updates the yearly OCG dynamic calendar, with support from the Deputy DG, departmental assistants and Finance.

Focal point for information management and external relations for the General Direction

• Ensures an optimal flow of information from the General Direction, both within the headquarters and towards the association (Board, Congress), OCG's partner sections, but also with the rest of the MSF movement and externally.

• Responsible for updating and managing the list of external and internal contacts, as well as sending the annual activity report and End-of-the-year cards to MSF partner sections, NGOs and institutional partners.

Human resources and recruitment:

• Administrative follow-up of GD staff members or Management Team members upon request (hiring, work certificate, etc.).

• In charge of the process for consultancy contract at GD level.

• Supports onboarding of all new department staff members and all new department assistants.

Support to Reporting and Internal Communications

• Supports OCG internal communications efforts by proofreading and editing the internal journal in English and French

• Translation, proofreading and editing of Annual Plan of Action (to French).

• Automation of several reporting processes to support operations.

IT and Event support:

• Information relay: is the key contact for all IT-related questions at the department level, passing information about updates, new features, and upcoming changes.

• Supports staff to solve common technical problems and helps with basic questions (e.g., for video-conferencing systems).

• Participates in OCG AI group, and is an early tester of CoPilot

• Is a focal point for the organization of the main events using the main conference room in the office.

• Supports the organization of events for MSF OCG internal and external partners (needs assessment, design, coordination, logistics, technical support, etc.)

OCG COP focal point

• Planning and coordination of working group meetings related to the preparation of COP.

• Follow-up of activities related to UNFCCC registration, needed to get badges to attend COP.

• Support to OCG participants to COP in travel arrangements, accommodations, visa and badges to attend COP.

• Documentation and minutes

Solidarity Committee focal point

• Manages the solidarity committee mailbox.

• Ensure the documentation of all requests and case information related to the solidarity committee.

• Drafts the Annual Solidarity Committee Report.

Your profile

Education

• University Degree in administration, international relations, communications or any equivalent training.

Experience

• At least 3 years of experience in similar/equivalent position

• Experience with MSF or another NGO/International organization an asset.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of MSF Switzerland. Fluency in both English and French is required for this position (oral and written).

• Knowledge of German is an asset.

Skills/ Technical competencies

• Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritize tasks and dossiers.

• Planning and organization;

• Excellent written and verbal communications skills,

• Ability to capture discussions and decisions.

• Proficient knowledge of videoconference systems

• Willingness to learn and use new technologies to support MSF’s social mission

• Proficient knowledge of the Microsoft Office environment (PowerPoint, Excel, Word).

Personal Abilities/Qualities

• Ability to handle sensitive information with the utmost discretion and confidentiality.

• Flexibility, adaptability and ability to work in a multicultural environment;

• Able to synthesis complex and sensitive written and oral information

• Autonomous, consensus-building and team player.

• Interest, understanding and commitment to the humanitarian principles and values of MSF

Terms of employment

• Full-time position 100% (40h/week)

• Fixed-term contract, 24 months

• Working place: Geneva, Switzerland

• Ideal start date: 28th April 2025

• Gross annual salary (for 100%): from CHF 87’372.- to CHF 100’608.- (salary commensurate with equivalent experience and internal salary grid)

• Paid vacation: 25 days per year, prorate temporis, plus any Swiss public holidays falling within the contract period.

• Pension plan: pension contribution covered 3/4 by MSF, 1/4 by staff member.

• Relocation package if moving from a different country to Switzerland.

How to apply

Candidates are invited to submit their application exclusively through our recruitment platform, following these guidelines:

• CV (maximum 2 pages)

• Cover letter (maximum 1 page)

• Documents must be submitted in either English or French.

The application deadline is March 30th 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier if we receive a sufficient number of quality applications.

APPLY

All applications will be treated confidentially.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Please note that we do not wish to use the services of recruitment or placement agencies.