Surgery Advisor

Effective 1 January 2014 we are looking for a:

Surgery Advisor 100% based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The overall purpose of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is to preserve life and alleviate suffering while protecting human dignity and seeking to restore the ability of people to make their own decisions. MSF accomplishes this through the provision of medical aid and a personal commitment to act as witness to events surrounding populations in danger. This work is essentially performed in periods of crisis, when a situation is no longer held in balance and the very survival of a population may be threatened. The underlying basis for realising its objectives is respect for medical ethics, humanistic ideals, human rights, and international humanitarian law.

The Public Health Department (PHD) of the MSF Operational Centre Amsterdam (OCA) supports the overall purpose of MSF, providing medical and public health leadership for the organisation. The department is responsible for providing strategic direction and integrated advice on medical and public health issues to the field and headquarters. The PHD plays a key role in developing and maintaining the medical humanitarian identity and image of MSF-OCA, and in continuing to develop and improve intervention strategies so as to be relevant and effective.

The department is made up of a group of generalist Health Advisors (based in Amsterdam and Berlin) and medical and public health specialists (e.g., epidemiology, infectious diseases, laboratory, mental health, nutrition, pharmaceutical quality/ medical supply, reproductive health, and water/sanitation) so as to provide expert support in a range of fields. The Manson Unit, a medical unit based in MSF-UK, focuses on support to tuberculosis and epidemiology, including longer-term direct field support to overcome implementation challenges.

The strategic vision for MSF-OCA continues to prioritise operations that respond to the medical needs of people in areas of active and chronic conflict. We are working to improve and professionalise the surgical care provided in the field to our patients with emphasis on patient safety, field anaesthesia and pain management. In 2014 more attention will be given to identify minimal standards of surgical care, tools and structures, and assist the field to achieve these standards in their surgical projects.

Position within the organisation The Surgery Advisor reports hierarchically to the Coordinator of Medical Specialists, Public Health Department in Amsterdam. The post holder will work in close collaboration with Health Advisors and relevant Specialists on strategic and technical support issues and be responsible for support to key missions.

Main objective of the post - Provide strategic leadership in the realm of surgery within the organisation and towards other actors - Contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of the MSF-OCA surgical program strategy and its integraton within the bigger strategic direction of the PHD and OCA. - Assure the quality of surgical care in MSF-OCA (surgery includes all surgical specialties, often practised by expatriate or national nonspecialist medical doctors or nurses)

Key outputs expected The Surgery Advisor will support the strategic direction and operational realisation of surgical activities within MSF-OCA and safeguard the quality of these programs. This will include:

• Develop and promote a middle and long term strategic vision and plan for surgery within the PHD and OCA along with the practical implementation means and plans.
• Further development of protocols, training and tools needed to support field implementation
• Monitor and evaluate the quality of surgical interventions in MSF-OCA and implement measures for quality assurance
• Execute field visits to coach and advise field staff on surgical care
• Provide technical support for surgical programming (including coordinating support for pre/post op care, anaesthetics, etc) at HQ and to the field
• Support retention of experienced personnel as a “pool” for ongoing surgical projects
• Further development of surgical emergency preparedness capacity (HR, ESD) and associated logistics (e.g. procurement of kits/inflatable or modular/mobile hospitals etc)
• Provide training of field staff on field surgery and surgical response in emergencies
• Assist field teams to prepare and organize specialised short-term surgical interventions, e.g. eye camp
• Identify the needs and capacity gaps for increased/differing logistics expertise in support of surgical procurement and related logistics issues
• Networking and use of existing expertise and experience/resources in other Ocs
• Participate in the MSF surgical working group consisting of the advisors of the other operational centres
• Support surgery-focused operational research in the field projects

Candidate profile and qualifications - General or specialist surgeon with minimum of three years surgical experience post-specialist training - Full and current registration/license with relevant national professional body - Field experience in resource poor settings or humanitarian emergencies is essential, by preference with MSF - Strong oral and written communication skills - In case of major emergency, able to provide on-the-ground support to field programmes at short notice (i.e. 48 hours) - Flexibility to travel and support projects (up to 30% of work time will be spent on project visits) - Commitment to ongoing learning and professional development - Fluency in English (written and spoken) essential; working knowledge of French desirable - A high degree of work autonomy as well as management capacity is required

We offer - A full time appointment (based on a 40-hour work week) for a period of (preferably) three years; - A gross salary of a minimum of € 3,018 and a maximum of € 4,312 per month (scale 7) depending on relevant work experience, for a full-time appointment; - A challenging position within a stimulating, professional working environment in a major international organisation; - Attractive secondary benefits (premium free pension, 30 holidays).

How to apply:

More information? If you are interested in this job and would like additional information, please contact Ms Debbie Price (Coordinator of the Medical Specialists) ph +31 (0) 20 520 8724 or Ms Sara Kleine-Vennekate ph +31 20 520 8755 who will transfer you to the right available person.

Application Please send your motivation letter and CV in English - when you meet the requirements and believe that you fit the profile before 21st of November 2013 to officejobs@amsterdam.msf.org mentioning ‘Surgery Advisor’ for the attention of Ms Jaline Wijkhuizen (Personnel Officer HQ). Please also mention where you came across this vacancy.

First round of interviews are planned on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 December.