Flying GIS Specialist

MSF is an international, independent medical humanitarian organization. We are a non-profit, self-governed worldwide movement of more than 63,000 people. 

We provide emergency medical assistance during armed conflict, natural disasters, outbreaks of deadly diseases and assist those who are excluded from healthcare. MSF delivers care based on need and when we see injustice, we speak out. We are an organization that remains impartial, knowledgeable, and effective, and this is what makes the difference between life and death.  

People are our priority. At Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/ Artsen zonder Grenzen, we are committed to an inclusive culture that encourages and supports the diverse voices of our employees. We encourage diverse applicants including individuals of all gender identities, ages, sexual orientations, nationalities, races, religions, beliefs, social and marital status, people with different abilities and all other diversity abilities. 

Main Responsibilities and key objectives 

• You provide hands-on GIS expertise and support to program countries.  

• You bring staff in the countries of operation to a higher level of understanding and execution with your deep expertise in GIS, by organising Q&A sessions and webinars, and providing on-the-job advice.  

• You advise field teams on the relevant solutions through guidance materials / trainings. You draft improvements and implementation plans for GIS in country programs. 

• You assess the local situation and prioritise interventions for maximum results, given the constraints in time and other resources. 

• You improve the quality of the ‘input’ of the work processes you are working on or with, being local resources (validation), data, materials/tools. 

• You support with hands-on work, new design, advice and with deliverables, depending on your area of expertise, and overcome issues in applying or using them in the country of operation. You monitor the quality of work processes in the country of operation in the area of GIS and ensure the appropriate level is attained, in alignment with OCA’s policies.  

• You safeguard standardization across the MSF-OCA program countries. 

• You support program countries in setting-up GIS services in the start-up of (medium/large scale) emergencies. 

• You are in countries of operation 70% of your time. 

• People performance, by providing training, Q&A sessions, fulfilling conditions/ facilitating/removing impediments. 

• Hands-on GIS support to country program staff, implementation of standards (including OCA GIS Field Policy) 

• Program-specific advice including coaching and sharing of best practices 

• Proposed action plans for preparation and deployment of improvements/changes/implementation of new tools/systems  

• Handbook/Policies/SOP’s/workflows/documentation/ways of working, based on OCA standards, adapted to local circumstances 

• Reports/recommendations/action points/information about/insight in the status of local GIS operations 

• Benefits from information exchange between the OCA Logistics department/GIS Centre and the program country(liaison) 

• Validated services providers and products in program countries and regional hubs 

• Compliance with OCA and GIS Centre policies and strategies 

Additional specific accountabilities: 

• Evaluate GIS strategy for the country program including HR requirements 

• Support implementation of the MSF-OCA GIS Field policy, standards, guidelines, and procedures 

• Support development of mission-specific GIS Policy and GIS products 

• Provide on-the-job coaching and training to GIS staff at field and HQ level and propose action plans for improvement 

• Assist the OCA GIS Advisor in improving field tools, SOPs, and best practices based on experience gained in this job. 

• Plans of technical interventions including technical designs of solutions adapted to the context, schedule, order lists and budget 

• Support the rollout of the Security context GeoApp and Location Notification Tool for OCA 

• Responsible for the integration, cleaning and sharing of geodata within the countries of interventions.  

• Ensure maintenance overtime of developed products, decommission of GeoApps and cleanup/archiving after an intervention.  

• You report hierarchically to the Coordinator Logistics Systems and Workforce Unit and functionally to the OCA GIS Advisor. 

Candidate profile  

• 5 years of relevant work experience 

• Willing to spend 70% of their time in countries of operations and the remaining 30% working from home 

• In-depth knowledge of GIS in a humanitarian context 

• English is required, French is desirable

We offer 

This is a temporary 12-month role. While the intention is to extend it, we won’t be able to confirm that until early 2027. 

The compensation package and benefits will depend on your country of domicile and applicable local labour laws. The recruiter will provide more detailed information if you are shortlisted. 

Application  

If you recognise yourself in this profile, we welcome you to apply directly via our website and upload a letter of motivation + Curriculum Vitae (in English) as one combined document.