Cell 1 Intern

OFFRE DE STAGE

Join MSF OCG as a Cell 1 Intern!

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.

This internship is part of an academic training program, a professional training program, or a socio-professional integration program, and must comply with the conditions set by the Employment Market Supervisory Council (CSME). The duration of the internship, as defined by the tripartite agreement, is 6 to 12 months at 100%

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).

The Cell Intern centralizes and acts as a referent for mission’s HR and administrative issues in front of the various HR units at HQ and other members of the cell, mission’s Human Resources Coordinator (HRCo) or Head of Mission (HoM) and other MSF operational centers (OCs).

Given the ambition of HR to evolve towards strategic partnering to the operations, the HROP needs to delegate some of her/his activities to a cell intern /HROP support. The cell intern will be the focal point of different HR files identified and delegated by the HROP, supporting the daily activities and facilitating interactions with the other units in the headquarters as well as with the missions. The Cell intern will also provide operational and administrative support to the Cell Team. The Cell intern function can be part of an academic course (‘cursus intra-or extra academic’) or a federal program on professional integration. For this reason, most placements as HROP Support / Cell intern require a 3-party convention with the academic institute concerned.

Tasks and responsibilities

With the need to focus more on strategic HR mentoring and support to missions, the support of HROP will be the focal point of different HR files identified and delegated by the HROP. The responsibilities of the Cell intern are split as follow: 60% of the time dedicated to HR and Administrative Support and 40% of time dedicated to Operational Support (and Medico-Operational Dossiers).

Under the supervision of the Cell HROP the Cell intern supports the Cell as follows:

1. HR and Administrative Support

Translation of operational ambitions into HR needs & planning of the IMS positions:

• Follows up with the missions on job descriptions of international staff (MI), brings to missions’ attention missing or outdated MIs. Files received MIs. Step by step, the intern will be expected to have a critical eye on the MI and a capacity to alert in case some information is missing.
• Ensures the updating of the international staff tracking table (HR Update) (mission dates, job openings, obtaining documents).
• Compiles a table of the cell's mission positions to be opened, on a weekly basis.
• If necessary, takes over the IMS job openings, particularly in emergency situations.
• Supports missions and GPOs on the IMS propositions and matching process, based on requests/needs.
• Participate in the discussions about optimal setup requested by the field to ensure that the staffing is sufficient in number and coherent in composition to meet the operational and institutional ambitions, especially during MYR and POA.
• Reviews MYR and POA matrices and reports to HROP any issues (technical, settings, analytical, …) and provides to HROP first feedback on the forecast and variances compared to last validated budget.
• Verifies the demand for IMS staffing formalized by the HRCos (compliance with planning, accuracy, and clarity of the request).
• Follows up the update by the mission (at least every 3 months) of the missions’ HR restrictions table, detailing the profiling decisions in place.

HR and administrative management of international mobile staff (IMS):

• Monthly, as part of the IMS salary payment, checks the changes of the start and end dates of IMS contracts, amendments, positions and project allocations, and confirms the monthly IMS payroll information to FAR.
• Follow up and focal person with Field Movement Referents (FMRs) in case of specific movements or visas.
• Carries out/participate in HR briefings and debriefings according to the policy and ensures the HROP is alerted when needed.
• Welcome international staff on departure, introduce them to current operations and ensure they have the necessary documents
• Follows up with international staff on documents required for their departure (informed consents BIC, proof of life)
• Consolidates, monitors and updates pre-departure briefing materials for international staff
• Follows up on anticipated returns of IMS and files documents related to them
• Follows up on other specific HR procedures as needed

Information / Reporting:

• Ensures that statistics and indicators are collected and passed on and participates in the analysis of these at least at the PoA and MYR and at the end of the year (HRNS).
• Develops HR statistics with the assistance of the RHOP

Meeting and specific platforms:

• Participates in the monthly meetings "Tour du Monde" to open IMS positions and present the cell's HR/operational news
• Participates in the meetings of the HR department when deemed relevant by the HROP
• Participates in POA, MYR and HR Days (if /when possible)
• Keeps links with other OCG Cells’ interns to assure consistent management of mandatory IMS documents (POA, BIC), Kompas management etc.

2. Operational Support to the cell

• Supports the cell in the organization of meetings (i.e. the weekly cell meeting (Mini Desk), Plan of Action discussions with field teams) including the preparation of agendas, taking minutes and the archiving of meeting documentation.
• Supports the cell in the management of information such as cell archiving, is the focal point for the online platforms such as Kompas and Share Point and manages the key tools for the organization of the cell (i.e. presence, field visit preparation).
• Coordinates the organization of Cell events as needed (and keeps the cell calendar update)
• Supports the preparation of key Operational documents and Presentations for either internal or external use.
• Organizes group BIC briefings by RP/ARP when needed
• Follow up of material to be sent to missions, ordering of maps via the GIS center, as agreed with the RLO (Logistic Referent) of the cell.
• Provides support to the FINOP (Finance Referent) to prepare Power of Attorney for mission teams. If needed follow up of contracts and partnership agreements, and the management of information related to audits.
• Provides adhoc support to the Directorate of Operations such as management of meetings, minute taking and the coordination of operational and planning documents (portfolio reviews, emergency updates).
• By delegation from the RP can be asked to provide operational updates to the HQ (Point Info).
• In case of IMS briefing/debriefing in Geneva, welcomes international staff, presents to them Cell1 setup and ensures they have the necessary documents; supports with organization of the arrival and stay in needed.

3. HR - Operational Dossiers

• Each Cell intern, during the period of employment (from 6 months to 12 months) is expected to work on a HR - Operational Dossier. The dossier selected should combine (a) the operational needs of the Cell / Missions (b) academic requirements such as the need to complete a thesis and (c) if possible a link to the future career of the Cell intern.
• The topic needs to be selected within the first month of employment and agreed with the HROP and RP, ensuring that there is a clear deliverable (written report, thesis, . . . ).
• The final deliverable MUST be presented to the Operations Department at the end of the period of employment.

Your profile

• Fluent English and French (written and spoken).
• Capacity of analysis and synthesis.
• Planning and organization.
• Knowledge of key issues of the humanitarian environment.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Excellent knowledge of the MO environment (Powerpoint, Excel, Word)
• Team player; ability to coordinate with numerous stakeholders.
• Ability to work autonomously.
• Pro-active and solution-oriented.
• Flexible and capacity to adapt quickly.
• No specific requirements in terms of work experience but having has some form of employment in the past, or engagement with NGOs, charities is considered an advantage.

Terms of employment

• A tripartite internship agreement is mandatory
• 6 to 9 months, according to internship agreement
• Full time (40h/week)
• Based in Geneva, Switzerland
• Start date : As Soon As Possible
• Gross monthly remuneration 2'000.- CHF

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 May 25th, 2025

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

APPLY HERE

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.