Mobile Staffing Specialist

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent medical humanitarian organization. As a non-profit, self-governed movement of over 63,000 dedicated professionals, we provide life-saving medical assistance to people affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and exclusion from healthcare.

Our work is guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence, and neutrality. We act based on need, and when we witness injustice, we speak out. Our commitment to professionalism and humanity can mean 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, ethnic background, religions, beliefs, social and marital status, people with different abilities and all other diversity characteristics and how they intersect together.

With immediate effect, our People and Culture department is looking for a:  

Mobile Staffing Specialist (Pool Manager)

(Based in Amsterdam or MSF-OCA partnering offices)

The Operational Center Amsterdam (OCA) team of Mobile Staffing Specialists are responsible for planning and staffing the Country Programs with mobile staff.

To achieve that they coordinate matching, contribute to staff development & talent management, and steer workforce planning for OCA’s International Mobile Staff as per Operational needs in the short term and the long term. Mobile Staffing Specialists are responsible for specific pools of staff (e.g., pool of doctors, pool of logisticians, pool of HR etc.).

To achieve their goals, they work closely with many stakeholders; the Human Resources Coordinators in Country Programs, HRAs and other OST advisors, functional Technical Referents, Career Managers and recruiters in partners sections, Learning & Development and beyond. For all effective deployment of mobile staff,Mobile Staffing Specialists work closely with the technical support departments and People and Culture functions (Total Rewards Advisors, Staff Health, ISSOs, contracting etc).

Job Objective

This position is at the heart of MSF’s ability to deliver high-quality humanitarian assistance. By ensuring the right people are in the right roles at the right time, you contribute to the success of MSF’s mission while fostering individual growth and development.

Main Responsibilities

As part of MSF OCA’s team, you play a vital role in managing workforce and succession planning for mobile positions across country programs. Your mission is to ensure continuous, high-quality staffing by matching candidates to positions in a way that balances:

• Individual traits: Competencies, availability, development needs, and aspirations.

• Position requirements: Skills, knowledge, and operational demands.

• Concurrent vacancies: Strategic alignment with organizational needs.

Strategic Workforce Planning

• Maintain and share an analysis of staffing demands and supply, both current and future.

• proactively flag gaps identified and propose solutions to address these challenges.

• Play a pivotal role in implementing OCA’s field staffing strategy by engaging in the Annual Planning steering and Mid-Year Review.

Position and Candidate Matching

• Understand the knowledge, skills, and competencies required for various roles in country programs.

• Advise on staffing plans that balance the need for experienced staff with the onboarding of new candidates.

• Collaborate with partner sections to understand staff profiles and gather feedback on Country program team dynamics and diversity as well as, understanding of the operational contexts.

• Conduct qualitative analysis of performance management reports to ensure staffing aligns with operational requirements.

Validation and Policy Development

• Ensure all mobile staff in your pool go through the necessary validation processes.

• Advise on relative policy development and update validation tools in collaboration with TRs.

Collaboration and Best Practices

• Maintain regular communication with stakeholders in OCA and counterparts in other Operational Centers to share best practices and seek to optimise workflows where possible.

• Keep recruitment and career management teams in partner sections informed about generic profile needs, position-specific requirements, and future staffing projections.

• Support recruitment when needed by participating in ‘on post recruitment’ and providing the definitions for the profiles to be recruited.

Candidate Profile   

• BSc/MSc in Human/Social sciences (HR, or other)

• 3+ years of experience in placement, recruitment and/or learning & development in MSF or similar (I)NGO experience 

• Previous country program experience as IMS at coordination level is an asset

• Broad practical knowledge of (MSF) Humanitarian Country Programs 

• Intercultural literacy to navigate with diverse stakeholders movement-wide

• Working knowledge of DEI principles in HR

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Fluency in French or Arabic is an asset

Transversal competencies:

Strategic thinking

Service Orientation

Planning and Organizing

Teamwork and Cooperation

Strong interpersonal and intercultural communication skills

We offer   

If you are based in the Netherlands:

A Dutch employment contract, based on 40 hours per week. It is a one-year contract with a renewal option.

A gross monthly salary with a current salary range between 3,743 and 5,153 euro. Your exact salary will depend on relevant work experience.

Other benefits include (pro-rata):  

• 30 paid vacation days annually, contingent upon full-time employment status.

• A premium free pension where MSF covers 100% of the monthly pension contribution 

• 8% holiday allowance, paid out with the salary once a year in May 

• Commuting allowance (terms and conditions apply) & work from home allowance 

• Hybrid working option

• L&D will support you with a variety of learning and development opportunities with internal and external trainings and courses 

• Discounted daily lunch at the office 

• An environment that fosters diversity, with colleagues from around the world representing various cultures and background 

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. Applications without motivation letters will not be considered

The closing date for applications is 17 November 2025 at 23:59h CET. 

Information   

For more information about the position and the team, please contact Marietta Provopoulos (Interim Mobile Staff Coordinator) at marietta.provopoulos@amsterdam.msf.org