CRITICAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR

GENERAL CONTEXT

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international independent medical humanitarian action-driven organization, which offers assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation. The MSF movement is built around six operational directorates supported by MSF’s 21 sections, 24 associations and other offices together worldwide.

MAIN PURPOSE

Main focus of the role will be in field security critical incidents, but will also support in other types of CIs (cyberattacks, reputational crisis, etc.)

By supporting MSF OCBA's critical incident management capacity, you will play a critical role in ensuring that the organization is better equipped to provide emergency assistance to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters, and exclusion from healthcare.

JOB OVERVIEW

As the Critical Incident Management Coordinator at MSF OCBA, your primary responsibility will be to support the critical incident management capacity of the organization. You will work under the supervision of the Head of Response to Crisis (HRC - Deputy General Director) to ensure quality, timeliness, and coherence in security critical incident management.

You will work closely with the HRC and other key stakeholders to ensure that MSF's critical incident management protocols and procedures are updated, known, and followed. Your role will consist, upon ad hoc assignment by the HCR, to provide critical incident technical guidance and support to field staff during security incidents. This may involve assisting with the setting up and closing of critical incident management teams, reviewing critical incident management protocols, and facilitating lessons learned sessions to improve MSF OCBA's overall response to critical incidents.

Your responsibilities will also include contributing to ensuring that the concerned MSF OCBA field and HQ staff are adequately trained and prepared to respond to critical incidents. This may involve conducting trainings or providing written materials to staff members to ensure they are aware of the critical incident management protocols and procedures.

To be successful in this role, you should have a thorough understanding of critical incident management protocols and procedures and have experience in responding to security incidents in a humanitarian context. You should also be able to work effectively under pressure and have excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND MAIN TASKS

1. Lead resolution of CIs, under the supervision of the HRC (Dep1GD) when required on a case-by-case basis, including when the full structure of the CIMT and FIMT are not organized. The CIMO will take part in the CIMT and FIMT as required during the resolution process of CIs.

2. Provide technical expertise and direct support to CI management

• Provides guidance and direct support to teams managing critical incidents, either C/FIMTs or operations or functional management (for less severe CIs), assisting specifically on the response setting-up and closure/ handover phases
• Contributes to ensure compliance with MSF policies and guidelines related to critical incident management,
• Organizes, assists and/or conduct debriefings, workshops, reviews and evaluations after critical incidents to identify post-incident action points and areas for improvement. Writes reports on incidents and lessons learned

3. To ensure CI preparedness

• Create and develop/ support/ mentor a pool of 12 C/FIMT-Leaders diverse enough (languages -EN, FR, AR-, gender, age,…) by the end of 2026
• Maintains knowledge of critical incident management best practices, standards, and guidelines
• Drafts critical incident management protocols and procedures and training materials
• According to the best practices and following lessons learned from debriefings and evaluations, identifies and proposes improvements to incident management, and ensures that, with the support of in-house or external experts, those approved are incorporated in the protocols and procedures
• Working with the Ops KM and Learning Teams, ensures that learning and management resources are available to HQ and Field staff
• With HR Dept, ensures that the CI management Pool is updated and adapted to MSF OCBAs’ needs
• Working with the IT Department, ensures that the most suitable hardware and software solutions are available to MSF OCBA CI teams
• Together with the Ops Department, ensures that critical incident management procedures are updated and revised at field level as necessary
• Will supervise staff (MST, MIO, or others) in charge of providing training and in-person simulations.
• Explore the development of modular remote simulation options to allow for more frequent training of teams in highly volatile situations and/ or with high staff turnover (for example, Comms focus; staff duty of care focus; security management focus; etc.)

SELECTION CRITERIA

Education

• Medical degree, or advanced degree in health sciences, public health, or related field.
• Formal training or certification in simulation-based education from a recognized academic institute is highly desirable.

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in operations management  (eg. Head of mission) in insecure contexts, preferably in MSF or in a similar humanitarian organization
• Experience & proven knowledge in security critical incident management
• Knowledge of humanitarian principles, international humanitarian law, and humanitarian standards
• Excellent writing skills in English and French
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Flexibility to work outside of regular business hours and travel to MSF OCBA projects as needed
• Fluency in English and French, proficiency in other languages is a plus

CONDITIONS

• Position based in Barcelona hub for proximity to HRC and other key positions.
• Duration of position: Permanent position
• Full-time position.
• Annual gross salary: level HQ-4B (divided in 12 monthly payments) + secondary benefits based on MSF OCBA Reward Policy.
• Starting date: March 2026.

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter.

• Closing date: January 16th, 2026, 23:59 CET (Central European Time).

MSF is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, race, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. We are committed to achieving a balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. MSF provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life. MSF does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo reference checks.

Médecins Sans Frontières, as a responsible employer, under the¨Ley General de la Discapacidad de 2013 (LGD)¨ invite those persons with a recognized disability and with an interest in the humanitarian area to apply for the above-mentioned position.