Medical Director




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. 

 

 

MSF Operational Centre Amsterdam is looking for a Medical Director (based in Amsterdam or London)

 

We are looking for our next inspirational and impactful medical leader to fill the role of Medical Director at MSF-OCA. This position is central to the steering and implementation of our medical, humanitarian action, ensuring that our medical programming is responsive and adaptive, able to deliver the healthcare that is most needed where people are experiencing conflict, medical crises, social violence and healthcare exclusion and natural and environmental disasters.   

As the Medical Director, you will be responsible for leading the organization’s overall medical strategy and medical quality agenda. You will ensure that MSF has the medical leadership and expertise, standards, policies and support systems needed to deliver safe, effective and dignified person-centred healthcare.   

You directly report to the General Director of MSF Netherlands / OCA Management Team Chair and are member of the Management Team meetings of Operational Centre Amsterdam and MSF Netherlands, contributing to the overall strategic direction of the organization.  As part of MSF’s international Medical Director platform, you participate in the medical leadership of the MSF movement.    

Key Responsibilities 

• You lead the public health department and the medical, humanitarian operations in OCA, steering by leading the development of medical strategy and assuring the comprehensive nature and quality of medical and public health policies. 

• You enable the execution of programmes, you ensure the quality and professional range of medical leadership needed for this and drive innovation, monitoring, accountability and learning.  

• You work with the Operations Director to steer the allocation of resouces to a diverse range of crises. You oversee the relationship and processes with other departments to realize synergy, effectiveness and efficiency.  You both steer and participate in relevant OCA and NL management platforms.   

• You are responsible for the integrity of MSF OCA’s medical programmes, including adherence to medical ethics and upkeep the principle of ‘do no harm’, providing the leadership towards medical ethical dilemmas, and the management of medical risks, in alignment with OCA’s overall risk appetite.  

• You collaborate with Operations and other departments to ensure safeguarding considerations are embedded in MSF OCA’s medical programmes and ensure optimal use of information, technology and data in our medical programmes, in collaboration with ITD.  

• You collaborate with other OCs, promoting mutual accountability and an optimal use of MSF resources via mutualisation and interoperability where it is effective and efficient to do so.  You participate in the international MedDir platform, MedOps platform overseeing delegated intersectional medical platforms. 

• You undertake external representation, towards relevant interlocuters in our countries of operations and at a global level, in pursuit of our medical strategic objectives.     

 

Who you are 

You are motivated by the work that MSF does, standing in solidarity with people experiencing medical, humanitarian crises, adapting as needs evolve and the provision of quality medical care. You are a strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into actionable plans. You inspire your teams and model an organisational culture which is informed by our values, a transparent and learning culture. You build strong medical leadership, focusing on development and performance in a multicultural environment. You are collaborative, able to build consensus, and work effectively with diverse stakeholders. You maintain your focus on the overall objective while being pragmatic in the process. A position that balances hands-on leadership with strategic vision. 

 

Essential: 

• Medical Doctor with post-graduate training in public health. 

• Professional proficiency in English. 

• Strong communication skills: able to navigate through a complex organization. 

• 12+ years of experience in medical, humanitarian programming, senior management experience 

• Broad knowledge of humanitarian medicine, health programming and research 

• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, budgeting.  

 

Desirable: 

• Professional proficiency in French, Arabic or Spanish. 

• Experience working in an international or humanitarian context, with an understanding of the challenges of operating in low-resource settings. 

• A deep commitment to the principles and values of Médecins Sans Frontières. 

 

What we offer  

• A fixed-term, 3 years contract with renewal option for another 3 years. This position is mandated to be 6 years maximum.   

• Gross monthly salary between € 7,987 – € 10,996 scaling within the range depending on experience.  

• 30 days annual leave (full-time) plus 8% holiday allowance.  

• A competitive pension scheme. 

• Commuting allowance.  

• Access to a large variety of internal training. 

• An inclusive workplace with colleagues from around the globe. 

 
Application & Information 

If you believe you are the candidate we are looking, we welcome you to apply directly via our website and upload a letter of motivation and CV (in English).  

 

The closing date for application is October 21, 2026, at 23:59 CET.  

 

The selection will be by means of two interview rounds. Besides interviews, a case study/assessment might be part of the selection process.  

 

In case you have any questions about the recruitment process please reach out to Ali Hamdan (Recruitment Specialist) at ali.hamdan@amsterdam.msf.org