EMERGENCY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER_Emergency Pool

Médecins Sans Frontières, founded in 1971, is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from health care. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of medical professionals, logistics, administrative and various other professions, all guided by our medical ethics and our principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.

MSF WaCA, created in 2019, is the first MSF headquarters in Africa, and responds to the desire to reinvent the MSF movement after 50 years of humanitarian actions in the world, for more access to care, more reactivity and proactivity for greater medical coverage of affected populations in the world.

Why join us?

You are preparing to become a member of the MSF family, with over 50 years of emergency medical action that earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

We are an inclusive organization that considers social and professional well-being a right for all and provides an environment that considers the diversity of each member.

MSF WaCA claims an African anchorage that considers the local expertise with which it contributes to the implementation of its activities and makes each member, a key actor of the new dynamics of the humanitarian action in the world.

Diversity, Inclusion & Safe Recruitment

MSF offers equal recruitment and development opportunities without any form of discrimination based on gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geographical origin, physical disability or any other discriminatory ground.

Female candidates who meet the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

Persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply, and reasonable accommodations are available upon request.

MSF is committed to applying Safe Recruitment principles, ensuring transparent, fair, and respectful recruitment processes that protect candidates, the organization, and its beneficiaries.

We Are Looking for: EMERGENCY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER_Emergency Pool

Department:  Operations – Emergency Unit

Direct Manager:  Emergency Coordinator / Emergency Project Coordinator

Functional Manager: PMR; technical support from the Community Engagement Referent

Working %: 100%

Position Based in: Abidjan, HQ (Emergency Pool)

Mobility: All MSF WaCA intervention zones – deployments at short notice

Type of Contract: Fixed-term contract; Renewable 

Position to be filled: As Soon As Possible

Objectives

As a member of the emergency team, the Emergency Community Engagement Manager ensures that every MSF WaCA emergency response (epidemics, population displacement, conflict, natural disasters, nutritional crises) is understood, accepted and co-built with the affected communities from the very first days of the intervention.

He/she designs and leads the community engagement strategy of the emergency, from rapid community entry to handover, so that communities are informed, heard and actively involved in alert, access to care, prevention and feedback. In doing so, he/she strengthens MSF’s acceptance, the security of the teams and the medical impact of the response.

In line with MSF WaCA’s strategic intent to move from care to co-care, he/she ensures that the speed of the response never comes at the expense of community participation, dignity and accountability to affected populations.

Main responsibilities

1. Rapid community entry and acceptance (first 72 hours to 2 weeks)

• Conduct, within the first days of deployment, a rapid community engagement assessment: legitimate interlocutors (traditional, religious, women’s and youth leaders, local authorities, community-based organisations), existing community structures and relays, perceptions of the disease/crisis and of MSF, and barriers to access to care (financial, cultural, gender, physical, security).

• Lead introductory meetings with community leaders and local authorities to present MSF, its principles and the intervention, and negotiate acceptance and access with the Emergency Coordinator.

• Turn findings into concrete operational recommendations (location of sites, opening hours, patient flows, staff profile, key messages) feeding the response plan from day one.

2. Design and implement the community engagement strategy of the emergency

• Develop the community engagement plan of action (objectives, target groups, activities, indicators, human resources, budget) aligned with medical priorities, and integrate it into the emergency response plan and logframe.

• Apply the minimum package of community engagement in emergencies (information, two-way communication, participation, feedback, community-based alert) and adapt it to the type of emergency: epidemics (cholera, measles, meningitis, Ebola, mpox, diphtheria…), displacement and camps, conflict, nutritional peaks, floods.

• Co-design with communities the health promotion and risk communication messages, adapted to local languages, social norms and literacy levels; pre-test them and adjust them rapidly.

• Support mass activities (vaccination campaigns, active case finding, distributions) through community mobilisation, micro-planning with leaders and management of refusals and hesitancy.

3. Community-based alert, rumours and feedback

• Set up, with the epidemiology and medical teams, a community-based alert system relying on community relays and key informants, with a clear alert-escalation protocol.

• Implement rumour and perception monitoring, analyse trends weekly and propose rapid responses to misinformation and mistrust.

• Set up, from the start of the intervention, an accessible, safe and confidential complaint and feedback mechanism (oral, hotline, community meetings, adapted to persons with disabilities); ensure every feedback is analysed, answered and closed, and refer sensitive complaints (including sexual exploitation and abuse) through the appropriate channels.

4. Inclusion, protection and dignity

• Ensure the effective participation of marginalised groups (women, children and adolescents, persons with disabilities, elderly people, minorities, displaced and host populations) in consultation and decision-making.

• Integrate gender, protection and “do no harm” considerations into all community engagement activities, including sensitive issues (sexual violence, isolation, safe and dignified burials, stigmatisation of patients and survivors).

• Facilitate community dialogue in situations of tension (refusal of isolation or treatment, incidents against health facilities, stigmatisation) in coordination with the Emergency Coordinator and the security focal point.

5. Team management

• Recruit, train, supervise and coach the community engagement team (supervisors, health promoters, community relays, mobilisers), with a rapid onboarding adapted to emergency timeframes.

• Organise daily planning, field supervision and debriefings, and ensure the safety and well-being of the team in volatile contexts.

• Evaluate staff performance and identify profiles with potential for the emergency pool.

6. Coordination, reporting and handover

• Act as the community engagement focal point of the emergency team and bring the community perspective into daily coordination and decisions (Medical, Epidemiology, Watsan, Logistics, HR, Security, Communication).

• Represent MSF, when relevant, in risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) and accountability coordination mechanisms (Ministry of Health, health cluster, other actors), in line with MSF’s positioning.

• Monitor community engagement indicators, contribute to sitreps and weekly reports, and immediately report any change in community perception or early-warning signal.

• Prepare from the start, with communities and authorities, the exit and handover strategy; document lessons learned and good practices to feed MSF WaCA emergency tools (community engagement kit, briefings, rapid assessment template).

Education

• University degree (Bachelor/Master) in public health, community health, social sciences (anthropology, sociology), communication for development or equivalent field.

• Training in risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) or community engagement in emergencies is a strong asset.

Competencies

• Community-centred posture: listening, humility and ability to value community knowledge and to co-build rather than simply inform.

• Ability to work under pressure in insecure and rapidly changing contexts, with strong prioritisation skills.

• Command of rapid participatory assessment tools (key informant interviews, focus groups, community mapping), rumour monitoring and feedback mechanisms.

• Negotiation, mediation and diplomacy skills with leaders, authorities and communities.

• Team management and training skills; ability to build and lead a team quickly.

• Analytical and writing skills; ability to turn community feedback into operational decisions.

• Availability for deployments at short notice and commitment to MSF principles, Code of Conduct and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA).

Expériences professionnelles requises

• Minimum 2 to 5 years of experience in community engagement, health promotion, RCCE or accountability to affected populations, including at least 2 years in humanitarian emergency response.

• Proven experience in epidemic response (cholera, measles, Ebola, mpox, meningitis…) and/or acute crises (displacement, conflict, natural disasters).

• Experience in setting up community feedback mechanisms and community-based alert systems.

• Experience in managing multidisciplinary and multicultural field teams.

• Previous experience with MSF or another international humanitarian organisation is a strong asset; experience in West and Central Africa is an asset.

• Minimum 2 à 5 ans d’expérience en engagement communautaire, promotion de la santé, CREC ou redevabilité envers les populations affectées, dont au moins 2 ans en réponse humanitaire d’urgence.

• Expérience confirmée en réponse aux épidémies (choléra, rougeole, Ebola, mpox, méningite…) et/ou en crises aiguës (déplacements, conflits, catastrophes naturelles).

• Expérience dans la mise en place de mécanismes de feedback communautaire et de systèmes d’alerte communautaire.

• Expérience en gestion d’équipes terrain pluridisciplinaires et multiculturelles.

• Une expérience préalable avec MSF ou une autre organisation humanitaire internationale est un atout majeur ; une expérience en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre est un atout.

Languages Skills

• Fluent French is essential; working proficiency in English.

• Knowledge of one or more local languages of the intervention zones is an asset.

Computer Skills

• MS Office suite (mainly MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint).

• Mobile data collection tools (KoBoToolbox/ODK) are an asset.

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N.B.: This job description provides a framework for the main responsibilities and primary activities of the position. It is not exhaustive. Therefore, the responsibilities and activities of the position may differ from those described in this job description due to organizational and operational needs.

Deadline: 08th November 2026 18:00 GMT
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.