Regional Mentoring and Coaching Officer (Eastern and Southern Africa)

Introduction

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an international independent medical humanitarian organisation that provides assistance to people affected by conflicts, epidemics, and natural or human-made disasters and excluded from healthcare. We provide this assistance without discrimination, irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation.

About MSF Eastern Africa

MSF Eastern Africa is the regional institutional office of MSF. It focuses on representation and networking, recruiting and supporting staff from the region, communications and fundraising, as well as working on other dossiers of importance to MSF such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Data Protection, mutualization, training, medical operational support and environmental health.

About MSF Mentoring and Coaching Hub

The MSF Mentoring & Coaching Hub offers Mentoring & Coaching to support the MSF global workforce, enhancing their personal and professional leadership. The offer spans from mentoring for managers, individual coaching for all employees, team coaching and coaching skills workshops for managers. In order to increase visibility and adaptation of the offer to the individual, operational needs and cultural specificities, the M&C Hub in Oslo has partnered with MSF Eastern and Southern Africa Sections, not only to reinforce intersection collaboration, but also to reduce duplication of resources between OCs in implementing the offer across MSF.

Rationale/Objective for Position

The role of the Regional Intersectional Mentoring and Coaching Officer is to develop actions to support the professional development of MSF staff, to foster and capitalize on synergies between MSF entities and intersectional HR units, etc.) while effectively and sustainably implementing the Mentoring & Coaching (M&C) offer in MSF operations.

This role focuses on the Eastern and Southern Africa regions, in the countries where MSF holds operations, systematically collaborating between MSF entities while pursuing the following strategic orientations:

1. Actively take steps to make MSF a more diverse and inclusive organization where high-level decisions are made closer to our operations on the ground. Changing MSF’s management culture translates into a multicultural approach to programme management, contextualising the M&C offer according to the region (and potentially even specific missions) and increasing the diversity of the pool of mentors and coaches.
2. Seizing opportunities across multiple M&C programmes, while supporting the development of new M&C programmes for emerging MSF entities. This ranges from shared workshops and continuing professional development events to intersectional pools of mentors and coaches and regional initiatives.
3. Helping MSF managers develop a coaching mindset that values inclusive and continuous learning. MSF’s workplaces will take a broader, more integrated approach to learning and development and recognise that mentoring and coaching are integral to the development of future leaders.
4. Propose and implement M&C regional strategies in collaboration with the Mentoring & Coaching Program Managers (MPMs) of the M&C programmes in MSF.

Tasks & Responsibilities

The role of the Regional Intersectional Mentoring and Coaching Officer is to support the implementation and growth of the M&C offering in MSF’s operations in the region by addressing three key challenges:

• Respond to mentoring and coaching requests from the region and manage mentoring relationships in the region.
• Identify mentors and potential coaches (especially among locally recruited staff) and contribute to building a pool of active mentors in collaboration with MPMs.
• Contextualize how the M&C offer is communicated and implemented in a specific region.
• Develop and validate a plan to raise awareness and disseminate the mentoring and coaching program.
• Support HR and L&D teams to identify mentoring and coaching needs for field staff.
• Ensure collaboration with MSF entities participating in the regional approach including the operational sections, the M&C community and key partners in the region.

Sub-region-specific responsibilities /Context

• Ensure the management of requests for mentoring and coaching in the regions
  • Manage mentoring relationships in the region according to the processes and quality standards defined by the MPMs (and recognized by the EMCC)
  • Refer individual and team coaching requests to the M&C Hub
• Increase the number and diversity of mentors and coaches
  • Identify potential mentors and facilitate the recruitment and training of new mentors
  • Support the delivery of virtual and in-person mentoring workshops in the region
  • Support the call for applications for Coaching Education cohorts, disseminating materials to all missions and organizing information sessions as needed
• Increase visibility and understanding of the M&C offer
  • Develop new communication materials or adapt and/or translate existing materials to promote the M&C offer in the regions
  • Collaborate with HR and L&D teams to strengthen their understanding of the M&C offer and the implementation of M&C in their countries
  • Capture individual stories from mentees, mentors, coachees, and coaches in the region that can be shared to explain and promote the offering to their peers.
• Supporting the learning and development needs of managers and teams in the field
  • Hold one-on-one meetings with managers to raise awareness of their own professional development needs and the L&D opportunities available to them, with a focus on M&C
  • Support the implementation of Team Coaching and Coaching Skills workshops for managers of project and coordination teams, as well as other regional entities
  • Facilitate virtual and in-person mentoring workshops (if trained as a mentor) and Coaching Skills workshops (if trained as a coach)
• Ensure collaboration and information exchange with MSF entities participating in the regional approach, the M&C community and key partners in the region
  • Organise regular meetings with M&C representatives (including MPMs) of MSF entities participating in the regional approach to ensure sustainability of the M&C offer in the region.
  • Participate in M&C Program Managers’ intersectional meetings by providing feedback on needs, successes, and regional initiatives.
  • Collaborate with regional partners to identify and prioritize how mentoring and coaching programs can best be used and adapted to strengthen local, national and regional leadership.
• Other Responsibilities
  • Provide back-up for the M&C Referents of MSF entities participating in the regional approach, in their absence at their request.
• Participate in relevant team meetings with the entities participating in the regional approach.
• Contribute to specific dossiers at the request of the M&C Referents of MSF entities participating in the regional approach.

Qualifications

• Education
  • Essential: technical degree or university degree in the relevant specialisation
  • Desired:
• Education and experience in mentoring and/or coaching
• Background in people management and L&D
• Experience
  • Essential: at least 3 years of professional experience in the relevant field.
  • Desired: experience in team development and relationship management
• Competencies
  • Knowledge of MSF organizational and operational working methods
  • Familiarity with MSF’s M&C programs
  • Well – developed multicultural sensitivity
  • Orientation on Results and Quality
  • Strong facilitation and presentation skills
  • Ability to work independently, ask for support when needed, and provide regular feedback to M&C program managers
  • Teamwork and Cooperation
  • Flexibility
  • Adherence to MSF Principles
  • Stress Management
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills, showing empathy and humility
  • Strong computer skills with knowledge of Microsoft Office software + other tools used by the mentoring program (Salesforce, TEMBO…)
• Others

Available to travel throughout the region (up to 60% of the time)

What We Offer:

• A 6-month renewable full-time employment contract through MSF East Africa Section Office in Nairobi, Kenya.
• An annual salary of EUR18,476 at HQ Level 6 based on a full-time appointment.
• Social benefits package; allowances ranging between EUR 188 to 295/month based on individual & administrative status.
• Other benefits include; 25 days of annual leave, Employer Pension contribution and medical insurance cover (staff and family) based on MSF EA terms/conditions.