MSF Access Policy Advisor

Médecins Sans Frontières works tirelessly to improve the accessibility, availability, affordability, appropriateness and quality of products for health care for the populations it assists and their communities. While this is a collective effort across the organisation, the MSF Access team plays a central role as it identifies and implements a priority selection of access projects, offers expert support for access activities elsewhere in MSF, and brings together information and analysis relevant to MSF’s access work. The MSF Access team, overseen by an Executive Board, is based in the following five regional hubs:

• Dakar, Senegal: covering West and Central Africa

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: covering the Americas

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: covering Asia and Oceania

• Nairobi, Kenya: covering Eastern and Southern Africa

• Brussels, Belgium: covering Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa

The work of MSF Access is rooted in MSF’s medical humanitarian work and aims to improve access to medicines and healthcare products for people in the greatest need by bringing down barriers that keep people from getting the treatment they need to stay alive and healthy.  

To do this, we advocate for the most effective medicines and health products to be available, affordable, and equitably accessible for the people we care for, and beyond.  

The MSF Access team has the following responsibilities:

• Gather input for MSF’s Common Priorities on access to products of healthcare (Access).

• Design and implement Access Analysis & Advocacy activities to respond to the agreed Common Priorities.

• Provide, facilitate, support on Access files outside the Common Priorities to MSF entities that request it.

• Maintain an overview of Access initiatives across MSF and report on them annually.

• Research, and stay informed of, the Access landscape globally and regionally to inform the MSF Movement of opportunities and threats.

The Policy Advisor works in the Analysis Department of MSF’s Access Team, reporting to the Head of Analysis. S/he works in a multidisciplinary team of the Analysis Department consisting of experts on medical, pharmaceutical, legal and policy issues related to access to health products and technologies. The Policy Advisor maintains a close working relationship with the regional hubs and the Advocacy/Communication department of the Access team.

• Research, analysis, and scanning on cross cutting global policy developments and subjects concerning biomedical innovation and access, including the issues of transparency.

• Provide advice on incorporating relevant policy issues in thematic and strategic analysis, including in regional context, including strategic opportunities and recommendations.

• Support and provide input into the development and implementation of relevant advocacy strategies.

• Establish and maintain an external network related to the responsibilities and represent MSF at relevant policy forums when required.

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• Reviewing, collating and synthesizing global policy literature in relation to transparency, innovation and access issues that affect the Access team’s works.

• Provide technical and strategic advice on the concerned policy issues and analysis needs in thematic portfolios, including in the regional context

• Maintain an overview, documentation and regular update of analysis and technical support on global policy issues affecting innovation and access, in line with the Knowledge and Information Management Guidelines.

• Support and provide advice to other analysis team advisors, regional hubs and advocacy and communication advisors in position development, talking points and advocacy strategy on relevant global policy issues affecting innovation and equitable access

• Maintain an external and internal network of relevant stakeholders, sharing MSF analysis and representing the Access team at external forum.

• Graduate degree in the fields of global health policies, political science, public policy, law, international relations, or other relevant domains.

• Strong knowledge of global health, access to medicines, research and development, and transparency issues.

• Minimum 5 years of experience directly relevant to the responsibilities of the position. 

• Strong skills in research and analysis, critical thinking, writing technical and policy analysis documents and/or peer-reviewed publications.

• Core competencies: project management, teamwork, problem solving, team management, strategic planning and priority setting.

• Demonstrable technical leadership in a diverse and highly changing environment of actors.

• Excellent communication and team working skills; and willingness to speak at public events.

• Capacity to develop and maintain good working relationships in a complex international, cross-cultural environment.

• Genuine interest in and commitment to the humanitarian principles of MSF; 

• Experience working in resource-limited settings, ideally with MSF at field and/or HQ levels is an asset.

• Appreciation of cultural and gender diversity, and strong commitment to equity and inclusion.

• Proficiency in oral and written English, other languages an asset.

Note: All offers of employment will be subject to reference checks, including Human Resources, and to appropriate screening checks. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her/their understanding of these selection procedures.