MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES UK



Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) provides life-saving emergency relief and longer-term medical care to some of the most vulnerable and excluded communities around the world. As an independent medical humanitarian organisation, we deliver care based only on need, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, religion or political affiliation.

MSF relies on donations from private individuals and organisations for the majority of its income. This private funding gives MSF the freedom to respond where needs are greatest and to speak out publicly, free from any political interference.

MSF has around 40,000 local and international staff working in over 70 countries, in some of the most challenging places in the world. Our medical humanitarian projects are supported by teams in 32 countries, including the UK, spread across Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia.

At MSF UK/IE, we support MSF's operations by building relationships with our supporters, increasing awareness of our work, raising funds, providing specialist medical expertise, catalysing change on medical humanitarian issues, and recruiting field staff. MSF UK/IE personnel are dynamic, hard-working, enthusiastic and committed to MSF's values and aims. In addition MSF continues to build upon its presence in Ireland to become a widely recognised, accepted and respected humanitarian organisation among Irish audiences, and within the Irish humanitarian and political sector.

Hours: 40 hours per week
Duration: 6 months FTC
Salary: London Living Wage of £11.95 per hour (before tax and National Insurance deductions). This is equivalent to approximately £24,856 per annum

PRESS TEAM

MSF UK's press team is made up of a manager, two press officers, a features and documentaries manager and an intern. It sits within and works closely together with the wider MSF UK communications department, which includes a digital team, an audiovisual team, and a public engagement team. The press team also works closely with communications colleagues across the MSF movement.

The department’s overall purpose is to raise the profile of the organisation and its causes amongst British audiences to support MSF’s advocacy, recruitment, and fundraising activities.

ROLE DESCRIPTION

We require a passionate, organised and committed intern to provide daily support to our press team.

The successful candidate will track and analyse media coverage of MSF in the UK through daily monitoring and the production of quarterly reports. They will also debrief members of staff returning from MSF’s medical projects, as well as pitching stories to local and trade media.

This role is an opportunity to gain exposure to media work and explore the day-to-day work of an international NGO and to understand how and why we communicate. There will be ample opportunity to learn more about MSF and you are encouraged to attend and contribute to weekly office meetings and operational updates.

Please download the full job description and person specification for more information.

Knowledge, skills and expertise:

This could be through study, volunteering, a previous role, etc. We do not require the candidate to have a degree if they can demonstrate experience in these areas in their application:

• Demonstrable interest in media relations
• Demonstrable interest in humanitarian work
• Strong written and oral communications skills
• The ability to recognise a good story
• Some familiarity with UK media
• Some familiarity with Twitter and Microsoft Office, and ability to learn how to use media monitoring software
• Organised and adaptable
• Fluency in languages other than English is a bonus (particularly French or Arabic)

MSF UK/IE is dedicated to safeguarding everyone who comes into contact with the organisation, for whatever reason and however brief. All posts are subject to safer recruitment process which include robust reference requests, scrutiny of employment history and where applicable criminal record and barring checks.

Our safeguarding commitment is underpinned by policies and procedures which encourage and promote safe working practice across the organisation. On joining MSF UK/IE you will be required to attend safeguarding training to ensure responsibility for and maintaining safe working practice and to safeguard our teams, beneficiaries, and communities.

Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.

MSF UK is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We encourage applications from all sections of our diverse community. 

Please can you complete our anonymous Equity, Diversity & Inclusion form here.

HOW TO APPLY

Please apply on our website by submitting a copy of your CV together with a letter of motivation and answers to the application questions below (please upload as one document) by the closing date.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Thank you for your interest in working with MSF. To get a better sense of your aptitude for this role, we would like you to complete the questions below. There aren’t ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers, but we are interested in your approach and your ideas. Good luck!

1. You have new testimonies and medical data from MSF teams in Greece and Lithuania on the conditions and experiences of migrants and refugees on the borders and in camps. You can pitch this exclusively to one UK newspaper, online news outlet, TV show or radio programme. Where do you choose to pitch it to, and why? (max. 100 words)

2. Who is your favourite journalist covering international/humanitarian issues today and why? (max. 100 words)

3. Sum up your application as a tweet.

RECRUITMENT TIMETABLE

• Closing date for applications: 23 October 2022, 11.59pm (BST)
• Interviews: w/c 7 November 2022
• Ideal start date: December 2022