Advocacy Senior Manager

About MSF

Doctors without Borders (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation committed to two objectives: providing medical assistance to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion, natural and man-made disasters; and speaking out about the plight of the populations assisted. MSF offers assistance to people based only on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

Today, MSF is present in more than 70 countries, where thousands of MSF doctors, nurses, logisticians, water-and-sanitation experts, and other medical and non-medical professionals work together to bring essential health services to people caught in humanitarian crises.

The MSF movement has historically been built around six operational directorates supported by MSF’s 24 sections, 24 associations and other offices together worldwide. MSF Ubuntu is MSF’s newest and seventh operational directorate, approved in June 2025 and operations expected to commence in early 2026. MSF Southern Africa is one of the founding partners of MSF Ubuntu.

Reporting to the Director of ERAA, this role combines responsibilities of regional targeted advocacy objectives under specific thematics, operational technical advocacy support for humanitarian medical projects, issue-specific research and analysis, as well as representation and networking. This position will strengthen MSF’s strategic presence in Southern Africa as well as the ERAA Department, manage core advocacy initiatives, and step into Director-level functions during absences.

The position is envisaged to help manage the transition for ERAA as it steps into providing a larger advocacy support role within the MSF Ubuntu Operational Directorate as well.

• Primary technical referent for projects in Southern Africa on development of advocacy strategies, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and capitalisation.
• Responsible for organising and running relevant advocacy training workshops, both online and in-person, as needed in the region, as well as for the Eastern Africa region/MSF Ubuntu when needed

• Consistent monitoring and analysis of political, humanitarian, and medical contexts across Southern Africa (and Eastern Africa, where needed) to inform decision-making and advocacy strategies.
• Conduct actor mapping and stakeholder analysis throughout the region; advise on engagement with authorities, CSOs, regional NGOs, and donors.
• Draft regular internal briefings and situation reports to support both operations and advocacy planning.
• Working closely with the ERAA Director, build research networks, capacity and strategy for ERAA, through targeted research projects and partnerships with African academia and research institutions.

• Represent MSF Southern Africa at global, regional and local stakeholder forums such as governmental bodies, networks, civil society, consortiums, academic institutions, media and others, as delegated by the Director.
• Support development and dissemination of regional advocacy messages, tailoring MSF positions for regional contexts, media, and partners.

• Act as deputy to the Director of ERAA: assume leadership, manage dossiers and/or staff, and oversee advocacy initiatives when required.
• Take on ad‑hoc assignments as needed: emergency advocacy responses, representation in regional crises, coordination between hubs and HQ, internal capacity-building.
• Line-manage Pillar Leads in ERAA (Community Engagement, Climate) with regular supervision check-ins, annual plan development and performance management.
• Work closely with the ERAA Director to support the development and monitoring of ERAA strategic planning, annual planning and biannual reviews.
• Form part of MSF Southern Africa’s strategic and thematic support to MSF Ubuntu by working closely with the ERAA Director to ensure capacity building, strategy development and technical support to the Advocacy, Analysis, Representation and Networking unit (AARN) of MSF…