Work overseas
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) relies on a network of healthcare and other professionals outside the healthcare realm. These professionals assist people facing crises by carrying out our humanitarian activities in conflict zones, epidemics, natural disasters, and other emergencies. Each year more than 30,000 locally hired staff are joined by more than 3,000 international staff to provide medical care in over 500 humanitarian projects around the world. Join us to have a career working as a humanitarian delivering or facilitating critical medical assistance where it’s needed most. At MSF, we are looking for skilled medical and non-medical professionals to help deliver emergency humanitarian assistance. We recruit from Canada and elsewhere to support our operations around the world. MSF is recruiting staff for projects located in countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, and Yemen. We are looking for professionals who not only align with our values and mission but who will also help shape the future of the MSF movement by speaking out about what we see, inspire action and connect people.
Working overseas FAQs
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We are considering professionals who are legally entitled to work in Canada (Canadian permanent resident or citizen). MSF Canada is not in the position to support with any work permit process for these international mobile staff (field) positions.
If you’re not a resident of Canada, please submit your application to the appropriate MSF office.
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No. Going on assignment with MSF requires solid, transferable experience (at least two years) and going through a rigorous recruitment process and induction. You have a contract, expectations to fill and often a heavy workload. It is a job with many responsibilities in a complex and challenging context.
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Detailed criteria and varied requirements can be found in the individual job descriptions. We only accept online applications and from applicants who meet our recruitment criteria.
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We recruit medical and non-medical professionals to work on our projects. Our international staff combine technical abilities and practical experience with a commitment to, and concern for, the well-being of the people MSF seeks to help.
Most MSF staff members are recruited locally in the countries where we work; international staff members, such as those from Canada, make up less than 10% of total MSF employees.
International mobile staff recruitment timeline
Application received
Your application will be prescreened by the recruitment team and you will receive a reply, regardless of the outcome of the prescreen.
Phonescreen
If selected to move forward, you will be contacted by a recruiter and invited to an informal conversation to discuss your profile.
Testing and validation
Each role has a role-specific testing and validation phase in concert with our Operational Centers overseas. If selected to move forward to this stage, you will be asked to complete a test related to the skills required for the role you applied for, and possibly a language proficiency test in French or in English, depending on the requirements stated of the job.
Panel interview
If selected to move forward to this stage, you will be invited to complete a pre-interview questionnaire related to soft skills and experience, and you will be interviewed by a panel.
References
After a successful panel interview, you will be asked to provide references from past employers and a criminal background check. This is done by a Canadian regulated references check provider.
Admittance into the pool, and onboarding
After reception and analysis of your references, if successful, you will be invited to join the pool of Canadian International Mobile Staff. You will be invited to complete onboarding, health preparation and training sessions.
Finding an assingment for you
At this stage, you will be matched with a career manager depending on the immediate-to-future needs for your role in our projects. Your career manager will begin to look for a suitable assignment (6-12 month contract) for you on one of MSF 450+ projects.