Operational Research Advisor (f,m,x)

CONTEXT

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides aid in more than 70 countries to populations in distress, to victims of natural or manmade disasters and to victims of armed conflicts, without discrimination and irrespective of race, religion, creed, or political affiliation.

MSF Luxembourg

MSF Luxembourg is a historical partner section of the MSF movement created in 1986. With 35 staff members, the section’s team works to raise awareness on humanitarian issues among Luxembourg’s population, raise funds needed to finance humanitarian interventions, supports MSF volunteers who go into the field and carry out, through LuxOR, operational research projects directly linked to health programs to help improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

Operational Centre Brussels (OCB)

Operational Centre Brussels (OCB) is one of the, at current 6 Operational Directorates or Operational Centres, the others are Operational Centres Amsterdam (OCA), Barcelona (OCBA), Geneva (OCG), Paris (OCP) and Western and Central Africa (WaCa). OCB is made up of nine MSF partner sections (Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, South Africa and Sweden) and the Finland, Lebanon and Taiwan Branch Offices.

The OCB Medical Department is a network of units, the Brussels Medical Unit (BRUMED in Brussels), the Southern African Medical Unit (SAMU) in Cape Town, the Luxembourg Operational Research unit (LuxOR) in Luxembourg, the Middle East Medical Unit (MEMU) in Beirut and the Brazilian Medical Unit (BRAMU) in Latin America. The medical operations of OCB are covered between seven Cells and Regional Support Teams (RSTs) that support different countries.

Luxembourg Operational Research unit (LuxOR)

LuxOR was founded in 2009 and is a part of the MSF-OCB Medical Department but collaborates widely with entities in the MSF movement. Operational Research helps MSF take an in-depth look at its programs and operations, evaluates what is working well, and shows what can and needs to be improved. 

Since 2019, LuxOR took up the support and a coordination role for the different epidemiology advisors and field epidemiologists, providing technical support, guidance and advice to the field-epidemiologists in the different OCB missions with the aim to improve data quality, analyses and visualization to support operational decision-making. 

FUNCTIONAL INTERRACTIONS

• The LuxOR Director is the overall medical department reference person regarding guiding global policy and strategic aspects of operational research and the routine epidemiology advisor support structure in OCB and provides overall strategic guidance and management to team members. Through the director, as appropriate there are designated interactions with larger member of MSF through Circles, Platforms, and others. 

• The LuxOR Coordinator is co-responsible for team management, research system support, OR coordination, budget and communication activities of the unit.

• The LuxOR team consist of Operational Research advisors, field epidemiology advisors, medical editor and research process coordinator. Staff is based in different locations in different countries/MSF-OCB medical units, there is no functional hierarchical link between positions and all team members report to the LuxOR Director and Coordinator.

MAIN ACTIVITIES / RESPONSABILITIES

The Operational Research Advisor will support operational research activities at different level: field, mission, HQ and movement level. These can be elaborated as: 

1. Support Operational Research (OR) activities:

   • OR cycle: Help with every step of the Operational Research process, 

   • Ensure that all research follows high ethical standards.

   • Promote the importance of OR across teams as an essential activity.

   • Participation in relevant Luxor meetings and activities in coordination with the Luxor team.

   • Research questions and protocols: Assist in creating and refining research questions, concept notes, and study protocols.

     • Draft or review study documents to ensure they meet MSF requirements for ethical review.

     • Technical support and guidance to Principal Investigators, helping them strengthen their research skills.

     • Writing support: Assist in writing manuscripts, policy briefs, and other reports to share findings.

     • Data analysis: Provide direct support to ensure high-quality statistical analysis and solid research results.

     • Dissemination: Support the sharing of findings, both internally and externally, including publications and presentations.

      Clinical and biomedical focus: Provide specialized support for research in relevant domain, in close collaboration and coordination with OR           advisors in Infectious Disease. 

2. Promote OR engagement within MSF:

   • Work closely with in-house experts to align research with MSF's clinical needs and priorities.

   • Contribute to developing OR priorities and strategies that align with operational needs.

   • Actively promote Luxor strategies and the role of humanitarian research.

   • Build and strengthen relationships with other researchers to support studies and share results.

   • Help maintain and update the annual OR agenda.

   • Advocate for translating research into practical changes and policies.

    

3. Support research capacity building:

   • Field visits – conduct necessary field visit per year (up to 30%) to provide on-site research support and operational assistance.

   • Contribute to identifying gaps in research skills and organize training in particular on data literacy, analysis and methods

   • Participate in learning and development activity on operational research, like SORT-IT courses.

   • Knowledge management: Maintain an organized library of research guidelines and protocols and support training for data teams.

      

4. Support in advancing public health intelligence in MSF:

   • Information sharing, coordinate with OR, epidemiology, and data teams, especially in areas like surveillance, outbreak response, and data analysis.

   • Ensuring conducive data environment in collaboration with relevant other units

   • Team linkages, facilitate collaboration between different MSF units involved in OR projects.

   • Documentation: keep up-to-date with and help organize technical documentation related to OR and epidemiology.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS 

• Medical, or paramedical profile is a pre-requisite, ideally in biomedical or clinical sciences, including an understanding of disease mechanisms, diagnostics, and therapeutic approaches, particularly in infectious diseases.

• Postgraduate training in Public Health or Research Methods (MSc, level) with specific training and practical competence in epidemiology and medical statistics are an advantage. Advanced studies on research methodologies are desirable. PhD. in Bio(medical) sciences is an asset

• Proficiency in data management systems

• Possess certification in good clinical practice (GCP)

• Strong skills in analytical methods and data analysis and visualization including the use of statistical software (R, STATA). Knowledge of different software packages is an added value:

• Health information software (HIS e.g., DHIS2) 

• GIS software suites (e.g., ArcGIS or QGIS are an advantage)

• Data collection tools (Kobo, RedCap)

• Proven track record of field experience in MSF or another humanitarian NGO, including having worked in the context of health systems in a developing country.

• Experience in complex studies/clinical trials in humanitarian settings.

• Experience in scientific protocol writing and proven use of different quantitative study designs, including profound understanding of the concepts of bias and statistical inference. 

• Capacity to quickly get familiar with the literature on different topics related to the operational priorities.

• Understanding of qualitative and mixed-methods study designs are an asset. 

• High fluency in English (C1 or above) French is an asset.

SOFT SKILLS REQUIREMENTS 

• A high degree of initiative and work autonomy, team interaction and diplomacy are required to be able to interact at various levels within the department, in MSF and outside.

• Ability to adapt to changing circumstances, contexts, tasks, responsibilities, and people.

• Willingness and ability to function in a team, transparent communication with colleagues.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills for interacting with stakeholders 

• Solid scientific rigor and honesty, transparency, attention to detail.

• Ability to handle multiple projects or activities simultaneously, and to deliver quality outputs within deadlines.

• Proactivity and leadership capacity to drive operational epidemiological activities.

• Flexibility for regular travel (up to 40% of working time), possibly at short notice. Ability and willingness to spend time in often difficult and unstable contexts.

• Adhere to the MSF principles and to our managerial values: Respect, Transparency, Integrity, Accountability, Trust and Empowerment

• Adhere to the MSF Behavioural Commitments

CONTRACT CONDITIONS AND BENEFITS 

• One-year contract with probationary period and possibility of extension - Full time 

• Based in Luxembourg

• Monthly gross salary: from 5000€ to 6040 € according to MSF experience 
• Hospitalization insurance, meal vouchers, transport allowance, relocation package (if applicable) 

• Starting date: March/ April 2025 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO APPLY?