CONTEXT
Médecins Sans Frontières’s mission is to alleviate suffering, promote health, and save lives in increasingly complex, unpredictable humanitarian scenarios. Our programs require strategic support and an agile surge response; to achieve these goals, our People and Workforce posture is becoming integrated, context adapted and future oriented.
In 2025, the MSF Operational Center Brussels (OCB) resolved to move from an administrative HR approach to a more strategic People and Workforce model, strengthening the collaboration with the operations department.
As of January 2026, the People and Operations Delivery (POD) model will be introduced: a structure built on clear interfaces with Operations, HR Officers, and back-office. It will bring key people-related expertise such as workforce planning, administration and compliance, duty of care, and emergency readiness closer to MSF OCB programs and projects realities.
The model will continue to evolve throughout 2026 - 2031 to improve workforce planning, retention, learning, safeguarding, and overall operational support.
As Global Workforce Planning Lead, you will lead the Staffing People and Operations Delivery unit as part of the HR/OPS filière, alongside the other POD Units. The position will coordinate and strengthen a practical, data-informed workforce planning and staffing approach, enabling Operational Centre Brussels (OCB) to anticipate, allocate, and develop its global workforce in alignment with its Strategic Ambitions 2026–2031.
In close cross-functional collaboration with the People and Workforce Department, Operational Cells, Country Programmes, and the other POD Units, you will facilitate a coherent and future-oriented approach to global workforce planning and deployment (over 15000 staff). The position reports directly to the People and Workforce Deputy Director for Operations.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead the Staffing People and Operations Delivery team
- Lead the Staffing POD, ensuring clear priorities, roles, and ways of working across the team
- Oversee the functions contributing to staffing, including Pool Management, Mobility focal points, workforce planning/analysis, and other staffing-related functions as the set-up evolves
- Ensure the team provides coherent, timely, and practical support to Operations, HROs, HR Coordinators, and the wider People and Workforce Department
- Promote a service-oriented approach, with strong collaboration between staffing, operations, emergency readiness, recruitment, and other People and Workforce teams
Drive workforce planning and staffing anticipation
- Lead the development of workforce planning approaches that help OCB anticipate staffing needs, identify gaps, and support operational priorities
- Translate operational plans, project realities, emergency needs, and strategic ambitions into practical staffing scenarios
- Facilitate regular workforce planning reviews with key stakeholders to support prioritisation and resource allocation
- Ensure that staffing risks, constraints, and options are clearly identified and escalated when needed
Turn staffing data into decision support
- Oversee the production and use of staffing dashboards, workforce indicators, pipeline analysis, and analytical briefs
- Ensure workforce data is reliable, understandable, and translated into clear recommendations for decision-making
- Work with HR data analysts, HRIS focal points, Pool Managers, and operational teams to improve data quality, common definitions, and consistency
- Identify key trends and bottlenecks, including hard-to-fill profiles, pipeline gaps, rotation constraints, mobility challenges, and gaps between demand and available workforce
Shape staffing models and resource allocation
- Support the design and review of staffing models for countries’ programmes, projects, emergencies, and annual planning processes
- Contribute to staffing scenarios that are realistic, operationally grounded, and aligned with OCB’s strategic ambitions
- Coordinate with Operations, Medical, Logistics, Finance, Supply, Recruitment, and other stakeholders to ensure staffing assumptions are shared and coherent
- Provide recommendations on workforce trade-offs, prioritisation, and mitigation options when staffing demand exceeds available capacity
Strengthen staffing practices and continuous improvement
- Harmonise workforce planning methods, staffing indicators, and reporting practices across the organisation
- Document key processes, methodologies, and lessons learned to support organisational learning
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of staffing practices, including the connection between regular staffing, mobility, pool management, and emergency readiness
- Support a culture of anticipation, transparency, and shared accountability for workforce availability
Shape Staffing Models
- Optimize Resource Allocation
REQUIREMENTS
Education & Experience
- University degree in Human Resources Management, Data Analytics, Statistics, International Relations, Humanitarian Management or similar or 8 years equivalent professional experience
- Minimum 8 years of relevant professional experience in HR, workforce management, staffing, operations support, or organisational management, including significant experience leading sizeable teams or multi-functional units in complex international settings
- Demonstrated experience managing teams through managers supervising teams of around 25–30 people
- Proven track record in using workforce data, HR analytics, and monitoring tools to support staffing decisions in a large-scale international organisation, at both headquarters and programme level
- MSF professional experience is an asset
Competencies
- Proven ability to lead, structure, and develop sizeable, diverse, and multi-functional teams in a complex international environment
- Strong people management skills, including delegation, prioritisation, performance management, coaching, conflict management, and creating clear accountability
- Ability to lead through managers or technical leads, ensuring coherence, service quality, and engagement across a large team
- Strategic thinking and sound judgement, with the ability to translate organisational priorities into practical staffing and workforce decisions
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build trust and align senior stakeholders across Operations, People and Workforce, and technical departments
- Ability to use data and evidence to support decision-making while keeping a pragmatic and operationally grounded approach
- Strong communication skills, including the ability to frame complex staffing issues clearly for different audiences
- Collaborative and service-oriented leadership style, with the ability to work across cultures, functions, and organisational boundaries
- Strong understanding of humanitarian operations, HR models, and workforce challenges in complex and fast-moving environments
Languages
- Proficient level in English, written and spoken is mandatory
- Good knowledge of French, Spanish, or Arabic written and spoken is an asset
CONDITIONS
- Expected starting date: As soon as possible
- Location: Brussels (Belgium)*
* Other location/s where there is an MSF entity, accessible by train and min. 3h away from Brussels, could be exceptionally considered. The outcome depends on the residency of the candidate, the local legal limitations (residency, work permit, etc.) and on agreement with the hosting MSF entity of these locations and in compliance with the standard MSF function and salary grids
- Mobility: 1 or 2 project visits per year
- Contract type: Open ended contract – Full time
- Homeworking possible as per the MSF policy
- Salary: according to MSF-OCB salary grid
- Meal vouchers – Hospital Insurance (DKV) – Pension Plan – 100% reimbursement for public transportation costs
- Adhere to the MSF principles and to our managerial values: Respect, Transparency, Integrity, Accountability, Trust and Empowerment
- Adhere to the MSF Behavioral Commitments and OCB Code of Conduct
Deadline for applications: 16th August 2026
Brussels (Belgium)