You are employed in Sweden for the entire duration of the mission. Those of you on your first mission receive a salary of 13,059 SEK or 1,476 € depending on if you live in Sweden or Finland. Compensation increases thereafter with experience and responsibility.
The salary is intended to cover operating expenses in Sweden and it is pensionable. MSF pays for travel, accommodations, and help with pocket money to cover meals etc. We also provide excellent insurance coverage, medical examinations before and after a mission, and any necessary vaccinations.
12 MONTHS IN THE FIELD
An assignment usually lasts for 6-12 months. We therefore require you to be available for that length of time. Depending on your project and your role, assignments may be longer or shorter. Fieldworkers get a week off every three months.
As field workers, you agree to respect the ethical standards of the medical profession and be entirely independent of political, economic, religious or other discriminatory factors.
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Much can be unfamiliar on your first mission. And you will often find yourself with more responsibility than you are used to at home. For this reason, we attach considerable importance to previous travels in low-income areas. These experiences can be good preparation for the field-work and can help you better imagine what the job entails.
LANGUAGE
Our working language is English so field workers are required to be fluent in English, both spoken and written. Most of our projects, however, are conducted in French-speaking countries and for that reason we are always interested in recruiting personnel who speak French. Knowledge of French is a requirement for some profiles and it's considered an important merit for all. Other languages are also an asset.
MSF AS AN EMPLOYER
MSF is an association consisting of ‘volunteers’. For MSF, volunteering is an individual commitment and personal responsibility. However, our colleagues work on a paid basis.
We are looking for colleagues who are morally committed to humanitarian action and accept the risks of the mission. They also demonstrate flexibility in their work and accept to be sent abroad according to humanitarian needs. Finally, they respect the MSF Charter as well as the Employee Charter, and must adopt a modest lifestyle during missions.
The management of MSF’s human resources is based on the concepts of volunteering, equity, transparency and recognition of the value of each individual.
MSF salaries reflect the humanitarian spirit of volunteerism, while recognizing the high levels of professional skill of our field staff. Increases are based on expertise and experience. For example, after one year of engagement for MSF the salary increases. MSF offers the opportunity to attend trainings and workshops, organised internally or externally, relating to specific career development or individual growth.
Médecins Sans Frontières has put up mechanisms and procedures to fight abuse, exploitation and harassment in the work environment.