Job Description

Do you want to join a committed, activist-driven organization and take meaningful action for social justice?

For over 40 years, Médecins du Monde has been delivering healthcare to the most vulnerable, challenging barriers to access, and driving long-term change in health policies.

In France and across nearly 30 countries, our work is built around six core missions:

• Sexual and reproductive health and rights (including access to safe abortion)
• Migration, exile, human rights and health
• Harm reduction
• Health and the environment
• Healthcare systems
• Humanitarian spaces

MdM in Afghanistan

Médecins du Monde re-opened its mission in Afghanistan in 2021 and currently implements programmes in primary healthcare, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), nutrition and harm reduction through a combination of direct implementation and partnerships with local organizations. The mission operates in a complex environment marked by restrictions imposed by de facto authorities, constraints affecting women’s participation and access to services, evolving humanitarian needs and significant challenges for the health system. Current programmes are implemented in Wardak, Farah and Nimroz provinces and place a strong emphasis on community engagement, quality of care and access to essential health services.

About the role

You will join the mission at a pivotal moment. Beyond ensuring the quality and relevance of medical activities, you will play a key role in strengthening the mission’s medical leadership, supporting teams, reinforcing SRHR priorities and helping to structure programmes, partnerships and ways of working in line with Médecins du Monde’s values and standards. Working closely with the General Coordinator, HQ Health Advisor and programme teams, you will contribute directly to improving access to quality healthcare for vulnerable populations across Afghanistan.

What you'll do

👉 Define, drive and monitor the mission's medical strategy and ensure its alignment with MdM's global priorities, with a particular focus on SRHR.

👉 Ensure the quality, relevance and effectiveness of health, nutrition, MHPSS and SRHR activities across all programmes.

👉 Lead, support and develop medical teams through coaching, capacity-building and performance management.

👉 Analyse programme performance and medical data to guide decision-making and continuous improvement.

👉 Design new projects, contribute to donor proposals and support the mission's strategic development.

👉 Represent MdM with health authorities, humanitarian actors, partners and community stakeholders.

👉 Adapt programmes and priorities in response to contextual changes, population needs and humanitarian emergencies.

Who you'll work with

You will report directly to the General Coordinator and maintain a strong functional relationship with the Health Advisor based at headquarters. You will supervise a technical medical team of two to three people and work closely with programme managers, medical supervisors, support departments and local partners across the mission. The position also requires regular interaction with health authorities, UN agencies, humanitarian coordination mechanisms and community representatives.

What you'll gain

• Develop advanced leadership skills in one of the world's most complex humanitarian contexts.
• Strengthen your expertise in SRHR programming, community-based health approaches and health system strengthening.
• Gain significant experience in humanitarian negotiation, representation and stakeholder engagement.
• Contribute to meaningful, high-impact programmes supporting vulnerable communities while helping shape the future strategic direction of the mission.
• Propose and develop projects relating to women’s rights and health, in collaboration with local organisations.

Requirements

You are the right match if you

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights, non-discrimination and respectful engagement, even in sensitive contexts where values, beliefs or lifestyles differ significantly from your own.
• Can provide strategic medical leadership and bring structure, clarity and direction to complex health programmes.
• Lead teams through trust, listening, accountability and collaboration while fostering a healthy and inclusive work environment.
• Have successfully strengthened the quality, relevance and impact of SRHR or public health programmes.
• Build productive relationships and negotiate effectively with authorities, partners and diverse stakeholders in challenging environments.
• Remain calm, analytical and decisive when responding to emergencies, operational constraints or rapidly changing contexts.

This role may not suit you if

• You favour directive or individualistic approaches over collaboration, dialogue and collective problem-solving.
• You struggle to provide constructive management, clear communication and respectful feedback.
• You are uncomfortable representing humanitarian principles and advocating for vulnerable populations in sensitive environments.
• You prefer highly structured and predictable settings over complex and evolving humanitarian contexts.
• You are not aligned with Médecins du Monde's values, principles and activist approach.

Recruitment process

Apply soon! Provided we receive at least 30 applications, the posting will be taken down as of July 25. Be sure to save it.

If shortlisted, you will first meet with our HR team. Technical and managerial interviews, which may include practical case studies, will follow.

Please note: as part of our anti–money laundering and counter-terrorism policy, international background checks may be conducted. Data is processed confidentially and securely. More info: https://www.medecinsdumonde.org/en/working-internationally/

All successful candidates must provide a criminal record extract (B3).

Ready to apply?

We only need your CV and a cover letter.

If this role sounds like the right fit for you, apply now – we'd love to hear from you!

Benefits

Contract & status:

• Gross monthly salary: € 3,664
• Fixed-term contract (6 months), starting as soon as possible
• Single posting

Work environment:

• Position based in Kabul, Afghanistan
• Regular field visits

Benefits:

• 13th-month salary (for employees with more than 6 months’ seniority)
• Expatriation allowance: 10% of gross monthly salary
• Coverage of travel (home – mission), visas, and vaccinations
• Accommodation: in a guesthouse with other expatriates initially, with the possibility of individual housing later on
• Health insurance (50% covered by MdM and 50% by the employee)
• Repatriation insurance
• MdM promotes training and internal mobility

Essentials:

• 5 weeks paid leave + 22.5 RTT days per year
• More info: https://www.medecinsdumonde.org/en/working-internationally/

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

MdM is committed to the inclusion of people with disabilities and to fighting all forms of discrimination.

If you are officially recognized as a person with a disability and/or require workplace accommodations, please let us know.