Operations Manager (Colombo & Nairobi)

About the role

MSF is seeking two senior Operations Managers to lead country programmes in Colombo and Nairobi. The role involves strategic planning, coordination of multidisciplinary teams, and ensuring safe, effective humanitarian medical responses.

Key responsibilities

• Develop short‑ and long‑term strategies for medical humanitarian aid and emergency response in assigned countries.
• Provide strategic guidance and support to Heads of Missions and manage a portfolio of 3‑6 country programmes.
• Coordinate Operations Support Team members (Health, Logistics, HR, Finance, Communication, Humanitarian affairs) to ensure synergy across departments.
• Oversee security management, incident response, and risk‑impact balancing.
• Foster learning, reflection, and knowledge sharing within OST and country teams.
• Travel regularly to operational countries and be available for short‑notice deployments.

Required profile

• Minimum 8 years of MSF country programme experience in complex humanitarian contexts, including at least 3 years in a senior management role such as Head of Mission.
• Proven leadership, coaching, and ability to manage diverse, multidisciplinary teams across distances.
• Experience in security management, policy formulation, financial and human‑resource oversight.
• Strategic thinking with the ability to translate concepts into practical actions.
• Excellent communication skills, media and presentation experience, and fluency in English.
• Willingness to work long, irregular hours and travel up to 40% of the time.