Executive Officer/Assistant

About MSF 

Doctors without Borders (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation committed to two objectives: providing medical assistance to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion, natural and man-made disasters; and speaking out about the plight of the populations assisted. MSF offers assistance to people based only on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

Today, MSF is present in more than 70 countries, where thousands of MSF doctors, nurses, logisticians, water-and-sanitation experts, and other medical and non-medical professionals work together to bring essential health services to people caught in humanitarian crises.

The MSF movement has historically been built around six operational directorates supported by MSF’s 24 sections, 24 associations and other offices together worldwide. MSF Ubuntu is MSF’s newest and seventh operational directorate, approved in June 2025 and operations have since commenced. MSF Southern Africa is one of the founding partners of MSF Ubuntu.

Purpose

The Executive Officer provides high-level executive, administrative and coordination support to the Executive Director and contributes to the effective functioning of the Leadership Office. The role requires sound judgement, excellent prioritisation, discretion and strategic awareness to manage executive workflows, correspondence, documentation, stakeholder engagement and cross-departmental follow-up. The postholder serves as a key coordination and gatekeeping point for the Executive Director and Leadership Team, enabling effective planning, decision-making and institutional follow-through in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES/ RESULTS AREAS

Strategic Support and Institutional Alignment

• Support the Executive Director and Leadership Team in aligning institutional strategy with operational priorities.
• Provide administrative and coordination support for strategic planning and review processes, including Annual Planning, Mid-Year Review and Annual Review.
• Prepare, compile, distribute and archive strategic documents, briefing materials and data packs for leadership planning and decision-making.
• Track and report on agreed KPIs, strategic actions and implementation milestones.
• Support selected strategic and cross-cutting initiatives through coordination, progress tracking and follow-up.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of executive office and leadership coordination processes.

Executive Support 

• Provide high-level executive and administrative support to the Executive Director, including preparing documents, reports, presentations and correspondence; maintaining contact lists; coordinating travel; raising procurement requests; and processing expense reports.
• Manage a complex and frequently changing calendar for the Executive Director, proactively prioritising competing demands, resolving scheduling conflicts and ensuring alignment with organisational priorities.
• Coordinate the Executive Director’s and Leadership Team’s agendas to ensure effective meeting flow, preparation and follow-through across multiple stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary gatekeeper for the Executive Director’s office by screening and prioritising correspondence, visitors, requests and meeting demands.
• Anticipate upcoming priorities and ensure the Executive Director is well briefed on commitments, deadlines, representation requests and required follow-up actions.
• Manage incoming communications independently, redirecting, escalating or responding where appropriate to reduce routine demands on the Executive Director.
• Maintain up-to-date trackers for key stakeholders, recurring engagement points, invitations, speaking requests and RSVPs.
• Support onboarding of senior stakeholders engaging with the Executive Director’s office by ensuring access to key schedules, information and reference materials.
• Provide proactive support by identifying emerging issues, highlighting implications and making recommendations on scheduling and prioritisation.

Meetings, Briefings and Follow-up

• Coordinate the preparation and logistics for executive, leadership and external stakeholder meetings, retreats, workshops, seminars, conferences and related events, including virtual, hybrid and in-person formats.
• Prepare and compile agendas, meeting packs, visit briefs, background materials, key messages, contact information and other supporting documentation for executive review and decision-making.
• Provide administrative support during executive meetings and events, including real-time coordination of changes, documentation and follow-up actions.
• Draft and disseminate minutes, action points and summaries for Leadership Team and senior management meetings.
• Maintain a central Action and Decision Log, track decisions, deadlines and commitments, and follow up with responsible departments to ensure timely completion.
• Consolidate information from multiple departments into clear summaries, reports and briefing materials for the Executive Director and relevant governance structures.
• Support the preparation, quality control and timely submission of reports, presentations and governance documentation for Leadership Team, Council, Board, Association and relevant MSF platforms.
• Facilitate effective information flow between the Executive Director’s office, the Leadership Team, governance bodies and relevant MSF movement platforms in line with agreed communication protocols.
• Provide regular status updates to the Executive Director on pending actions, unresolved issues and upcoming commitments.

Correspondence and Communication

• Ensure effective communication and documentation to and from the Executive Director’s office while maintaining confidentiality
• Work closely with Communications and fundraising Departments to prepare and send out communication that require Executive Director’s input to external stakeholders
• Draft, review and finalise high-level correspondence, presentations, briefing notes and routine responses on behalf of the Executive Director.
• Coordinate the preparation, signature, dispatch and tracking of official documents and executive correspondence.
• Monitor the flow of documents requiring the Executive Director’s attention, approval or signature and ensure timely processing.

Travel, Protocol and Events

• Coordinate complex national, regional and international travel arrangements for the Executive Director, including itineraries, visas, accommodation, protocol requirements, travel advances and post-travel reconciliation.
• Coordinate high-level appointments, visits and events involving senior internal stakeholders, board/association members, donors, partners and external representatives.
• Provide protocol and administrative coordination for executive-level meetings, retreats and official functions hosted by the Executive Director’s office.
• Coordinate the logistical and administrative requirements for confidential meetings, including secure handling of venue details, participant lists and documents.
• Coordinate personal-assistant support requirements linked to the Executive Director’s representation duties, including event preparation, protocol details and scheduling alignment.

Liaison

• Follow up and action on requests from MSF entities, NGOs, staff, and partners of MSF SnA as directed by the Executive Director.
• Liaise with key stakeholders including internal and external contacts to ensure effective information is conveyed and timely action is taken.

Confidentiality Records and Document Management

• Acts as the custodian of the Executive Director’s Office in terms of records by ensuring easy reference and rapid information retrieval.
• Handle highly confidential and sensitive information, correspondence and documentation with a high degree of discretion and judgement.
• Manage confidential executive documents at the highest level of sensitivity, ensuring secure handling, controlled circulation, accuracy and timely retrieval where required.
• Maintain and improve filing, document management and records-tracking systems for the Executive Director’s office to ensure accuracy, confidentiality and ease of retrieval.
• Centralise all official documents relating to the section, ensuring that records are organised, up to date, securely maintained and easily accessible to authorised persons.
• Manage archiving of executive documents, correspondence and meeting records in line with organisational records-management requirements.
• Ensure that leadership meeting documentation, including minutes, reports and policies, is properly filed on the designated shared document repository for easy access by authorised users.
• Handle confidential and sensitive information, correspondence and documentation with a high degree of discretion and minimal supervision.
• Centralise, safeguard and maintain official section documentation to ensure secure storage, controlled access and ease of retrieval.

Budget and Administrative Operations

• Track and administer the Executive Director’s office operational budget lines and related administrative processes, including procurement requests, invoices and expense reconciliations.
• Raise procurement requests, process invoices and reconcile expenses.
• Support budget-related administration, manage document flow requiring executive review or approval, and help ensure continuity of executive office operations.

 Coordination and Office Continuity

• Coordinate and align the Executive Director’s priorities and schedule with senior support staff across the section and wider MSF network.
• Provide continuity support for executive office operations during periods of high workload, urgent matters or the absence of other key support staff.
• Maintain business continuity of the Executive Director’s office by ensuring orderly handover notes, task tracking and coverage arrangements during absences.
• Proactively identify administrative bottlenecks and implement improvements to office systems, workflows and executive support processes.
• Maintain and improve executive office systems, workflows and administrative processes to support efficiency, confidentiality and continuity.

Other Responsibilities

• Support the operationalisation project of MSF Southern Africa through coordination of meetings, information sharing, preparation of documents in liaison with the project team.
• Coordinate the Executive Director’s schedule in alignment with Leadership Team priorities, key deadlines and organisational commitments.
• Support special initiatives and cross-cutting leadership projects through coordination, information sharing, document preparation and progress follow-up.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Executive Director in support of the effective functioning of the office.

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND KNOWLEDGE

• A diploma or degree in Office Administration, Executive Assistant/Personal Assistant Studies, Secretarial Studies, Business Administration or a related field.
• A Diploma in Human Resource Management, Business Studies, or an equivalent qualification from a recognised institution is an added advantage.
• Formal training, certification or professional membership in executive support, office administration, records management or governance will be an added advantage.
• Fluency in English is required, and knowledge of French, Spanish or a third language Local Languages in South Africa is an added advantage.
• Good understanding of executive office processes, leadership priorities and organisational decision-making flows.
• Understanding of governance and institutional communication protocols across leadership, board, council or association structures is an added advantage

YEARS AND NATURE OF EXPERIENCE

• At least 3–5 years relevant experience, including substantial experience supporting a senior executive or director-level office.
• Demonstrated experience in:
• managing complex diaries and competing priorities.
• handling confidential and sensitive information.
• coordinating senior-level meetings and travel.
• drafting professional correspondence and briefing materials.
• tracking actions and following up across multiple departments.
• Previous experience with MSF or other humanitarian NGOs is an added advantage.

CORE COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR THE ROLE

Technical Competencies

• Strong executive administration and office management skills.
• Excellent diary and priority management.
• Ability to make sound decisions independently within delegated authority.
• Document and records management.
• Meeting coordination and action tracking.
• Professional drafting of correspondence, reports, presentations and briefing materials.
• Travel and protocol coordination.
• Budget and expense administration.
• Good understanding of executive office processes and governance-related workflows.
• Ability to support strategic planning processes, monitor implementation milestones and maintain executive action-and-decision tracking systems.
• Ability to review leadership documents and presentations for quality, completeness and consistency before submission to senior governance forums.
• Proficiency in MS Office Applications including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Behavioural/General Competencies

• Excellent judgement and discretion.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Adaptability and resilience in a changing environment.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to provide anticipatory and moderately strategic support.
• Confidentiality and professionalism.
• High ethical standards and a strong commitment to protecting sensitive information and data.
• Excellent Communication Skills
• Commitment to MSF principles
• Cross-cultural awareness
• Behavioural flexibility
• Analytical thinking
• Results and quality orientation
• Service orientation
• Planning and organising
• Initiative and innovation
• Teamwork and cooperation

Terms and Conditions of Employment

• Monthly Salary: R 31 329,96
• 13th Cheque in November.
• 10% additional pension allowance.
• 100% Medical Aid Contribution.
• Transport allowance.
• Cell phone allowance.

Application details

• The vacancy closing date is 05 November 2026
• Start date: ASAP
• By applying to this position, the applicant confirms they have read, understood and agreed to fully comply with MSF Charter and MSF Behavioural Commitments and Data Privacy Policy.
• In line with MSF’s Safeguarding Principles, successful candidates undergo a rigorous vetting process that includes background checks.
• If you recognize yourself in this profile, we welcome you to apply directly via the https://msfsa.bamboohr.com/careers/494 Vacancy link. The vacancy can be found on various MSF websites, digital channels and other job boards.
• Applicants are required to upload a Curriculum Vitae (in English) as per prescribed formats. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Information

The protection of your personal data is important to MSF. By submitting your application, you consent to MSF using your personal data only for the recruitment process to have all the information and documents necessary to proceed with the recruitment, validation of your application and selection of the most suitable candidate. Your personal data will be treated confidentially. MSF will not use your personal data in any other way, not foreseen for purposes of recruitment.

MSF is an equal opportunity employer and does not charge any application/recruitment fee.

Lately, MSF is a civil society initiative that brings together individuals committed to the assistance of other human beings in crisis. As such MSF is by choice an association. Each individual applying for MSF roles does it out of conviction and is ready to uphold the values and principles of MSF.

MSF values diversity and is committed to create an inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour or ethnic and national origins, religion or belief, or sexual orientation, and all other diversity characteristics.