Midwives
About MSF USA | Doctors Without Borders
Midwife
MSF midwives play a crucial role in most project teams, from providing ante-natal checks in remote clinics to training birth attendants in busy maternity departments at large hospitals.
Responsibilities
As a midwife with Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), you will be involved in coordinating mother and child health departments in rural clinics, providing reproductive healthcare from mobile clinics, or treating patients in a hospital. Your role is to implement and coordinate maternal health programs, supervise and train staff, and support with policy development
You will mainly supervise birth attendants and provide training as needed. You may be involved in hands-on assessment and treatment of women in areas where formal health systems are lacking. Midwives are in charge of prenatal and postnatal consultations, including counseling for family planning, as well as data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Requirements
- Relevant diploma, degree, and current valid midwifery license (CNM, CPM, CM, LM)
- Minimum of two years of professional experience post midwifery training with min 6 months of relevant clinical experience within the last two years
- Commitment to work for a minimum of 9 to 12 month assignments
- Experience in a low resource setting
- Experience supervising, managing, or training staff
- Experience managing high-risk pregnancies and obstetric complications
- Experience working in a hospital setting
- Willingness to provide care in line with MSF policy and protocols in relation to women's health
- Ability to work within a diverse team
Assets
- French or Arabic language (B2 or above)
- Advance Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course
- Experience in the following: safe abortion care/ termination of pregnancy, neonatal resuscitation, care for sexual assault survivors
Before you apply
As you consider applying to undertake an MSF assignment, it is essential that you have a well-informed and realistic personal reflection. Assignments often mean long hours with a heavy workload, basic living conditions, and working and living in often chaotic and volatile environments.
Security and Safety
Because Doctors Without Borders’ purpose is to bring medical assistance to people in distress, the work may occur in settings of active conflict, or in post-conflict environments, in which there are inherent risks, potential danger and ongoing threats to safety and security. MSF acknowledges that it is impossible to exclude all risks, but it does its utmost as an organization to mitigate and manage these risks through strict and comprehensive security protocols.
International staff will be fully informed of the risk associated with a potential assignment before accepting a particular posting. Working for MSF is a deeply personal choice; individuals must determine for themselves the level of risk and the circumstances in which they feel comfortable, based on a full and transparent understanding of the possibilities they may face. Once in the assignment, all MSF staff must strictly observe security rules and regulations; failure to do so may result in dismissal.
Terms of Employment
MSF staff are employees with a salary and benefits.
MSF encourages the completion of multiple assignments. There are many possibilities for professional growth within the organization in the medical, non-medical, and coordination streams.
Final Thoughts
As you consider applying to undertake an MSF assignment, is it essential that you have a well-informed and realistic personal reflection. Assignments often mean long hours with a heavy workload, basic living conditions, and working and living in often chaotic and volatile environments.
Despite such challenges, thousands of people have worked with MSF over the years and found their experiences in the field to be deeply rewarding, even life-changing. More than anything else, being an MSF international worker means acting in solidarity with people facing unimaginable medical challenges. Your presence alongside people in times of need sends a profoundly meaningful and human message: “You are not forgotten.”
MSF-USA is dedicated to creating a diverse, impartial, and inclusive workforce. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other differences as per applicable laws. We also provide reasonable accommodation for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices. We encourage individuals from underrepresented communities in the Humanitarian Aid sector to apply.
If you have a disability and require accommodations to use our website for applying for a position, please get in touch with Human Resources at employment.msfusa@newyork.msf.org. We consider reasonable accommodation requests on a case-by-case basis.
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