– **Location:** Belgium
– **Language skills:** French & English
– **MSF experience required:** No previous MSF experience required
– **Time allocation:** Full time
– **Length of contract:** Indefinite
– **Contract type:** Open ended
– **Expertise:** Communication
– **Work model:** On site
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides assistance in more than 70 countries to populations in distress, to victims of natural or manmade disasters and to victims of armed conflicts, without discrimination and irrespective of origin, religion, creed or political affiliation.
## **CONTEXT**
This position has been created in the context of an organisational restructuring aimed at reinforcing MSF Belgium as an autonomous entity, with strengthened leadership, management capacity and institutional positioning in relation to its Operational Center/Directorate (OCB). Within this framework, MSF Belgium is focusing its activities on Belgian audiences and the Belgian market, with an enhanced role in public & bilateral engagement, positioning, fundraising and institutional relations at national level.
As part of this evolution, the Head of Communications is fully integrated into MSF Belgium’s organisational structure and joins a dedicated MSF Belgium management team, with its own leadership and decision‑making dynamics, distinct from OCB. The role supports MSF Belgium’s strategic priorities in public positioning, engagement, and resource mobilisation, while ensuring constructive coordination with OCB and alignment with the broader MSF movement, in line with the organisation’s speaking‑out mandate.
As the **Head of Communications & Engagement,** you lead a multidisciplinary team of seven communication and engagement specialists, supported operationally and technically by a dedicated **Support & Solutions Team** providing tools, systems, analytics, and workflow enablement to strengthen overall communication performance. You play a central role in directing MSF Belgium’s public narrative, leading strategic public mobilisation and political influencing campaigns, and ensuring strong alignment with advocacy, fundraising, and associative priorities. You also lead the **Strategic Editorial Meeting of MSF Belgium** and oversee the editorial line and governance of [**msf.be**](http://msf.be), the organisation’s main public communication platform.
As a member of **MSF Belgium’s Management Team**, you contribute to organisational strategy and decision-making. At international level, you participate in the MSF Director of Communications platform (gathering all the Heads of Communications of the MSF sections worldwide), supporting movement‑wide strategic coordination.
## **MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES**
### **Strategic Leadership & Vision**
– Develop MSF Belgium’s communication and engagement strategy in alignment with OCB operations and MSF’s international frameworks
– Participate in organisational strategy and decision-making as a **member of the MSF Belgium Management Team,** championing forward‑looking approaches and encouraging innovative practices across communication and engagement functions
– Ensure strategic alignment between communication, fundraising, advocacy and associative initiatives
### **Editorial Leadership**
– Lead MSF Belgium’s **Strategic Editorial Meeting**, defining editorial priorities and aligning content across departments
– Oversee all public-facing editorial governance, risk assessment and ethical representation
– Provide **full editorial oversight of **[**msf.be**](http://msf.be), including strategic editorial planning, content quality control and audience relevance
### **Public Engagement & Mobilisation**
– Lead MSF Belgium’s **public engagement and mobilisation strategy** to strengthen awareness and societal involvement
– Develop and run **public mobilisation and political influencing campaigns**, in close collaboration with advocacy, aiming to influence public opinion and political decisions in Belgium
– Support youth engagement, civil society relations, community participation and event‑based mobilisation
### **Team Leadership & Management**
– Lead, mentor and develop a team of **six communication and engagement professionals**:
– 2 Press Officers
– Copywriter & Community Management Officer
– Web Content Editor (NL)
– Event & Mobilisation Officer
– Youth Engagement Officer
– Promote an inclusive, collaborative and high‑performing team culture
– Ensure ongoing capacity building in media, digital engagement, mobilisation, editorial quality and crisis communication
### **Media Relations & Spokesperson Duties**
– Direct media relations, crisis communication and narrative positioning
– Serve as senior spokesperson when needed
– Coach MSF leadership and experts for media exposure
### **Digital Strategy & Community Engagement**
– Lead the digital strategy for public engagement including social media and digital mobilisation
– Ensure editorial coherence, quality and ethical standards for all [**msf.be**](http://msf.be) content
– Use data analytics to improve audience reach, website impact and engagement
– Ensure responsible digital storytelling and community interaction
### **Collaboration Across Departments**
– Partner with the **Head of Fundraising** to ensure unified and ethical narratives supporting donor engagement.
– Work with the **Advocacy Manager** on aligned political influencing strategies and messaging
– Collaborate with the **Associative Team** to support member‑led engagement and strengthen MSF’s associative identity in Belgium
### **International Movement Engagement**
– Represent MSF Belgium within the **MSF International Directors of Communications Platform**
– Contribute to global communication coordination and joint movement-wide campaigns
– Interface with Operational Communications to ensure accurate representation of project countries’ realities
## **REQUIREMENTS**
### **Education & Experience**
– Master’s degree in Communication, Journalism, International Relations, Political Science or related area of study
– Equivalent senior experience is an asset
– **8–10+ years in senior communication, public mobilisation, public affairs or media roles**
– **Minimum of 3 years’ experience leading multidisciplinary communication teams**
– Strong experience leading mobilisation and political influencing campaigns
– Solid understanding of humanitarian action
– Strong experience in digital strategy, media relations and editorial governance
– Experience designing and implementing lead generation strategies, including audience segmentation, funnel optimisation, and data‑driven engagement approaches
### **Competencies**
– Strategic vision and political/contextual awareness
– Excellent editorial judgement and communication skills
– Collaborative leadership aligned with MSF’s values
– Strong capacity for cross‑functional influence and partnership
– Skilled spokesperson with crisis communication experience
– Solid understanding of fundraising, including donor engagement, ethical considerations, and the role of communications in income generation
– Cross-cultural awareness
### **Languages**
– Proficiency in **French** and **English**, both spoken & written **is mandatory**
– Proficiency in Dutch is a strong asset
## **CONDITIONS**
– Expected starting date: **September 2026**
– Location: **Brussels** (Belgium)
– Contract Type: Open-ended contract – Full-time
– Homeworking possible as per MSF policy
– Salary according to MSF-OCB (HQ) Head Office grid
– Meal Vouchers – Hospital Insurance (DKV) – Pension Plan – 100% reimbursement for public transportation costs
– *Adhere to the MSF principles and to our managerial values: Respect, Transparency, Integrity, Accountability, Trust and Empowerment*
– *Adhere to the MSF Behavioral Commitments*
**Deadline for applications: 10th of June 2026**
## **How to apply?**
– Submit your application via the ‘[Apply here](https://wedoo.ocb.msf.org/hq/jobs/apply/00031701-head-of-communication-engagement-28262)’ button
– You will be directed to the online application form for this position
– It should take 5-10 minutes to complete. Thank you in advance for having your **CV** and **motivation letter** ready to upload (*in PDF format*)
**Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted**
