Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing medical care to refugees and asylum seekers travelling through Europe. As an Intercultural Mediator, you will make the link between MSF and the persons of different cultural and linguistic background we assist. Your main responsibility is to guarantee clarity and precision in the communication between all actors. We currently only need intercultural mediators in our project in the Mediterranean.

Main Purpose of the job is to:

• Contribute to the building of MSF visibility and acceptance by creating a link with the communities

• Provide MSF project, and teams, with an understanding of the local, socio-cultural determinants through the knowledge of the beneficiaries’ cultures and a reading capability of the context in which he/she should operate

• Support all required medical and non-medical activities within the project, by decoding the demand expressed by the beneficiaries and meeting MSF staff’s expectations of quality interpretation and communication

• Provide basic information (medical, transportation, procedures, etc.) to the beneficiaries and address them to other actors for specific information (legal, social, etc.)

• Take an active part in all necessary collateral activities linked to the beneficiaries’ health and social assistance, including information and advocacy

Qualifications:

• Desirable Bachelor or Master of Social Sciences, Social Communication, Social Work, Teacher or other relevant education and / or work experience. Training in interpretation or Intercultural mediation is an asset.

• Experience as an intercultural mediator or interpreter is desirable

• Essential: English, French, and Arabic at high level/mother tongue

• Experience from working with an NGO is desirable

• Essential computer literacy (Word, Excel, Power Point and Internet)

• For working on the Mediterranean it is essential to be able to swim and to live at sea for long periods of time

Essential Criteria for all Potential Field Workers

• At least two years of relevant professional experience

• Availability for assignments lasting from 2 to 6 months

• Experience in low income countries and remote/ rural areas

• Demonstrated ability to live and work as a team

• Willingness to work in potentially unstable environments

• Understanding of and commitment to the Médecins Sans Frontières Charter

• Flexibility and adaptability

• Ability to manage stress

Desirable Criteria 

• Flexible dates of availability  

• Ability to depart with short notice

• Interest and/or experience in international humanitarian issues, international relations, anthropology

• Previous field experience in a similar role with a non-government organisation

Interested? Explore the application process. or send an e-mail to rekruttering@oslo.msf.org if you have any questions.