Member Amsterdam Emergency Team - Water & Sanitation Team Lead/Coordinator

The Emergency Support Department (ESD) is part of the operations department and plays a key role in responding to humanitarian emergencies. The ESD conducts exploratory assessments; initiates and manages large scale or complex interventions to support people in precarious situations. The ESD provides support to existing country programs and the wider organisation to promote and improve emergency preparedness and response capacity.  The ESD consists of a headquarter based Emergency Desk (E Desk) of Emergency (Health) managers, an Operational Support Team (OST) of advisors and specialists, and an Emergency Team of approx. 25 country programme based medical and non-medical profiles.   

 

The ESD is accepting open applications at any time for any position. With immediate effect, the ESD is particularly looking for:  

 

 

MEMBER AMSTERDAM EMERGENCY TEAM 

Water & Sanitation Team Lead/Coordinator 

(Applicants of various levels of experience are encouraged and considered. The successful candidate will be recruited at their experience level) 

 

 

Emergency Team members spend about 90% of their workdays (excluding holidays) in country programme locations, travelling with short notice to any required area and approximately 10% at the headquarters (or working from home) for briefing/debriefing/trainings/working on specific tasks. 

 

Place in the organisation 

Reports to one of the Emergency Managers (either operational or health) within the Emergency Support Department in Amsterdam. During country programme assignments reports to the relevant Country Management Team (CMT) member.  Maintains a functional line with the ESD WatSan Advisor and a technical line with the OCA WatSan Unit. 

 

Main objective of the position 

Defining, developing and coordinating Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WatSan) responses according to needs, MSF essential and minimum requirements, and other MSF protocols, standards and procedures relevant to the improvement of the health and dignity of the target population. 

 

Specific tasks 

Carry out assessments in humanitarian emergencies. 

Contribute to the development of an overall intervention strategy in humanitarian emergencies. 

Prepare, plan, implement, monitor, and report on emergency water, hygiene, vector control, and sanitation interventions. 

Function flexibly as a WatSan Manager / Team leader or WatSan Coordinator as required in emergency or existing projects. 

Represent MSF as part of internal and external coordination platforms and bodies, e.g. the WASH Cluster. 

Contribute to the development and implementation of training programs for emergency and non-emergency staff, logistical, medical or WatSan. 

Contribute to advising and emergency interventions in existing OCA country programs 

Contribute to the further development of MSF WatSan kits and other equipment innovations for country programmeuse. 

Contribute to evaluations/reviews carried out of emergency intervention projects. 

Contribute to the development of WatSan tools, guidelines and technologies employed during MSF’s interventions. 

  

General tasks 

Adjusting / amending a WatSan strategy through different phases of a humanitarian / medical response. 

Ensuring collaboration with medical teams and providing input into Public Health aspects during all phases of a humanitarian response. 

Ensuring continued alignment of the WatSan response with medical / Public Health needs, based on medical and epidemiological data.  

Developing community participation strategies and engaging local authorities or other non-governmental actors to enhance cooperation to improve the response. 

Contributing to WatSan related advocacy initiatives. 

Leading and coordinating operational research / impact analysis and ensuring data collection, organization, and analysis. 

Contributing to institutional learning through evaluation of WatSan responses. 

Ensuring emergency preparedness plans and stocks are up to date in collaboration with other departments (e.g. HR, logistics, and medical). 

Coordinating the implementation of centralized WatSan monitoring and reporting systems, project outputs and indicators (quantitative, qualitative, and financial). 

Defining and evaluating the HR set-up related to the WatSan team (team sizes, job descriptions, organograms, division of tasks and responsibilities). 

Managing different in-country WatSan teams and participating in the selection, the follow-up (training-coaching) and evaluation of the staff under his/her supervision in close collaboration with the HR department. 

 

 

Candidate profile 

Essential: 

At least 18 months country programme experience with one of the MSF sections in at least two different countries, of which at least one emergency project and/or a med/high security setting. 

Academic background in engineering or equivalent / relevant training. 

Experience or familiarity with implementing and promoting the use of two or more of the following activities - water supply, excreta disposal, waste and wastewater management, vector control, and dead bodies management - in two or more different contexts - conflicts, natural disasters, refugee/IDP camps, etc. 

Experience in setting-up & scaling up in emergency/crisis setting 

Fluency in English and French are highly preferred. 

Ability to prioritize competing needs. 

Demonstratable (people) management and coaching skills. 

'Can do’ mentality, creativity, hands-on, and with the capacity to motivate others and lead a team into action. 

A flexible and solution-oriented mentality, and the ability to be decisive in chaotic circumstances. 

Willingness to travel at short notice. 

 

Desirable: 

Public health engineering background or experience. 

We offer 

A full-time appointment for 1 year with the intention to renew based on performance 

Salary depends on three main factors: domicile, level of responsibility, and experience on the job. Candidate’s domicile determines which MSF section will act as employer; 

Candidate’s domicile determines which MSF section will act as employer 

45 holidays per year 

Completion bonus of 1.5 month of extra salary after completion of every 12 months commitment 

Return travel costs to place of domicile between assignments 

Prioritization for trainings in MSF (external trainings additionally considered) 

A challenging position within a stimulating, professional working environment in a major international organization – plus great colleagues to work alongside! 

Application 

If you recognise yourself in this profile, we welcome you to apply directly via our website and upload a letter of motivation + Curriculum Vitae (in English) as one combined document.   

 

The application deadline is 20 August 2026, at 23:59h 

Information 

Additional information about the vacancy can be requested from: Matt Arnold (ESD WatSan Advisor) at Matthew.arnold@amsterdam.msf.org   

 

 

For any question about the recruitment process please contact Masha Petrovic (Recruitment Specialist) at masa.petrovic@amsterdam.msf.org