The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing MSF Australia’s strategic and operational activities, ensuring effective and timely support for global MSF medical operations through funding, staffing, partnerships, and advocacy. This role champions the organisation’s core values, embedding them throughout all levels of the organisation.
Leading by example, the Executive Director fosters a culture of ethical decision-making, cultural sensitivity, inclusion, and accountability both within Australia and across the global MSF movement.
In line with MSF Australia’s Constitution, the Executive Director advances the organisation’s social mission and delivers on its long-term strategic goals. As MSF enters its new global strategic cycle (2026–2031), the Executive Director will implement MSF Australia’s strategic plan, aligning local efforts with international priorities.
The Executive Director ensures that MSF Australia remains strategically aligned with the wider movement while upholding MSF’s fundamental principles of independence, neutrality, and impartiality.
Dimensions of the role
The Executive Director (ED) holds overall responsibility for the strategic and operational management of the organisation, including oversight of the New Zealand branch office. The ED leads the MSF Australia Leadership Team, managing 10 direct reports (Heads of Department) and providing indirect oversight of approximately 150 domestic staff, volunteers, and Internationally Mobile Staff (IMS). The ED is also accountable for the organisational budget, emergency preparedness and response, risk management, and the external representation of MSF Australia and New Zealand across government, media, donor, academic, and civil society sectors.
In addition to overseeing domestic affairs, the ED represents MSF Australia in key partnerships with Operational Centre Paris (OCP), Operational Centre Geneva (OCG), and the APAC regional collaboration, which includes Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea.
The Executive Director is deeply embedded in MSF’s global governance architecture and represents Australia in several key MSF International leadership forums:
- Member of the International Executive Platform and Full Executive Committee (ExCom)
- Member of the OCP General Directors Group
- Member of the OCG General Directors Group
- Steering Committee Member for the Asia Pacific (APAC) partnership (
