MSF Recruiting 2026: GIS Data Governance Specialist – Enhancing Humanitarian Data Systems

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an independent international medical and humanitarian organization, is recruiting a GIS Data Governance Specialist for its Operations Centre Global (OCG). This position is aimed at professionals passionate about advancing humanitarian missions through robust geospatial data management. Candidates will play a critical role in strengthening MSF’s decision-making capacity, operational efficiency, and programmatic impact through reliable, high-quality data.

About MSF and the GIS Centre

MSF provides medical care to people affected by natural disasters, armed conflicts, and other emergencies without discrimination. Since 2013, the MSF GIS Centre has served as a dedicated hub for geospatial information, supporting operational planning and enhancing patient-centered healthcare delivery. In 2021, the Centre evolved into an Intersectional Centre of Expertise & Services, offering data solutions across all MSF programs globally.

The GIS Centre focuses on:

• Delivering actionable geospatial insights to field operations.
• Supporting emergency response and regular healthcare interventions.
• Developing tools and services for reliable, agile, and efficient data management.

With growing demand for structured data and reference datasets, MSF is reinforcing its Data Management Team with this specialist role, ensuring governance standards are applied consistently across global programs.

Role Overview: GIS Data Governance Specialist

The GIS Data Governance Specialist will be responsible for creating, implementing, and maintaining a comprehensive data governance framework for geospatial and operational data. This role bridges strategic oversight and hands-on technical implementation, ensuring data is reliable, accessible, and usable across MSF’s operational landscape.

Key responsibilities include:

• Defining and maintaining data governance policies, stewardship roles, and standards.
• Designing and implementing automated data quality monitoring across geospatial and operational pipelines.
• Developing and maintaining a data catalogue with standardized metadata and lineage documentation.
• Building and deploying governance tools integrated with GIS infrastructure such as FME, PostGIS, ArcGIS, and MS SharePoint.
• Producing training materials and documentation to embed governance practices across the team.
• Reporting on governance maturity and recommending improvements aligned with recognized frameworks.

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Effective operationalization of a living governance framework with assigned stewardship roles.
• Continuous data quality monitoring leading to high confidence in MSF datasets.
• Availability of a reliable data catalogue for dataset discovery and access.
• Integration of governance controls into infrastructure and practices, supported by clear documentation.

Candidate Profile

MSF is seeking candidates who combine technical expertise with a humanitarian mindset. Key qualifications and experience include:

Education and Experience:

• Master’s degree in GIS, Computer Science, Information Science, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in GIS data analytics, data governance, data quality engineering, or similar roles.
• Field or humanitarian experience is a strong asset.

Technical Skills:

• Deep understanding of Data Governance, Data Lifecycle, Master Data Management, and Metadata Management.
• Knowledge of at least one data governance framework (DAMA-DMBOK, DCAM, or equivalent).
• Expertise in ETL pipelines, enterprise geodatabases, and ArcGIS Enterprise.
• Proficiency in Python, GIS libraries (e.g., Arcpy, GDAL, GeoPandas), data modeling, and API integrations.
• Familiarity with GeoAI is an advantage.

Personal Qualities:

• Alignment with MSF’s humanitarian values.
• Strategic thinking and the ability to translate vision into operational impact.
• Autonomy, proactivity, attention to detail, and ability to work in multidisciplinary, multicultural teams.
• Strong coordination, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Employment Details

• Contract type: Full-time, open-ended.
• Location: One of MSF’s Operational Centres (excluding Geneva).
• Start date: June 1, 2026.
• Salary: Dependent on work location.

MSF emphasizes inclusivity and encourages applications from candidates of all genders, ages, ethnicities, abilities, and backgrounds. The organization maintains strict policies against discrimination, harassment, and sexual exploitation.

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How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit applications with:

• CV (maximum 2 pages)
• Cover letter (maximum 1 page)

Applications must be in English or French, and the deadline is April 26, 2026. MSF reserves the right to close applications early if a sufficient number of quality submissions are received.

This role provides an exceptional opportunity for GIS professionals to contribute to humanitarian impact at a global scale, strengthening MSF’s data governance capabilities, supporting life-saving operations, and enhancing decision-making across emergency and routine medical interventions.

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