Philanthropy Support Team Coordinator

MSF Switzerland; Genf; On-site; CHF 94,000 - 111,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Open-ended contract

Job summary

MSF Switzerland is seeking a Senior Philanthropy Advisor to coordinate donor engagement, lead and develop a multidisciplinary team, and steer high-value donor portfolios. The role emphasizes strategic planning, governance, and collaboration with cross-functional units in Geneva.

You will manage complex donor relationships, advocate for MSF’s mission, and contribute to unit-wide planning, with a focus on ensuring high-quality stewardship and sustained income growth.

Qualifications

• Advanced university degree in business administration, international relations, social sciences, public policy, economics, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of demonstrated experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in philanthropy in a large organisation with professional philanthropy support in place.
• Experience in philanthropy at MSF is a strong advantage.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Working proficiency in either French or German is required.

Responsibilities

• Strategic alignment: Ensure priorities and work of Writers and Enablers align with Unit strategies and yearly objectives.
• Team coordination: Provide people management for Writers and Enablers, including recruitment, performance management and development.
• Management of a portfolio of selected high-value donors: Develop engagement and growth strategies, present and defend MSF’s case for support, lead negotiations and multi-year funding discussions.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Strategic mindset

Prioritization

Communication skills

Donor-centric mindset

CRM tools

Data protection

Compliance

Multicultural teamwork

Education

Advanced university degree

Tools

CRM systems

Business analytics tools

Job description

We are looking for passionate candidates ready to contribute to our humanitarian mission. Below, you will find the job details and the qualifications we are looking for.

Inclusivity and Diversity at MSF Do your qualifications and experience not exactly match all requirements of the job? At MSF OCG, we are committed to an inclusive culture that supports and amplifies the diverse voices of our staff members. We strive to create workplaces where teams of people with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, perspectives, ideas and experiences work together to advance MSF's social mission and create better outcomes for our patients and the communities we work with. We understand that some people may hesitate to apply for employment if they don't meet all listed job requirements. Research shows that this is especially true for women. If you believe your profile is a good match for this position, we invite you to apply even if you don’t fulfil every listed qualification. We encourage applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, ethnicities, background, religions, beliefs, ability status, and all other diversity characteristics. MSF does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment. All selected candidates will undergo reference checks.

Context & mission Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent, international medical and humanitarian organization that provides care to people in need, people affected by natural or man-made disasters, and victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and without regard to race, religion, creed or political affiliation (MSF Charter). The MSF movement is built around 5 operational centers supported by 24 sections and offices worldwide. MSF Operational Center Geneva (MSF OCG) is one of these centres. The Philanthropy Unit of MSF Switzerland is responsible for the acquisition, cultivation and stewardship of around 2,000 major donors – Foundations, Individuals, Corporates, Cantons and Communes – through relationship management and one-to-one donor engagement. The Unit generates a significant share of MSF Switzerland’s annual income, enabling much-needed medical emergency responses. The three donor-facing teams, comprising 14 Philanthropy Advisors and two interns based in Geneva, Zurich and Lugano, are supported by two teams: experienced, multilingual Writing Officers responsible for producing proposals and reports, and the Enablers team, consisting of two experienced Support Specialists and an intern, covering Due Diligence, Business Intelligence, Prospect Research, Processes and the interface with the CRM Unit. Their work is key to ensuring donor satisfaction, proximity to MSF’s social mission, professionalism and adaptation to changing donor behaviour and market conditions. The Philantropy support team coordinator is a newly created role in response to the Unit’s growth in investment, income and complexity. The role steers the contribution of the support functions to long-term income growth through effective coordination, clear prioritisation and team management. It provides line management to Writers and Enablers, ensures alignment with the Unit’s needs, manages workloads and facilitates collaboration with donor-facing teams, while anticipating changes in the philanthropy environment. Writers and Enablers continue to work directly with colleagues across the Unit in their respective areas of expertise, with the role supporting them in bringing this expertise into the Unit’s work. As a member of the Philanthropy Management Team, the coordinator contributes to Unit-wide planning and decision-making and represents the perspective and needs of the support functions. The role also directly stewards a small portfolio of selected high-value donors.

Tasks & Responsibilities

• Strategic alignment: Ensures that the priorities and work of Writers and Enablers are aligned with the Unit’s strategies and yearly objectives. Supports clear prioritisation when demands exceed available capacity or when priorities conflict. Ensures that Writers and Enablers receive regular feedback on their services and products and that relevant learnings are followed up. Supports the Unit in making effective use of data and business analysis for planning and decision-making. Brings relevant insights from the support functions into Unit-wide discussions. Ensures that the Unit’s needs from Operations and Finance are clearly understood and addressed. Works with the relevant colleagues to develop solutions and prepares the analysis and arguments needed for the Head of Unit to raise issues requiring senior-level support or decisions.
• Team coordination: Provides people management for the Writers and Enablers, including recruitment, performance management, development and support. Enables Writers and Enablers to contribute their expertise directly and effectively, while ensuring clarity on priorities and workload. Avoids unnecessary bottlenecks in validation and ensures that Enablers and Writers continue to work directly with relevant colleagues. Intervenes when competing requests, workload constraints or unclear responsibilities cannot be resolved directly between colleagues. Contributes directly to support work when needed, particularly during periods of high workload, staff absences or specific priority needs. Manages the support-function expense budget and coordinates annual planning and reviews for Writers and Enablers. Ensures that issues requiring a Unit-wide decision are brought to the Philanthropy Management Team or Head of Unit as appropriate.
• Management of a poll of high-value donors: As a Senior Philanthropy Advisor, the Support Coordinator is accountable for the income from and management of a portfolio of selected high-value donors. Develops tailored engagement and growth strategies, including personalised proposals and reports. Presents and defends MSF’s case for support to donors. Leads negotiations and multi-year funding discussions. Ensures high-quality stewardship and long-term partnership development. Represents MSF in high-level external engagements.

Your profile Education

Advanced university degree in business administration, international relations, social sciences, public policy, economics, or a related field. Additional training in fundraising, compliance, data analytics, or leadership is an asset.

Experience

Minimum of 3 years of demonstrated experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams. Minimum of 5 years’ experience in philanthropy in a large organisation with professional philanthropy support in place. Experience in philanthropy at MSF is a strong advantage. Proven experience managing high-value and complex donor relationships.

Languages

Excellent written and spoken English. Working proficiency in either French or German is required. Good knowledge of additional Swiss national languages is considered an advantage.

Skills / Technical competencies

• Strong understanding of philanthropy and institutional funding cycles, including prospect management and portfolio structuring.
• Understanding of due diligence frameworks and risk management principles.
• Familiarity with business analytics tools and performance dashboards.
• Strong understanding of financial planning, donor-funded project management, and reporting standards.
• Competencies and a vivid interest in the use of CRM and other tools for philanthropy.
• Competencies in data protection, performance and results management are an advantage.
• Understanding of compliance requirements in philanthropic partnerships.
• Competencies and a vivid interest in the use of CRM and other tools for philanthropy.
• Competencies in data protection, performance and results management are an advantage.
• Understanding of compliance requirements in philanthropic partnerships.

Personal Abilities / Qualities

• Proven leadership and team management skills, with the ability to lead experienced staff and build diverse, inclusive teams in a participatory way.
• Mature leadership with consistency in decision-making, sound judgement, and high integrity.
• Strategic mindset: forward-looking, systems-oriented, and open to change.
• Ability to translate strategic objectives into clear priorities and adjust workload and resources when needs change.
• Strong communication and influencing skills.
• Donor-centric mindset and service orientation.
• Solution orientation focusing on improvement and practical outcomes.
• Excellent ability to work successfully in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate commitment to and support for diversity.

Terms of employment

• Full-time position 100% (40h/week)
• Open-ended contract
• Working place: Geneva
• Ideal start date: beginning of January 2027
• Gross annual salary (for 100%): from CHF 94’440.- to CHF 111’432.- (salary commensurate with equivalent experience and internal salary grid)
• Paid vacation: 25 days per year, prorate temporis, plus any Swiss public holidays falling within the contract period.
• Pension plan: pension contribution covered 3/4 by MSF, 1/4 by staff member.
• Relocation support available for eligible candidates.

Médecins Sans Frontières Switzerland – is recruiting committed professionals for positions at our headquarters and in our field projects. Joining MSF means putting your skills to work for a humanitarian, medical, and independent organization active in over 70 countries, responding to emergencies and delivering quality care to people in distress. Here you will find all our career opportunities to contribute to humanitarian action, both in Switzerland and in our field projects.

Find out more and discover all the offers for international mobile staff on our dedicated website:

• Get more information: here
• Access to our career site: Working with MSF OCG – IMS

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