MSF Access Regional Pharmacist America Hub

Job Title: MSF Access Regional Pharmacist America Hub

Contract Type: Short-term contract

Duration: 12 months

Working Time: Full time

Starting Date: ASAP

Deadline to apply: July 03, 2026

Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Reporting to: Head of Americas Hub

Compensation and benefits: MSF practice is to offer the C&B package current in the MSF entity establishing the contract.

I. BACKGROUND

MSF INTERNATIONAL

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. MSF offers assistance to people based only on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

MSF International is the legal entity that binds MSF’s 24 sections, 27 associations and 18 branch offices together. Registered in Switzerland, MSF International provides coordination, information, and support to the MSF Movement, as well as implements international projects and initiatives as requested.

MSF ACCESS

Access to Products for Healthcare is critical to MSF's Social Mission. It refers to the accessibility, availability, affordability, appropriateness, and quality of products for healthcare for the populations MSF assists and their communities. MSF has been engaged in a wide variety of ways to improve Access in past decades through the work of MSF’s Access Campaign. In 2023, the MSF International Board approved the set-up of a new organisational model for Access work in MSF, building upon the works carried out by Access Campaign. MSF Access team is transitioned from this process and has the responsibility of analysing and developing initiatives to address technical and structural challenges in ensuring equitable access to quality assured, affordable, adaptive and appropriate medical tools needed in MSF settings and beyond.

The newly established MSF Access structure replaces the former Access Campaign with a broader scope of work, operating through five strategic regional hubs:

• Dakar, Senegal: West and Central Africa.

• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The Americas.

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Asia and Oceania.

• Nairobi, Kenya: Eastern and Southern Africa.

• Brussels, Belgium: Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

In MSF Access team’s strategic plan 2026-2031 and the annual plan 2026, enhancing strategic approach towards evolving regulatory landscapes and their impact on access in MSF settings has been included as one priority area for analysis. In the Americas, local and regional production and innovation, combined with regulatory convergence and harmonization, are increasingly central to ensuring sustainable access to essential health products. At the same time, regulatory complexity, fragmented approval pathways and limited sourcing options continue to constrain MSF operations and public health systems.

This position strengthens MSF Access’ regional capacity to analyse, influence and engage on production, innovation and regulatory agendas, ensuring they are explicitly oriented toward access and public health needs, including MSF operational priorities.

II. PLACEMENT

The Regional Pharmacist is part of the MSF Access Americas Hub and reports to the Head of the Americas Region. The position works in close collaboration with the Americas regional advisors and has a strong functional link with the Analysis Department of the MSF Access team, a multidisciplinary group of experts working on medical, pharmaceutical, legal and policy issues related to access to health products.

III. OBJECTIVE OF THE POSITION

The objective of the position is to strengthen MSF Access’ understanding of local and regional production in the Americas, with a particular focus on how regulatory frameworks, harmonization initiatives, reliance models, policies affecting the importation, exportation and regional circulation of health products, and mechanisms designed to incentivize local and regional production create opportunities or pose risks for equitable access to quality‑assured medicines, diagnostics and vaccines, including how regulation shapes markets and access, influences market dynamics through systemic barriers and enablers, and impacts equity and the availability of essential health products across countries in the region.

Through in‑depth regulatory and policy analysis, the position aims to generate actionable evidence to inform MSF operations, advocacy and engagement on local production, regional supply strategies, pooled procurement and other collaborative purchasing mechanisms, as well as broader efforts to improve sustainable and equitable access to health technologies across the region.

IV. MAIN ACTIVITIES

1. Understand existing production, innovation and regulatory landscapes (diagnostic core)

• Monitor and analyse existing national and regional production and innovation initiatives related to medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, including developments concerning:

  • Technology transfer and licensing initiatives

  • Public and regional manufacturing capacity

  • Regional collaboration and coordination platforms

  • Funding mechanisms and industrial policy instruments

  • Regulatory approval pathways, market authorization processes, importation and exportation frameworks, procurement mechanisms, and reliance/harmonization mechanisms, and their interaction with market structures, shaping both the feasibility of local and regional production and its impact on equitable access, including product availability, pricing, affordability, and supply security

• Conduct desk reviews and ongoing analysis of existing regional and national policies, strategies and initiatives related to local and regional production and innovation.

• Map and analyse regulatory landscapes, harmonization initiatives and regulatory reliance models relevant to medicines, diagnostics and vaccines in the Americas, including key international, regional and selected national initiatives.

2. Identify barriers, risks and opportunities from an access perspective

• Assess how regulatory frameworks, harmonization initiatives, regulatory practices, procurement approaches and production incentive mechanisms influence:

  • Equitable access to quality‑assured medical products

  • The feasibility, sustainability and scale‑up of local and regional production

  • Market shaping dynamics, including systemic barriers and enablers affecting access, affordability, and availability of essential health technologies

  • Identify how regulatory and market-related constraints translate into inequities in access, including delayed approvals, fragmented regulatory systems, and limited reliance mechanisms across countries.

• Drawing on MSF operational experience in the Americas, analyse where existing production and regulatory approaches fail or succeed in delivering affordable, quality‑assured and appropriate products to MSF settings and underserved populations.

3. Translate analysis into access-oriented frameworks and MSF positioning

• Develop and maintain an access-oriented policy and analytical framework for public and local/regional production and innovation, explicitly grounded in:

  • Public health priorities

  • Equity and affordability

  • Quality assurance

  • MSF operational and humanitarian needs

• In collaboration with MSF Access team produce periodic analytical updates, technical notes and internal briefs to inform MSF Access strategic discussions and decision-making.

• Provide technical pharmaceutical input to MSF positions, policy documents and advocacy strategies related to local and regional production, innovation, regulatory pathways, procurement approaches and regional collaboration mechanisms, ensuring these are grounded in evidence generated through the diagnostic and analytical work, and explicitly incorporating analysis of how regulatory and market dynamics affect equitable access, affordability and availability of essential medical products in MSF operational contexts.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

At MSF, we are committed to an inclusive culture that encourages and supports the diverse voices of our employees. We welcome applications from individuals of all genders, ages, sexual orientations, nationalities, races, religions, beliefs, ability status, and all other diversity characteristics.

MSF is committed to preventing abuse, inappropriate behaviour, lack of integrity and financial misconduct in its work and care spaces. MSF expects all staff to share this commitment and promote an environment where abuse and misconduct is not tolerated.

We are committed to removing barriers for people with specific accessibility needs. If you need an adjustment to the recruitment process to be considered for the role, please let us know from the beginning of the selection process.

Note: All offers of employment will be subject to reference checks, including Human Resources, and to appropriate screening checks. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her/their understanding of these selection procedures.

Qualifications and Knowledge

• Degree in Pharmacy (mandatory).

• Solid knowledge of access to medicines and health technologies, including issues related to availability, affordability, quality and appropriateness.

• Understanding of local and regional production and innovation ecosystems, including public and private manufacturing models.

• Knowledge of regulatory systems for medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, including regulatory approval pathways, quality assurance, importation and exportation frameworks, and regulatory reliance or harmonization mechanisms.

• Familiarity with pharmaceutical policy, market dynamics and procurement is an asset.

• Basic understanding of intellectual property, licensing and technology transfer in the context of access to health products is an asset.

• Strong interest in public-health-driven and access-oriented approaches to local production and innovation.

• Commitment to MSF’s humanitarian principles and access-to-care mission.

Professional Experience

• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience in pharmacy, pharmaceutical policy, access to medicines, regulatory affairs, public health analysis or related fields.

• Proven experience working in Latin American countries

• Experience related to local or regional production, regulation, procurement or access initiatives is a strong asset.

• Prior experience with MSF or other humanitarian, public health or non-profit organisation is an asset.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to identify barriers, risks and opportunities.

• Excellent writing skills, including the ability to produce clear analytical briefs and technical notes for internal audiences.

• Ability to translate complex regulatory, production and policy issues into access-focused insights.

• Strong communication and collaboration skills in multidisciplinary and multicultural environments.

• Ability to work independently and autonomously, while coordinating closely with regional and international teams.

• Capacity to manage multiple analytical tasks and deliver outputs within agreed timelines.

• Proficiency in spoken and written English, Spanish, and Portuguese

• Frequent international travel.