In addition to knowing that your work contributes to the lifesaving efforts of the movement around the world, there are many other benefits that make working with us fulfilling.
At MSFA we look after our employees by offering a variety of benefits that support them, their family and/or their communities.
Salary & financial rewards
When determining an annual salary increase, MSFA bases this assessment on three datapoints: CPI Sydney, Wage Price Index – NSW and Average Weekly Earnings data to ensure our salaries keep pace with inflation (cost of living).
As a not-for-profit organisation, we also offer the opportunity to salary package*. This agreement allows you to increase your income by paying for certain (identified) living expenses using pre-tax dollars.
*(By using your pre-tax salary through salary packaging, you pay less tax on your remaining income, which equals dollars in your pocket).
At MSF there is an additional financial benefit annually that can be used for a variety of identified expenses, including medical expenses, gym memberships, travel and more.
For eligible contracts, your MSFA package may also include life and salary continuance insurances.
In addition to your standard holiday leave of twenty days, employees also receive MSF Leave days, three additional days of leave (which accumulate one day each year over your first three years of employment
- “Me” day - on your birthday in year one,
- “Self-Development” day in year two and a
- “For Someone Else” day in year three - for volunteering in your local community.
Our Additional Annual Leave policy means you can purchase additional leave, providing the option of never missing a big event!
Performance & career development
We have an annual performance-based salary review for all employees.
Employees are supported to gain the skills and experience required for advancing their career, through working with their manager and the Learning and Development team to build an individual performance development plan.
Long-term study assistance is also available.
For anyone looking to work internationally on assignment with MSF, your job will be held for up to one year.
Flex & hybrid work options
We have both flexible and hybrid work arrangements. To support flex, we have core operating hours of 10am to 3pm which enables our employees to start and finish at a time that suits them (as long as they are available to collaborate within those core hours!).
As part of a global organisation our flex policy also allows staff to work internationally for up to two months per year.
Our hybrid work practices allow a full-time employee to work in the office two days and choose to work remotely up to three days per week if they wish.
Health & Wellbeing
Yoga and meditation classes are scheduled in the office on a weekly basis to keep us balanced and centred. (In addition to a membership with Headspace to access mental health support at any time).
Standing desks are available in the office and our Work from Home Reimbursement or Additional Benefits Policies, also allow you to purchase one for when you are working from home.
Several of our employees have been accredited as Mental Health First Aiders to provide initial support for individuals experiencing mental health challenges.
A vaccination program offers free flu shots annually.
We recognise that the nature of our work can be confronting, so we offer an employee assistance program (EAP), for which we partner with Mandala, who provide specialist psychological and psychosocial support services to humanitarian aid organisations. Our EAP service extends to family members also.
At MSFA we are always looking to improve, we have several working groups that bring together staff across departments to collaborate on how we can continuously improve our practices and policies and support our employee's knowledge in the following areas:
- Sustainability
- DEI (including Disability and our Reconciliation Action Plan)
- Representation
- Agile
To ensure the MSFA office is connected to the projects where our programs are delivered, we have fortnightly sessions with Internationally Mobile Staff where they share their firsthand learnings. .
Culture
Our culture is aligned to one of belonging and connection, with monthly lunches that rotate across days, times and themes to ensure everyone is included. We also plan annual team building events to foster collaboration.
At MSFA the end of the week is marked by ‘quiet Friday’ where meetings are discouraged, to allow deep work to be completed.
On the last Friday afternoon of every month, affectionately known as Circuit Breaker Friday of “CBF”, we close the office at 1pm. This initiative started during the COVID-19 lockdown – to give staff a break from computer fatigue and meeting burnout. We found the benefits to be so rewarding, it is now here to stay.
Celebrating our staff through recognition of their constant dedication is ongoing at MSFA – each week at an all-office briefing meeting we celebrate peer-nominated staff who have ‘WoW’ed their colleagues by reinforcing MSF Australia T.R.U.S.T Values.
Our above-industry average employee retention rates speak to our culture.
Learning & Development
Each position has access to a training budget to support objectives identified in their performance development plan.
This can be used against a variety of learning resources - from memberships, conferences to courses to support you in your current or future roles. That’s in addition to the LinkedIn Learning Licence we provide to you upon permanent or long-term employment.
In MSFA our Learning Management System (ELMO) offers thousands of workplace courses, and more broadly across the MSF movement, the Tembo training platform provides access to hundreds of inhouse courses.
Our tailored induction program supports a new starter to get set up and comfortable by providing ongoing department and Asia Pacific regional training days to compound learning over your first six months.