Senior Legal Legacies Officer

Context & Mission

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent medical and humanitarian organisation that provides care to populations in need, to people affected by natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflicts, without discrimination and regardless of their race, religion, belief, or political affiliation (MSF Charter).

The Legacies team is attached to the General Public Fundraising Unit, one of the four units of the Fundraising Division within the Communication and Fundraising Department of MSF Switzerland. The fundraising area is responsible to ensure the financial resources to support MSF operations by developing and effectively implementing the MSF fundraising strategy to attract and engage donors and supporters to MSF’s cause.

Reporting to the Legacies Coordinator, you contribute to the optimisation of the management of legacy and inheritance donations for Médecins Sans Frontières Switzerland. You are responsible for the legal and administrative management of legacy and inheritance cases. You collaborate with and provide legal advice to the Legacies Coordinator and the Legacies Officer.

You ensure rigorous administrative and legal management of legacy files. You assist the Legacies Coordinator in some of his/her tasks and collaborate with various partners such as notaries, lawyers, executors, administrations, and may also interact with potential testators during initial contact or relationship cultivation at visits, by phone, or during our events.

You collaborate with the Legacies Coordinator to administer legacy and inheritance files in German, French, and Italian and participate in cultivating relationships with testators in all regions of Switzerland. You are also responsible for updating the records of all your new succession cases as well as all individuals interested in successions, and for ensuring the accuracy of your files. You ensure that all legacies and inheritances made to MSF are received and optimised securely through your expertise and experience in the field of legacies and inheritances. You are the reference for complex cases due to your legal expertise, providing advice to the team and holding yourself accountable for any contingencies.

You are committed to cultivating relationships with testators, retaining them, and ensuring follow-up with this target audience. Within your scope, you apply processes and procedures related to inheritances (acceptance, judicial decisions, etc.) and always ensure the protection of MSF Switzerland's interests and reputation. You are also responsible for financial follow-up with the Legacies Coordinator. You work in tandem with the Legacies Officer in monitoring and managing files. You are also required to collaborate with MSF Switzerland's finance department for the management of legacy and inheritance files, as well as during the annual provision phase for the files under your responsibility.

Responsibilities

Strategy

• Participates in the development and implementation of the legacy fundraising. Contributes to implementing the action plan aimed at growing and consolidating legacies and inheritances as a source of private funding for MSF Switzerland.


• Actively contributes to monitoring revenue targets from legacies and the annual action plan with the Legacies Coordinator and the Head of the General Public Fundraising Unit.

Stakeholder Relations and Representation

• Upon prior agreement with the Legacies Coordinator, represents MSF in will resolution processes during conflicts, including legal or administrative proceedings, mediations, or arbitrations.


• Establishes and maintains relationships with a portfolio of identified contacts (potential legators and legal professionals).


• Establishes and maintains first-rate relationships with professional audiences in the field of successions, including executors and other third-party intermediaries.


• Promotes the development of partnerships with key stakeholders (notaries, lawyers, wealth managers, etc.).

Donor Relations

• Cultivates relationships with testators and handraisers, ensuring their engagement by maintaining ongoing relationships with this audience through established touchpoints, events, and other engagement avenues.


• Visits handraisers or confirmed bequestors to nurture relationships and provide legal responses to their needs.


• Cultivates relationships during legacy and inheritance donor events.

Administration & Support

• Acts as the expert reference point for the Legacies team for all legal questions related to successions.


• Ensures close collaboration with our external legal advisors for litigious or complex cases.


• Manages the administrative follow-up of legacies after the death of testators, respecting the legal framework and ensuring compliance with deadlines prescribed by law.


• By delegation and/or under the supervision of the Head of the General Public Fundraising Unit, takes charge of specific cases.

Education

• University degree or equivalent qualification in law or a strong understanding of inheritance law.

Experience

• Previous experience in similar roles.


• Previous experience with MSF or other NGO/International Organisations is an advantage.

Skills/ Technical competencies

• Strong knowledge of the Swiss legal and political system, particularly in the field of inheritance law.


• Proficiency in verbal and written communication and argumentation.


• Analytical skills and comfort with numbers.


• Excellent computer literacy, internet navigation, and proficiency with office software.

Languages

• Bilingual or highly fluent in German and French.


• Proficiency in spoken and written English.


• Knowledge of Italian is an asset.

Personal Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously with a proactive and innovative mindset.


• Excellent interpersonal skills and proven experience in managing relationships with various stakeholders.


• Enthusiastic and collaborative team player.


• Effective problem-solving skills.


• Adaptive and flexible in varied situations.


• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritise tasks, and effectively meet deadlines.


• Rigour and meticulous attention to detail.


• Ability to work effectively in a multicultural environment.


• Strong stress management skills.


• Commitment to ethical practices and professional conduct.


• Interest, understanding, and commitment to humanitarian principles and MSF values.

Terms of Employment

• Part-time position 80% (32h/week)


• Open-ended contract


• Working place: Geneva or Zurich


• Ideal start date: June 17th, 2024


• Gross annual salary (for 80%): from CHF 74803,20 to 85’824.- (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 package if moving from a different country to Switzerland.

How to apply

Candidates submit their application following the requirements: CV 2 p. max. – letter of motivation 1p. max. – in French or English.

Deadline for application is May 12th, 2024.

We reserve the right to close the position early if we consider the number and quality of applications received to be sufficient.

The applications will be treated confidentially.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Only applications submitted on our recruitment platforms will be considered.

Please note that we do not wish to use the services of recruitment or placement agencies.

At MSF, we are committed to an inclusive culture that encourages and supports 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 for the social mission of MSF to create better outcomes for our patients and the communities we work with.

We welcome 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, therefore, undergo reference checks.