Melanie Stevenson

As the Chair and Program Coordinator I'm working alongside the Executive and Associative of MSF South Asia to develop a new MSF Operational entity.

• Leadership and strategic coordination to the first phase of developing an MSF Operational Directorate in the South Asia region.
• Strategic guidance and advice to the Executive Director, Director Strategy & Planning, and wider Management team on development of the new strategic plan 2026-2031.
• Research and analysis in support of a review of the strategy 2024-2025 and a series of papers on priority topics in support of the strategic plan.
• Ongoing monitoring of project performance to identify areas of improvement and make adjustments.

Working with the International Board and International General Assembly (IGA) Representatives I delivered:

• A proposal to change voting allocation and composition of MSFs International Governance Assembly.
• An evaluation of the project’s first phase with recommendations to successfully deliver the second phase.
• A formal consultation on legal and governance amendments required to implement the model.
• Fully developed concept which embeds a pathway to bring MSFs Operational voice into the IGA.
• A proposal for undertaking a 3-year evaluation of the international governance system.
• Delivery of monthly reporting/monitoring/evaluation for International Board and supporting committees.
• Communications and change management package to support development and implementation of the changes.
• This included 121 coaching, team workshops, and copy edit support.
• Functional line management of the Project Assistant, and dossier overall.

Reporting to the Director of Strategic Intelligence and Planning I established a culture of continuous improvement by promoting best practices in project management, process optimization, and risk mitigation. I delivered:

• Functional and direct line management of six staff in the Planning, Risk, Research & Innovation team.
• Delivered a framework for the new strategy, three-year, annual plans and three-year performance management framework for the Queensland Fire Department.

Working with the Staff Director and Head of L&D I designed and implemented the first phase of the Field Staffing Transformation Program.

• Coordination across cross-functional teams to resolve project issues and mitigate risks.
• A research package designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data for evaluating the performance of HR and L&D teams in operational projects.
• Integrated communications, engagement and change management plans.
• Training on principles of organisational design to key teams.
• Functional management of staff allocated to the project, promoting best practices in project and change management.
• Subject Matter Expert peer review process on the final draft strategy.

Working with the Executive Director and Management Team I delivered:

• A report with outcomes of a review of the current strategy and recommendations for the next strategic period.
• Evaluation of the internal and external environments to contribute to a series of priority topic position papers.
• A process to develop the strategy extension which enabled staff to also develop their next annual plan.
• Final strategy extension document.
• Coordination across cross-functional teams to resolve project issues and mitigate risks.
• A training program designed to ‘walk along’ with Directors and Managers, and all staff, to support learning on strategy and planning methodologies and processes. This included 121 coaching, team workshops, and copy edit support.
• Regular reporting/monitoring/evaluation to the Board of Trustees and Management team.
• A communications package to support strategy development and implementation.

Working with the Executive Director and Director of HR and L&D I delivered:

• A policy governance framework and enabling doctrine.
• Recommended schedule of policies to be implemented in the organisation.
• A series of policies and supporting documents for HR and L&D, IT and Communications.
• Coordination across cross-functional teams to resolve project issues and mitigate risks.
• A training program designed to ‘walk along’ with Directors, Managers, and policy authors, training them on how to develop, review and update policies and supporting documents. This included 121 coaching, team workshops, and copy edit support to Directors and Managers.
• A communications package to support implementation of the policy governance framework and newly developed or updated policies.

Working with the Executive Director and President of the Board of Trustees I delivered:

• A program to support Directors to work with their staff to develop strategic areas, including 121 coaching, team workshops, and copy edit support.
• Engagement plan to build strategy direction with the Board of Trustees and National Health Advisors with lived experience of barriers to accessing healthcare.
• A process to develop the strategy extension which enabled staff to also develop their next annual plan.
• All staff peer review process on the final draft strategy.
• Final strategy document.

Working with the Staff Director and HR and L&D Management team I collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure successful project outcomes, fostering strong relationships within the organisation. Key deliverables included:

• A document detailing the foundations of the HR & L&D Functional Strategy.
• Leadership of departmental annual planning and budget monitoring and reporting. This included 121 coaching, team workshops, and copy edit support to Directors and Managers.
• A package of HR and staffing indicators to streamline annual planning and data requests.
• Design and delivery of functional strategy topic focused collaboration events including HR Co-Ordination Days (Kenya), HR & Finance engagement program (online and the Netherlands), and all department workshops (online or the Netherlands).
• Establishing the emerging Project Management Office function in the department.
• Management of priority projects such as the HR cell and change management for the L&D restructure.

Working in a voluntary committee of colleagues from MSF South Asia I took a lead role in:

• Finalising a terms of Reference and Ways of Working doctrine to support the unique set up of the Committee.
• Developing a three-year strategic plan and two annual plans.
• Facilitating participatory interactions to agree a set of definitions for diversity, equity and inclusion from the perspective of South Asia.
• Delivering diversity, Equity & Inclusion training to office and operational staff working in the region.

Working with the MSF OCA Manson Unit, Public Health Department, MSF Swedish Innovation Unit and MSF UK digital team I delivered:

• Updated internal SharePoint pages on teams in the Medical Department.
• Project management design for an initiative to bring together Operational research and Innovation initiatives on the MSF Research Management and Impact Tool (REMIT).
• Research, evaluation and development of recommendations in support of integrating innovation data on the REMIT system.

Working with the Executive Director, Management team and President of the Board of Trustees I delivered:

• The 3-year organisational strategy for MSF South Asia.
• Several workshops in person and online to support ideation and co-production of strategic priorities.
• A training program designed to ‘walk along’ with Directors and Managers, and all staff, to support learning on strategy and planning methodologies and processes, prioritising Objectives and Key Results.
• Flexible and adaptable approach and proactive management of expectations through the first two-years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with colleagues living and working in one of the most impacted countries in the world.

Working with the managing Director I delivered:

• Research and recommendations, including analysis of risks and opportunities, in support of how the social enterprise could approach setting up as a National Disability Insurance Scheme provider.
• Set up of internal structures to ensure SevGen was compliant with the needs of the scheme.