Make a difference beyond the hospital ship

Mercy Ships operates two hospital ships that serve communities across sub-Saharan Africa, providing life-changing surgery and healthcare completely free of charge. Each ship spends around 10 months in a country, delivering essential surgeries, post-operative care and training for local healthcare professionals. Our aim is to leave a lasting legacy by strengthening local healthcare systems and increasing medical capacity long after we have departed.

But our work doesn't happen on board the ships alone!

The HOPE Center is a land-based facility where patients and their caregivers stay while preparing for surgery and recovering afterwards. It plays a vital role in the patient journey, ensuring that patients attend all their pre-operative appointments and receive the necessary dental treatment, X-rays, CT scans, blood tests and health screenings before their surgery.

What does the role involve?

This is a non-medical role that sits at the heart of our patient care. We are looking for someone with excellent communication and organisational skills, strong Excel and administrative abilities, and exceptional attention to detail.

You'll thrive in a fast-paced environment where every day brings something different. You'll need to be adaptable, resourceful and confident thinking on your feet, solving problems as they arise while ensuring patients receive the care, support and hospitality they need.

The HOPE Center can accommodate up to 300 patients and their caregivers, so effective coordination, teamwork and clear communication are essential to keeping everything running smoothly.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Managing HOPE Center operations: Help oversee the day-to-day running of the facility, establishing and following operational procedures and supervising housekeeping and food services.

• Supporting patients and caregivers: Maintain a safe, welcoming and supportive environment that promotes the health and wellbeing of patients, their caregivers and staff.

• Coordinating patient journeys: Work closely with hospital teams to ensure patients move smoothly between the HOPE Center and the ship for appointments, admissions and discharges.

• Communicating and problem-solving: Liaise with Ward, Preoperative, Outpatients and Rehabilitation teams to resolve patient-related issues and share updates on patient progress, caregiver involvement, daily routines, supplement compliance and readiness for discharge from the HOPE Center.

• Leading and supporting local staff: Provide daily supervision, guidance and encouragement to the local Day Crew employed during the field service. Build strong working relationships, mentor individuals and empower team leaders to lead effectively. This may also include conducting one-to-one reviews and evaluations and providing honest, constructive feedback.

• Setting up and closing down the facility: Help establish the HOPE Center and train the Day Crew at the beginning of each field service, then coordinate the pack-down and handover at the end.

• Providing additional patient support: Assist with basic nutritional support and the infant feeding programme under the direction of the dietitians.

• Participating in an on-call rota: Share responsibility for responding to out-of-hours emergencies.

Who would thrive in this role?

This opportunity would suit someone who enjoys bringing people, processes and practical details together. You'll need to be highly organised, comfortable working with spreadsheets and information, and able to prioritise competing demands without losing sight of the people at the centre of everything we do.

Above all, you'll be someone who enjoys working as part of an international team, supporting local colleagues and helping create a positive experience for patients and their caregivers during what can be a challenging time in their lives.

It's an opportunity to use your organisational and people skills to make a genuine difference to patients' lives, while helping Mercy Ships deliver care that extends far beyond the operating theatre.