John Snow, Inc. (JSI), a leading international public health consulting organization, is seeking a Vaccine Supply Chain Advisor for a one year contract to support the Pharmaceutical Funds and Supplies Agency (PFSA) as they assume responsibility for the management of the vaccine supply chain. The advisor is expected to provide technical assistance to PFSA in planning for and implementing a new vaccine supply chain managed by PFSA. PFSA is an autonomous FMOH agency responsible for all aspects of supply chain management for health commodities for the public sector. In 2013, it was decided that PFSA should begin to assume responsibility for vaccine supply chain management. JSI has been providing support to PFSA for a number of years for supply chain management of essential medicines and has received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support this new vaccine work.
Overview:The Supply Chain Advisor will be part of PFSA’s Forecasting and Capacity Building Directorate, reporting to the Director. They will also be accountable to the JSI Country Director and the projects vaccine team.The position is initially for a one year contract with John Snow Inc., with the possibility of being extended further.
Responsibilities: The Vaccine Supply Chain Consultant will be responsible for, but shall not be limited to:
Advise PFSA management and technical staff on the specifics of vaccine commodities and cold chain requirements and how they impact the supply chain
Provide technical support for all aspects of vaccine supply chain design
Support ongoing PFSA support for vaccine distribution including vaccine campaigns, and new vaccine introductions
Provide technical support in various areas of supply chain management for vaccines including forecasting, procurement, storage, distribution, inventory management, warehouse management, information systems, cold chain technology, temperature monitoring etc.
Support the updating, maintenance and implementation of transition and workplans for vaccine supply chain management by PFSA
Work with PFSA technical staff on capacity building activities to ensure PFSA staff have the necessary skills to manage vaccines: planning, organizational development, curriculum development, and training
Support the development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the vaccine supply chain, as well as benchmarking and development of M&E systems and tools
Contribute to modifications of PFSA’s MIS systems needed for vaccines
Attend partner technical working groups for vaccines
Serve as a link between PFSA and JSI for vaccine supply chain activities; ensure there is mutual understanding and good communications
Travel to PFSA hubs and to the field as needed to support activities (up to 25 percent of the time)
Perform other tasks, duties, and responsibilities as may be assigned.
Job Requirement
Bachelors (masters preferred) degree in Pharmacy, public health, supply chain management, business administration, or equivalent
Significant experience in, and knowledge of, Ethiopia’s EPI program and vaccine commodity management is a prerequisite
Knowledge of cold chain management, ideally for vaccines, including technology, infrastructure, and systems
Experience in supply chain management preferably in pharmaceutical or healthcare field
Proven capacity to work independently and function effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team
Strong representational and interpersonal skills with proven ability to influence decision makers
Excellent written and oral communications skills in English; fluent in Amharic
Experience in training and preparation of training materials
Demonstrated skills in Microsoft Office Suite applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Working knowledge of PFSA and PFSA systems an advantage
Travel to PFSA hubs and to the field as needed to support activities (up to 25 percent of the time)