CONSULTANT – SUPPLY CHAIN SPECIALIST (PHARMACIST) / ESPECIALISTA EN CADENA DE SUMINISTRO (FARMACÉUTICA/O)

Applications are accepted only through the e-recuitment tool on this link:https://unitar.org/vacancy-announcements/consultant-supply-chain-specialist-pharmacist-recirculation/145

Duration of the contract

Starting 01 September 2022

Deadline for submission of applications

28 August 2022

Organizational Unit

Defeat-NCD Partnership

AREA OF SPECIALIZATION/THEMATIC AREAS:

Procurement, Supply Chain, Project Management, Pharmaceuticals

OVERVIEW:

UNITAR is an autonomous body within the United Nations that was established in 1965 pursuant to a UN General Assembly resolution. UNITAR’s mission is to develop the individual, institutional and organisational capacities of countries and other United Nations stakeholders through high-quality learning solutions and related knowledge products and services to enhance decision-making and to support country-level action for overcoming global challenges.

On 28 November 2019, at its 60th session, the UNITAR Board of Trustees took note of and endorsed, the Operations Agreement between UNITAR and The Defeat-NCD Partnership (dated 23 July 2019) to host the secretariat of the Partnership. UNITAR houses the secretariat of the Defeat-NCD Partnership and other relevant strategic initiatives working in the field of noncommunicable diseases and addressing related risk factors – such as road crashes, deaths and injuries, and assisted technologies for improved health outcomes.

The Defeat-NCD Partnership is a multi-stakeholder partnership anchored in the United Nations and includes governments, multilateral agencies, civil society, academia, philanthropies, and the private sector. It was established in January 2018 to help tackle the most significant global health problems of the age: premature death, sickness, disability, and the associated social and economic impacts of selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It is based on the expert guidance and the technical norms and standards issued by the World Health Organisation for managing NCDs.

The Government of Ecuador is part of the Governance Mechanism of The Defeat-NCD Partnership. Specifically, the Minister of Health is a member of the High-Level Council, and the NCD Focal Point, Ministry of Health, is a member of the Consultative Group.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF THE CONTRACT:

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical assistance and support to The Ministry of Health of Ecuador and other countries in the region to strengthen the management of their supply chain systems, provide training and capacity building to personnel across ministries of health, and help them improve their forecasting of needed NCD medicines, diagnostics, medical equipment, and supplies.

This assignment will enable populations in the portfolio priority countries to access a range of interconnected essential services and resources across the four pillars of work of the Defeat-NCD Partnership.

• NCD National Capacity Building (Pillar 1): Work with Governments and other in-country stakeholders to assess gaps in their NCD capabilities. Through technical support develop a multi-year NCD National Costed Action Plan. Facilitate engagement of relevant partners to ensure expansion of NCD services in line with national targets. The overall objective is to ensure that countries have institutional capacities, structures, systems, and financing in place to tackle NCDs.
• Community Scale-Up of NCD Services (Pillar 2): Aim to demystify, democratise, decentralise, and where safely possible, de-medicalise NCD service provision. Enable the earlier screening and management of risk factors as well as the mitigation of established disease. at the community level. By increasing the use of self-care interventions, improve patient compliance, resulting in better treatment and health outcomes. The overall objective is to bring more of the necessary prevention and management of NCD services directly to the communities and people who need them most.
• Affordability and Accessibility of Essential NCD Supplies (Pillar 3): To make the provision of NCD supplies simpler and more cost-effective by designing a Marketplace to create a fair, competitive environment that serves the interests of both buyers and suppliers. Using market-sizing and price-tracking studies, the Marketplace’s methodology will correct current market failures due to information imbalances. It will also help address regulatory bottlenecks in an appropriate manner. The overall objective is to enable the consistent provision of affordable essential NCD medicines, diagnostics, and equipment in low-resource countries.
• Sustainable NCD Financing (Pillar 4): Governments need to invest more in health, with a greater share allocated to finance their national costed action plans for NCDs. While cost savings can be achieved by linking NCD programming with other conditions and improving service delivery and by reducing the cost of NCD supplies, additional and innovative financing will be needed outside of the ongoing aid support and expanding fiscal allocations. The overall objective is to establish a long-term sustainable financing model for NCD programming in low-resource countries.

RESPONSIBILITIES/DESCRIPTION OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:

Within the delegated authority, and under the direct supervision of the Technical Specialist (Country Support) at The Defeat-NCD Partnership, the Supply Chain Specialist will perform the following tasks:

• Quantification of the annual requirements of NCD medicines and NCD medical commodities required for the 2022-2023 fiscal year using morbidity and consumption data and other nationally agreed data points.
• Development of an up-to-date situation analysis report on the non-communicable disease programme of Ecuador showcasing the contribution of all public and private sector actors with stakeholder mapping in terms of activities, contributions, and funding.
• Provision of inputs to the daily run of The Defeat-NCD Partnership programme across all 4 pillars in Ecuador.
• Other activities related to forecasting the demand for drugs and diagnostics for non-communicable diseases in Ecuador.
• Enhanced management of the NCD supply chains and reduced stock-outs across health facilities in Ecuador by 31 December 2022
• Ensure up to date situation analysis of the NCD programme in Ecuador
• Ensure successful implementation of The Defeat-NCD Partnership activities in Ecuador

MEASURABLE OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES/SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES:

As an active team member of The Defeat-NCD Partnership at UNITAR, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support rendered to Government of the country and The Defeat-NCD Partnership partners in the accomplishment of functions entrusted to the postholder. Specifically, the deliverables are as follows:

1. Establish the annual requirements of NCD medicines and NCD medical commodities required for the 2022-2023 fiscal year using morbidity and consumption data and other nationally agreed data points. 30 November 2022.
2. Generate an agreed number (up to two) requests for procurement orders for NCD products from interested parties in Ecuador and another neighbouring country. 30 November 2022
3. Finalisation of the quotation from IDA for procurement Order requests sent to it and assist in agreeing the quotations and progressing with the supply of goods. 15 December 2022
4. Develop a country specific annual and longer-term procurement plans for NCD drugs and diagnostics by interacting with national health programmes, donor projects in the field, private health care institutions, and key stakeholders in Ecuador. 15 December 2022.
5. Establish contacts with “Public Health databases” in relevant institutions dealing with Public Health in Ecuador leading to development of formal agreements with them to share public health data regarding drugs and diagnostics needed for control of non-communicable disease in Ecuador. 31 December 2022.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR EVALUATION OF RESULTS:

• Timely and quality submission of deliverables.
• Activities implemented with a high degree of effectiveness and efficiency.
• High degree of professionalism demonstrated by the individual contractor.

REPORTING STRUCTURE:

The incumbent will report to The Technical Specialist (Country Support) – The Defeat-NCD Partnership.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES EXPECTED FROM THE INDIVIDUAL:

• Excellent analytical skills – ability to quickly understand and internalise complex partnership topics.
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel.
• Excellent understanding of the pharmaceutical procurement and supply practices.
• Attention to details, tact, discretion, and diplomacy.
• Excellent people skills with ability to promote consensus and to promote innovations.
• Computer literacy with emphasis on databases and data management and Excel proficiency.
• Initiative-taking, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

a. Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy is required.
• A degree in Public Health, Medical Logistics, Medical Procurement, or related subjects is an advantage.

b. Work Experience

• Minimum of 7 years in procuring pharma supplies for governmental hospitals or private pharmaceutical enterprise; Or a minimum of 7 years working in the pharmaceutical sector, specifically in ordering and managing pharmaceutical supplies
• Relevant experience in procurement & supply planning; in identifying clients’ procurement & supply-related needs and in providing support and guidance from clients’ point of view is required
• Customer service experience is desired

c. Languages

• Fluency in oral and written English and Spanish is required.

REMARKS:

Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local laws. UNITAR does not reimburse Consultants for any taxes, duty, or other contribution payable by the Consultants on payments made under the Consultancy Contract.

The Institute does not provide or arrange life or health insurance coverage for consultants, and Consultants are not eligible to participate in the life and health insurance schemes provided by the UN for its staff members.

The assignment requires the consultant to be self-sufficient and arrange to be equipped with the requisite professional tools and equipment to conduct this assignment such as laptop with standard Adobe reader and a mobile phone.