Specialist, Emergency Response Unit Pharmaceutical

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

International Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief and development programs. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses, International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in underserved communities worldwide. By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at the highest risk, and with the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations, International Medical Corps rehabilitates devastated healthcare systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance.

When catastrophe hits, International Medical Corps is often one of the first humanitarian aid organizations on the scene providing rapid and effective aid that saves lives, reduces suffering, and promotes self-reliance.

International Medical Corps provides safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered care; offers needs-based response according to the context and type of Sudden Onset Disaster and/or outbreak in the affected nation: adopts a human rights-based approach to their response; ensures they are accessible to all sections of the population affected by the SOD and/or outbreak particularly the vulnerable; and treats patients in a medically ethical manner consistent with the World Medical Association Medical Ethics Manual.

International Medical Corps is accountable to: patients and communities; host government, Ministry of Health; our organization, and donors. International Medical Corps commits to a coordinated response under the national health emergency management authorities. International Medical Corps collaborates with the national health system, the cluster, and the humanitarian community.

The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) is a specialized department within IMC that participates in the mitigation, preparedness, response, and early recovery from emergencies by supporting existing IMC country teams and developing novel programs in countries where IMC does not yet have a presence.

The successful candidate can be based anywhere in the world where International Medical Corps has a program office. It is a remote position with significant travel to country programs as requested.

JOB DESCRIPTION

SUMMARY: The Specialist, ERU Pharmaceutical Services is a dynamic position that involves the management of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and medical equipment (medical commodities) throughout the entire cycle of emergencies, from preparedness to recovery. The ERU Specialist is part of the ERU technical team, reports to the Emergency Medical Advisor of the ERU, and coordinates with the programs and logistics teams in the ERU as well as other organizational departments. The ERU Specialist will play a key role in supporting the procurement, management, mobilization, and demobilization of medical commodities both in the field and at headquarters.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function with or without reasonable accommodation. The tasks listed are representative of the nature and level of work assigned and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Emergency Preparedness/Planning
• Policies/Procedures/Protocols – Assist in the strategic planning, development, and implementation of ERU policies, procedures, and protocols regarding the procurement, storage, maintenance, pre-positioning, mobilization, and demobilization of all medical commodities (supplies, equipment, and pharmaceuticals) managed by the ERU. This includes assisting in the development of Mission Ready Packages by providing technical input on all medical commodities.
• ERU Inventory/stock management – In coordination with logistics and operational personnel, manage ERU medical commodities in accordance with internationally-accepted standard practice, including conducting periodic and annual inventory of all commodities under management by the ERU.
• Procurement – In coordination with medical, logistics and operational personnel, participate in the needs assessment, identification, and procurement of medical commodities to be managed by the ERU or pre-positioned in country programs for emergency response.
• Country Program Assistance – assist country teams and international programs department in the development of local emergency pharmaceutical procedures as detailed above, including international travel to country programs as needed.
• Coordination – coordinate with ERU medical, logistics, programs and operational teams to ensure above objectives are met. Coordinate with other departments; including the Technical Unit, Global Supply Chain, and Global Pharmacy Services Unit, in order to harmonize p/p/p with the rest of the organization.

Emergency Response/Recovery
• Deploy to the field as needed to assist in the management of emergency responses as below.
• Field Pharmacy stock management – Manage medicines and medical commodities in the field in accordance with host country and internationally accepted standard practices (consumption tracking, expiration date tracking, First Expire First Out policy, bin cards, stock cards, tracking registers, re-order thresholds, cleanliness, etc.)
• Field Procurement – Generate timely replenishment requests to prevent stock outs and always ensure availability of essential medical commodities.
• Pre-qualification – Participate in Local medical commodity’s vendor Prequalification processes in order to ensure local medical commodities purchases are made from approved sources when the situation permits.
• Dispensing – Dispense medicines to beneficiaries according to international and host-country best practices, provide patient counselling and medication instructions to beneficiaries, and maintain distribution records appropriately.
• Education – Provide health education/promotion to beneficiaries on appropriate use of medicines, adherence to medication regimens, and other public health topics of concern.
• Cold chain management – In coordination with logistics personnel, institute and ensure implementation of applicable cold-chain procedures in the field according to IMC standards and ensure adherence to procedures.
• Training – Analyze field training needs and institute training for deployed and host medical and logistics staff regarding pharmacy procedures.
• Human Resources – Assist in hiring necessary local pharmacy staff.
• Data collection – Work with the medical team to provide standardized data to the International Medical Corps reporting and data management system.
• Coordination – Coordinate with medical and logistics personnel regarding proper implementation of pharmacy and stock management procedures, and any problems or needs regarding responsibilities or protocols outlined above.
• Provide technical advice and support remotely to all deployed/host country pharmacy personnel in the above actions when not actively in the field to ensure team adherence to required pharmacy policies and procedures.

Perform other duties as assigned. The duties and responsibilities listed in this document are representative of the nature and level of work assigned and not necessarily all inclusive.

Code of Conduct
As applicable to this position, an individual must promote and encourage a culture of compliance and ethics throughout the organization and maintain a clear understanding of International Medical Corps’ and donor compliance and ethics standards and adheres to those standards. Staff are also responsible for preventing violations to our Code of Conduct and Ethics, which may involve Conflicts of Interest, Fraud, Corruption or Harassment. If you see, hear or are made aware of any violations to the Code of Conduct and Ethics or Safeguarding Policy, you have an obligation to report.

If this is a supervisory position, one must set an example of ethical behavior through one’s own conduct and oversight of the work of others; ensure that those who report to you have sufficient knowledge and resources to follow the standards outlined in the Code of Conduct & Ethics; monitor compliance of the people you supervise; enforce the Code of Conduct & Ethics and International Medical Corps’ policies, including the Safeguarding Policy and the Protection from Harassment, Bullying and Sexual Misconduct in the Workplace Policy, consistently and fairly; support employees who in good faith raise questions or concerns.

Safeguarding
It is all staff shared responsibility and obligation to safeguard and protect populations with whom we work, including adults who may be particularly vulnerable and children. This includes safeguarding from the following conduct by our staff or partners: sexual exploitation and abuse; exploitation, neglect, or abuse of children, adults at risk, or LGBTI individuals; and any form of trafficking in persons.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

Required
• Due to regulatory requirements, US Registered Pharmacist (R.Ph) or Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D.) preferred but not required. Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
• Valid unexpired license to practice as a pharmacist in the applicant’s home country.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience required, of which 3 years should be in resource poor environments or developing countries.
• Experience working with non-profits, NGOs, government agencies, UN agencies, or other international organizations.
• Experience with pharmacy management, stock management, and procurement.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, including Excel.
• Excellent communication skills; strong written and oral English skills required.
• Ability to cope with dynamic problems, stressful situations and work with limited resources.
• Outstanding organizational and problem-solving skills, analytic & pragmatic.
• Valid, unexpired, unrestricted home-country passport and flexibility to travel internationally.
Desired
• Experience in humanitarian assistance or emergency response.
• Experience working in low-resource and international settings.
• Diversity of experience in multiple pharmacy practice settings i.e. community pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, research, regulatory affairs, academia etc.
• Experience working with marginalized, vulnerable, or at-risk groups; including refugees, and internally displaced people.
• Experience with policy/protocol/procedure development.
• Proficiency in an additional official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) in addition to English.

Equal Opportunities
International Medical Corps is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or status as a veteran.

Misconduct Disclosure Scheme

All offers of employment at International Medical Corps are subject to satisfactory references and background checks. International Medical Corps participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme from the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR). In accordance with this, we will request information from an applicant’s previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.