SUPPLY CHAIN REFERENT FRONT OFFICE

Médecins Sans Frontières, founded in 1971, is an international non-profit organization that provides emergency medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from health care. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of medical professionals, logistics, administrative and various other professions, all guided by our medical ethics and our principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.

MSF WaCA, created in 2019, is the first MSF headquarters in Africa, and responds to the desire to reinvent the MSF movement after 50 years of humanitarian actions in the world, for more access to care, more reactivity and proactivity for greater medical coverage of affected populations in the world.

Why join us?

You are preparing to become a member of the MSF family, with over 50 years of emergency medical action that earned it the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

We are an inclusive organization that considers social and professional well-being a right for all and provides an environment that takes into account the diversity of each volunteer.

MSF WaCA claims an African anchorage that considers the local expertise with which it contributes in the implementation of its activities and makes each member, a key actor of the new dynamics of the humanitarian act in the world.

We Are Looking for: SUPPLY CHAIN REFERENT FRONT OFFICE

Department: Operation

Direct Manager: Head of Supply Chain

Functional Manager: Head of Supply Chain

MSF Interactions: YES

Working %: 100%

Based in: Abidjan with possibility of field visit and gap filling in the field

Mobility: depending on the needs

Type of Contract: Fixed-Term Renewable

Position to be filled: as soon as possible

Mission

The Supply Chain Referent Front Office plays a pivotal role in the success of MSF WaCA’s Supply Chain operations. This position involves developing synergies with various stakeholders, including the HQ Operations department, missions team, local authorities, other MSF OCs, and partners. The incumbent leads and manages the field supply chain to ensure the effective and efficient service management for MSF WaCA operations and activities.

• The Supply Chain Referent Front Office is responsible for developing the mission’s emergency response supply chain strategy and ensuring its implementation and monitoring. They are accountable for the design, planning, execution, and monitoring of supply chain activities, delivering an effective supply chain function within MSF WaCA operations in compliance with established standards and policies.

Furthermore, this role actively participates in and leads the continuous improvement of performance quality throughout the Supply Chain team. The incumbent ensures stakeholders’ satisfaction by implementing service-oriented practices.

Objectives

The objective of the Supply Chain Referent Front Office is to support field operations by ensuring the efficient, cost-effective, and dependable delivery of crucial supplies for the organization in various operational mission. This role demands both technical expertise and a firm commitment to humanitarian principles and the well-being of affected populations.

Main responsibilities / Activities

Coordination and supply chain strategy

· Actively participate in defining and updating annual project plans and budgets, providing advice to the missions and operations team on translating identified supply needs into mission objectives, priorities, and required resources.

• Oversee and manage the supply chain function for MSF WaCA at operational level. This involves ensuring the timely procurement, storage, and distribution of essential supplies, equipment, and resources required for various missions.
• Contribute to the development of supply chain strategies and plans for the missions. This includes collaborating with the Operations to align supply chain activities with program objectives and requirements.
• Be at the forefront to develop and coordinate mission activity schedules, order schedules, as well as all strategies related to the macro-process of the supply chain. Ensuring the implementation, utilization, and comprehension of these strategies in missions, focusing on needs and planning, purchases (local, international, and regional), transportation/importation, storage, stock management, and distribution.
• Provide support to the supply management team by reviewing management responses related to the supply chain and assisting in the design and implementation of necessary corrective measures based on supply chain audit findings.
• Collaborate with the missions and the operations department to facilitate the development and oversight of mission supply chain guidelines, which encompass supply chain strategies, Service Level Agreements, storage strategies, sourcing strategies, and more. Identify gaps or deficiencies in project proposals, highlighting potential risks.
• Implement Key Performance Indicators to monitor the effectiveness of the supply chain within the missions.
• Provide technical guidance and expertise to the Operations and the Supply Chain teams in different missions. This includes sharing best practices, offering solutions to supply chain challenges, and ensuring compliance with organization-wide standards and policies.
• Train, mentor, and build the capacity of supply chain staff in different countries. This involves conducting training sessions, workshops, and providing ongoing support to ensure that the teams are well-equipped to handle supply chain operations effectively.
• Collaborate closely with other departments within the organization, including finance, logistics, and program management, to ensure that supply chain activities are aligned with program goals and budget constraints.
• Develop and sustain liaison with liaison with local government authorities involved in the Supply chain processes, the other MSF counterpart in charge of the countries and other actors and partners.
• Can represent MSF WaCA in inter-agency coordination meetings and working groups to share information, lessons learned, and best practices.

· Can be deployed in the field during emergency mission deployment.

Transversal activities

– Human Resources and Capacity building

· In collaboration with missions coordination team, periodically reviews the supply chain organization structure to interface with Supply Chain systems.

• Support in defining the missions HR setup and can be asked to fill the gap in missions if needed.
• Contribute and participate with the missions line manager in the performance management of the Supply chain management team in the mission (defining objectives for the team, team induction plan, perform team appraisal, …).
• Act as Technical Referent for the mission Supply Chain Management Team.
• HQ Briefing / Debriefing and ad-hoc training on major supply positions
• Reporting
• Analyze the supply missions supply reports and give feedback and orientation.
• Field visit reports and regularly monitor the recommendations.

· Collaborate with other Team members with the Supply Chain Unit

Job requirements

Essential Skills

• Autonomy, professional rigor and ability to manage his stress

• Excellent strategic vision and analytical thinking

• Proven Team Leadership skills and ability to work as part of a team

• Proven ability to results and solutions oriented

• Excellent experience in capacity building, facilitation, and training

• Excellent ability on team work, collaboration and communicate efficiently with others

• Strong organizational skills, flexibility and cultural awareness

• Ability to manage significant workload and delegate some tasks

• Proactivity and problem-solving

Soft Skills

• Ability to the change management
• Ability to think out of the box
• Kindness and active listening
• Cross-functional oriented
• Innovation ability
• Team spirit

Qualifications & Professional experience required

• Minimum of 2 years of professional demonstrated experience in Supply Chain Management

• Years of experience in humanitarian emergencies is an advantage

• Humanitarian mission opening experience is an asset

Languages

• French and English (expert knowledge)

Computer Skills

• Proficiency and excellent knowledge in computers and Microsoft office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, …)

• Knowledge on Supply information systems is considered as an asset

************************************************************************

MSF offers equal recruitment and development opportunities without any form of discrimination based on gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geographical origin, physical disability or any other discriminatory ground.
Female candidates who meet the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.
N.B.: This job description provides a framework for the main responsibilities and primary activities of the position. It is not exhaustive. Therefore, the responsibilities and activities of the position may differ from those described in this job description due to organizational and operational needs.

Deadline: 05th December 2023, 6pm (GMT)
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted