Systems Strengthening & Capacity Development Specialist (Team Lead),Supply Chain Management Unit (SCMU), Copenhagen, Denmark, P3

The Position:

The System Strengthening Team Lead position is located in the Country Support Team within Pillar 1 – Resilience and Capacity Development in the UNFPA Supply Chain Management Unit (SCMU). The position reports directly to the Country Support Manager. The System Strengthening Team Lead will work closely with other SCMU colleagues, other HQ Business Units, the Regional Offices and the Country Offices and with a number of external partners.

The position provides strategic and technical leadership to build sustainable national health supply chain systems for reproductive health products.

The position requires the ability and willingness to travel on short notice as part of its core responsibilities. Acceptance of the job offer signifies agreement to comply with this requirement.

How You Can Make a Difference

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose

The System Strengthening Team Lead plays a pivotal role in the development and implementation of strategies, guidelines, and training initiatives to enhance national health supply chain systems, focusing on capacity development, fostering strategic partnerships, and ensuring effective monitoring, reporting, and knowledge management for reproductive health product supply chains. The position will provide strategic oversight and management of a dedicated Country Support team.

Main Task And Responsibilities

You will be responsible to support the Country Support Manager with:

• Oversee the strategic and technical leadership to build sustainable national health supply chain systems for reproductive health products.
• Propose and update strategies, guidelines, SOPs and tools related to supply chain system strengthening and collaborate with the Regional SCM Desks to facilitate their adoption and use.
• Support Country Offices and Implementing Partners to synthesize findings and recommendations from the LMA process and define effective risk mitigation and remedial measures for recurrent issues (e.g., traceability differences, lack of adequate certification for storage and distribution of pharmaceutical products at warehouses, capacity gaps for quantification/forecasting etc.).
• Coordinate and facilitate training, webinars, mentoring and coaching for UNFPA and Implementing Partner staff on Good Pharmacy Practices and Good Storage/ Distribution Practices in collaboration with SCMU Product Quality Assurance team.
• Identify priority countries for targeted systems strengthening missions through the LMA process and other supply chain assessments (e.g., RHCS Facility-based Surveys, UNFPA Supplies Sustainability Readiness Assessment Tool, Supply Chain Maturity Model Assessment, quality of care assessments at the country level, assessments conducted by other in-country partners).
• Develop and implement supply chain strengthening mission plans and budgets, in collaboration with the HQ business units/ teams, Regional Offices and Country Offices.
• Provide technical advice to Regional Offices and Country Offices on development of regional or national pharmaceutical master plans/ strategies, considerations in selecting appropriate logistics management information system, or other similar strategic supply chain improvement initiatives.
• Review applications submitted under the SCM thematic area for UNFPA Supply Partnership Transformative Action funding and make recommendations for funding.
• Collaborate with the UNFPA Supplies Partnership M&E team to track performance and guide countries to align implementation of their Transformative Action grants with the Partnership goals and supply chain system strengthening priorities for UNFPA.
• Develop a roster of third-party service providers and individual consultants with experience and expertise and management deployment and quality assurance of supply chain system strengthening missions, as per identified priorities and workplans.
• Advocate for professionalization of human resources for supply chain management, including integration of reproductive health supply chain management into pre-service training curricula for various health professionals and courses offered by health institutions.
• Capacity Strengthening
• Implementing UNFPA’s capacity-strengthening initiatives.
• Advocate for the training of supply chain professionals
• Coach and mentor UNFPA personnel to strengthen their capacity to provide informed technical guidance in the supply chain management function.
• Thought Leadership, Knowledge Sharing and Advisory
• Champion UNFPA’s supply chain thought leadership through actively engaging with industry experts, participating in relevant forums, contributing to research and publications, and representing UNFPA’s expertise in various supply chain management discussions and initiatives.
• Support an environment for knowledge retention and sharing and the creation of a community of practice for supply chain.
• Provide counsel and support on the full range of supply chain management issues, incorporating best practices and continuous improvement across UNFPA.
• Partnerships and Resource Mobilization
• Contribute to the development of UNFPA’s value proposition and relationships with donors and partners.
• Support the establishment of strategic public-private partnerships, aligning organizational logistics goals with external collaboration for enhanced operational effectiveness.
• Support SCMU’s collaboration with the Division of Communications and Strategic Partnerships (DCS) to diversify funding opportunities.
• Support SCMU’s oversight of resource mobilisation proposals for quality assurance purposes
• Collaboration and Representation
• Support effective collaboration with relevant stakeholders within UNFPA to ensure coordinated and effective tailored solutions for each area of intervention.
• Support relationships with key supply chain partners with the purpose of increasing the efficiency of UNFPA’s supply chain function.
• Represent SCMU and UNFPA in meetings related to supply chain management functions.
• F. Carry out any other duties as may be required by the Chief, SCMU.

Education

Qualifications and Experience

Advanced university degree is required. An advanced degree in Medical Science, Pharmacy, Public Health Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain, Data Science, Health Policy and Administration, International Development, Business Administration, or other related fields is an added advantage; or a first level university degree combined with a professional Supply Chain Management certification such as Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) at Level 4 or above Certificate and/or Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT – UK) at Level 4 or above qualification may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Knowledge And Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant, progressively responsible experience in supply management, quality assurance of medical products in the supply chain, particularly involving storage and distribution, supply chain monitoring and evaluation and logistics information systems is required. Candidates should demonstrate experience in the below key areas, with the understanding that these experiences may overlap:
• At least two (2) years of hands-on experience working in development and/or complex humanitarian operating environments in low-resource countries. Candidates must demonstrate a deep understanding of the unique challenges and regulations specific to these contexts. This field experience is required.
• At least two (2) years of hands-on experience working with WHO Good Distribution/Storage Practices and National Medical Guidelines, Protocols and Standards
• At least two (2) years of hands-on in developing pharmaceutical master plans/strategies, logistics strategies for multi-year and significantly large dollar value projects funded by Donors such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the European Union, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and/or the Global Fund with an understanding of their compliance and reporting requirements.
• At least two (2) years’ experience in developing and/ or delivering in-person and remote training.
• Experience in managing a team, particularly within a remote and/or matrix organizational structure is an asset
• Professional written and spoken presentation skills, including for the development of reports, presentations, and the ability to synthesize complex supply chain documents for both technical and non-technical audiences is required.
• Strong interpersonal skills and capability to develop and maintain broad diversified partnerships is required.
• Experience using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is required.
• Experience working with UNFPA in managing reproductive health commodities will be an added advantage.

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Values

Required Competencies:

• Exemplifying integrity,
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,
• Embracing cultural diversity,
• Embracing change

Core Competencies

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,

Functional Competencies

• Experience in developing pharmaceutical master plans/strategies, logistics strategies for multi-year and significantly large dollar value projects
• Knowledge of championing UNFPA’s supply chain thought leadership through actively engaging with industry experts
• Ability to support SCMU’s collaboration with the Division of Communications and Strategic Partnerships (DCS) to diversify funding opportunities.
• Ability to support the establishment of strategic public-private partnerships, aligning organizational logistics goals with external collaboration for enhanced operational effectiveness.

Managerial Competencies (if Applicable)

• Supporting management on engaging staff and partners
• Support management decisions and exercise sound judgement

Compensation And Benefits

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA’s workforce – click here to learn more.

Disclaimer

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements.

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.