Pharmacy Manager at The International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

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Job Position: Pharmacy Manager – HeRON Consortium

Job Location: Maiduguri, Borno

Job Description
HeRON Project Overview:

1. USAID/FCDO Lafiya Health Resilience of the Northeast Nigeria (HeRON) project in Borno and Yobe states supports delivery of quality integrated primary healthcare, reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services, to improve evidence-based decision making, accountability at all levels of service delivery.
2. IRC leads a consortium of humanitarian and development implementing partners (Action Contre la Faim – ACF, Society for Family Health Nigeria).
3. The Project team is working alongside states and local government authorities in Borno and Yobe, strengthening their capacity to effectively deliver quality integrated primary healthcare, reproductive, maternal, and newborn and child health and nutrition services.

Scope of Work

1. IRC is seeking an experienced pharmacy management professional to provide managerial and technical support to HeRON consortium program and its implementing partners, collaborating with States’ MoH and LGAs to strengthen their pharmaceutical systems and improve health outcomes.
2. Reporting to the HeRON Consortium Team Leader, the post holder will provide technical management and regular coordination support of HeRON IPs’ pharmacy focal persons, for the successful implementation of project HSS undertakings on pharmaceutical commodities.
3. The consortium pharmacy manager will directly work with HeRON IPs and relevant MoH departments to strengthen their regulatory system and pharmaceutical commodities management practices, to ensure sustainable access to and appropriate use of safe, effective, affordable, quality-assured medical products.
4. He/she will provide sound technical support to assess systems for supply chain management, pharmacovigilance, product quality assurance, patient safety, workforce development and sustainability, and financing of these systems, including medicines benefits coverage under MoH policies and HSS initiatives for universal health coverage.

Job Responsibilities
Program Management, Technical Support, Strategy and Partnerships:

1. Works in close collaboration with the supply chain leads at the State Primary Health Care Development Agency of Borno and Yobe for needs assessment.
2. Constantly coordinate with pharma commodities’ focal persons from relevant bodies and partners (Global Fund, UNICEF, UNFPA, Etc.) for synergic collaboration to ensure a coherent supply of medical commodities to HeRON intervention LGAs and health facilities.
3. Coordinate with MoH stakeholders to provide technical support for the reactivation of LMCUs across HeRON LGAs in Borno and Yobe (Capacity development in data collection clean-up, validation, and reconciliation)
4. Coordinate with relevant development partners to support the reactivation of State Level PSM-TWGs.
5. Collaborate with states MoH and LGAs to work on joint quantifications and consolidate their electronic logistics management.
6. Constantly liaise with consortium IPs to ensure that all planned pharma commodities related activities are timely implemented with quality reporting.
7. Conduct periodic joint support supervision visits to field sites, identify capacity building needs, and proactively develop improvement plans.
8. Provide mentoring to field staff on the appropriate management of medical stocks (Remote trainings, in-person trainings and on-job coaching).
9. Provide training to project staff on IRC Pharma SOPs and GDPs

Logistics and Procurements Management:

1. Responsible for the set up and development of a medical supply strategy for the HeRoN program
2. Responsible for overseeing medical logistics for the consortium, including international and local procurement, warehousing, power supply, communications, and management in co-ordination with the Country Logistics Team and in line with IRC policies and procedures, with emphasis on traceability control.
3. Regular review of the supply chain strategy and resources needed to implement it
4. Responsible for stock control (ensure monthly stock reports) and managing medical stores, ensuring security, maintenance and that medical stocks are kept in proper storage conditions.
5. Ensure efficient and appropriate logistical support is provided for all project sites, including drug and equipment distributions, and construction/rehabilitation activities.
6. Establish and maintain a robust log filing system.
7. Responsible on technical areas such as maintenance, cold chain, generators, basic water/sanitation, and rehabilitation, etc. – with support from relevant IRC’s technical managers.

Pharma Commodities System Management:

1. Collaborate with LGAs and IPs’ Pharma leads to define stock security levels applicable across all HeRON facilities.
2. Coordinate with HMIS (M&E) to develop stock levels alert (based on an average monthly consumption-AMC and morbidity data)
3. Establish an appropriate monitoring mechanism to track the availability of medical commodities.
4. Constantly keep the consortium leadership and Supply Chain updated regarding stocks indicators analysis to avoid stock-outs and the financial losses resulting from expired commodities.
5. Leads the consortium program quantifications, ensuring drug consumption data is collected at health facilities, aggregated, analyzed, and used for forecasting needs.
6. Supervise the store releases, distributions, and transfers of all stocks to the intended project locations
7. Provides inputs for international and local orders: Developing pharma procurement plans in liaison with the consortium leadership (Review the parameters involved in replenishing stocks; Review of the essential drugs list/ tracer drugs; Finalization of orders based on consumption data and future needs arising from the developments in the field).
8. Responsible in ensuring IRC’s Pharma SOPs are in place and applied.
9. Applies Good Distribution Practices (GDPs) for pharmaceutical products at storage level, and Good Dispensing Practices in end user units.
10. Conduct regular medical stocks data and indicators analysis to interpret performance, and guide programmatic decisions/ course corrections in collaboration with the consortium leadership and SC. (consumption, stock levels, stock-outs, pre-stock-outs, over-stocking, donations, expired products, disposal, etc.)
11. Conduct periodic internal assessments of the warehouse for audits, and follow up on recommendations on GDPs (E.g., the layout of the warehouse, storage, products arrangement, reception, distribution, and transportation, etc.)

Emergency Preparedness and Response:

1. Coordinate with MoH and IPs to maintain an effective supply chain management system according to standard logistics procedures and maintain buffer stocks.
2. Constantly liaise with relevant coordination platforms (Clusters, TWGs, etc.) to keep abreast with evolving contextual and epidemiological dynamics in project intervention locations
3. Participate in government led initiatives to establish/ activate ERT/RRT.
4. Support partners to develop and maintain warehouse systems and ensure that stock management and administration systems are implemented throughout the program
5. Monitor projects stock levels and advise on appropriate stocking and replenishment to meet project demands.
6. Carry out any other tasks as deemed relevant by the supervisor.

Coordination & Representation:

1. Represent the project to State and Local government relevant officials, partner agencies, etc. as required.
2. In coordination with the consortium leadership, actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders, government actors, international and local NGOs, etc.
3. Participate at coordination meetings: All HeRON consortium coordination related meetings, Field implementation meetings with partners, and any other relevant IRC internal meetings as required (E.g., Supply chain related meetings and trainings)
4. Participate at external coordination meetings (Clusters and relevant TWGs and Tsk forces, etc.) as required
5. Facilitate field monitoring visits for internal and external stakeholders, when required.

Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development:

1. Hire, supervise, and build the capacity of his/her team members in relevant technical and management competencies.
2. Develop and implement remote management capacity building approaches to build the strengths of his/her team.
3. Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
4. Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
5. Approve and manage all time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage; ensure monthly, accurate timesheet submission and carry out probationary reviews.
6. Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least monthly.
7. Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team, and providing guidance on career paths.
8. As required identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies.
9. Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
10. Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
11. Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train, and develop capability and capacity of national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by the end of assignment.
12. Adhere to and act in accordance with the IRC Global HR Policies and Procedures; and communicate through words and examples a high standard of compliance with all applicable policies and regulations.

Key Working Relationships:

1. Line Manager:  Roving Senior Pharmacy Manager
2. Indirect/Functional Reporting:  Deputy Team Lead, Senior Pharmacy Manager, Team Leader
3. Working Collaboration: Coordination Manager, Snr. M&E Manager, Health Governance Manager, Consortium Finance Coordinator, HeRON Senior Project Manager, HSS Advisors – MoH Embedded
4. Position directly Supervises:   Warehouse inventory officer, Pharmacy Procurement Officer
5. Key Internal Contacts:
6. Country Program:  Supply Chain, Relevant Sector Leads (Health Outcomes)
7. Region/Global: Pharmacy Technical Advisor
8. Key External Contacts:  Relevant MoH Officials at State & LGA level, Consortium IPs Pharma Leads.

Job Requirements
Education:

1. Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy
2. Post-graduate qualification in a relevant field is preferred
3. Previous Management Training or Systems Strengthening is an added advantage

Work Experience, Required Technical Skills & Leadership Competencies:

• 2 to 3 years’ experience in a similar role
• Previous experience with health programs, working in coordination with states MoH officials or LGAs and other local health actors to strengthen the quality and responsiveness of services.
• Working knowledge in stakeholders’ engagement and advocacy
• Good skills in logistics management required, with general knowledge in budgeting and forecasting
• Team management skills
• Demonstrated good judgment and decision-making skills
• Ability to handle a large and dynamic workload, work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams and working in tandem with local stakeholders
• Skills and experience of remote management and willingness to travel to project locations; Flexible, diplomatic and have ability and willingness live and work under pressure of workloads
• Experience in reports writing (organization and donor reporting)
• Strong commitment to IRC’s mission, purpose, and values
• Languages:  English Fluency (spoken and written). Knowledge of local languages, including Hausa is an added advantage

Computer/Other Tech Requirements:

1. Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.  Familiarity with stocks management software an added advantage.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online