Manager, Mission Medical Commodities

JOB SUMMARY: The primary responsibility of the Mission Medical Commodities Manager is to establish and maintain a pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities supply and distribution system for the mission – both for the emergency response and basic community health services.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function with or without reasonable accommodation:

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Collaborate with technical and program managers to ensure pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities requirements are included in all relevant project proposals
• Perform needs assessment, selection, and quantification of all pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities for project proposals
• Ensure proper pharmaceutical supply management system is in place to manage importation, transport, storage, distribution, and recording & reporting of consumption
• Ensure IMC minimum quality standards for pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities are implemented and adhered; Support relevant staff in facilitating compliance
• Ensure all stock movement is recorded and pharmaceutical quality assurance is maintained throughout the supply chain
• Ensure all medical warehouses follow Good Storage Practices and are adequately equipped with necessary equipment
• Ensure regular reporting of pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities to health team lead/ medical director
• Ensure weekly consumption reports are coherent with stock distributed from central warehouses
• Share weekly and monthly consumptions reports (highlighting losses, stock surplus, possible stock out, early warning indicators, etc.) with the health team lead/medical director
• Share summary pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities reports to health team lead and senior management (updated assets register, repair and maintenance of med equipment / facility / stores if any and cold chain management report)
• Ensure certificate of donation / destruction, missing & damage and incident forms are prepared timely, reported and fed in into weekly sitreps.
• 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

Training and capacity building:
• Provide ongoing training on pharmaceutical supply management, rational medicine use, medical waste management, and pharmacovigilance to locally recruited medical staff, medical warehouse officers, pharmaceuticals supply chain officers, medical logistics officers and mobile clinic pharmacists
• Ensure pharmaceutical services are implemented in accordance with host-country and internationally accepted standards
• Oversee selection, quantification, and procurement of medicines, laboratory reagents, and medical/surgical supplies and GIK orders
• Design simple tools and systems for inventory management in the warehouse and follow up implementation
• Monitor consumption reporting and availability of essential pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities at all health facilities
• Represent IMC at working groups
• Quantify, procure, and manage all essential pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities including malaria test kits, reagents and supplies for primary, secondary and tertiary health care facilities run and supported by IMC
• Collaborate with program managers during proposal writing stage to accommodate pharmaceuticals and supply chain requirements and also prepare pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities list for inclusion into proposal
• Ensure different donor requirements/ organizational policies and procedures are followed at all levels of the pharmaceuticals supply system
• Train and mentor pharmacists and other relevant health workers on pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities supply management, rational medicine use, and prevention of anti-microbial resistance

Pharmacy Managers at Hospital or district level:
• Manage, monitor and lead pharmacy teams and pharmacies
• Direct, monitor and supervise all dispensing activities at the hospital pharmacy
• Quantify, request, and manage all essential pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities for the hospital including supplies for vertical programs like Tuberculosis and Antiretroviral Medicines and supplies
• Supervise dispensing pharmacists to ensure rational dispensing and proper patient counseling 
• Provide trainings to pharmacists and other health professionals on rational medicine use, adverse drug reaction, drug interaction and prevention of anti-microbial resistance 
• Ensure periodic and annual inventory of pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities are conducted
• Ensure procurement of pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities according to specification
• Oversee distribution of pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities for inpatient pharmacies, MMUs, and different units/wards in health facilities
• Provide training to caregivers on the appropriate use of medicines, adverse reaction, and drug interaction
• Compile reports including reports on narcotic and psychotropic medicine consumption, expired pharma report to National Drug Regulatory Agency as applicable

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.

Job Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
• Typically, Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy (B. Pharm) required. Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
• Typically, 7+ years of relevant and progressive experience in pharmaceuticals and other medical commodities supply management with strong focus on primary and secondary health care of which at least one year at management level;
• Experience in establishing new pharmaceutical/medical commodities management systems or establishing new pharmacies;
• Experience in complex cold chain management;
• Familiarity with international humanitarian operations, coordination structures, and the mandates of donors, UN agencies, and NGOs preferred;
• Knowledge and experiences of budget preparation and management preferred;
• Profound cross-cultural awareness and insight into health care issues;
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions independently following consultative processes;
• Proficient in computer applications, especially with MS Word and MS Excel, MS PowerPoint;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English required; working knowledge of local languages preferred
• Must be able to demonstrate cross-cultural awareness and maintain a positive working relationship with clients and colleagues with professionalism and integrity;
• Demonstrated skills in creative problem solving particularly in limited resource settings;
• Experience in managing, training and motivating multiethnic and multicultural teams.