Stop TB Partnership - Country Supply Officer

The vision of the Stop TB Partnership is to realize the goal of elimination of  Tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem and, ultimately, to obtain a world free of TB by ensuring that every TB patient has access to effective diagnosis, treatment and cure; stopping transmission of TB; reducing the inequitable social and economic toll of TB; and developing and implementing new preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic tools and strategies. The Stop Partnership is uniquely positioned to support the development and further implementation by partners of the current and future Global Plan, acting as a coordinator and catalyst for the range of partners engaged in the fight against TB.

As a key initiative of the Stop TB Partnership, the goal of the Global Drug Facility (GDF) is to facilitate world-wide, equitable access to TB medicines and diagnostics across both public and private sectors. This goal is achieved through management and coordination of market activities for the full portfolio of TB medicines and diagnostics, strategic procurement and innovative logistics solutions, technical assistance and capacity building for TB programmes in better pharmaceutical management practices, and accelerated uptake of new TB medicines, regimens, and diagnostics using the GDF “launch pad”.

Country Supply Officer (CSO) is key to ensuring uninterrupted access to TB medicines and other products to all patients in the GDF client countries. Under the supervision of the GDF Country Supply Team Leader and in close collaboration with the GDF Procurement Agent and Regional Technical Advisors, CSO will act as a portfolio manager for selected priority high-burden countries to design and coordinate a system for rational medicines and products ordering and delivery; establish proactive systems for forecasting, quantification, orders and supply management; promote early warning systems to avoid stock-outs and waste of medicines; maintain and update country profiles and dashboards.     

Ensure compliance with the UNOPS rules and regulations for procurement, the StopTB/GDF standard operating procedures for procurement and supply, and the GDF quality management standards of ISO 9001  

Manage uninterrupted supply of TB medicines and products to all client countries in the assigned portfolio in accordance with the GDF standard operating procedures and timelines, and in compliance with the GDF ISO9001

Develop annual procurement and supply work plan for the portfolio of assigned countries, including performance indicators, and quarterly and annual progress reports as required 

Establish and maintain a regional network of stakeholders for managing and coordinating rational procurement and supply of TB products: map and develop a database of regional and priority countries’ partners, donors, implementing agencies, communities; establish working relations; sensitize to the GDF strategic goals and approaches; promote the GDF expertise and tools; develop a system for regular communication and information sharing

Working with the GDF Regional Technical Advisors, establish and manage a system for proactive supply of TB medicines and products to selected high-burden priority countries in the portfolio:

• Conduct desk top assessments of the priority countries’ TB medicines and products procurement and supply practices 
• Develop and maintain online country profiles based on the information obtained from TB and pharmaceutical sector assessments and technical reports by StopTB partners, WHO Joint TB program reviews, the GDF monitoring and evaluation missions, other sources, or from specifically designed GDF-lead targeted assessments.
• In conjunction with national TB programs, the Global Fund and other donor projects in the field, and the GDF Regional Technical Advisors develop country-specific annual supply plans, including forecasting and quantification, ordering and delivery schedules, data reporting and visualization/dashboards, performance indicators, early warning, and capacity building and technical assistance needs.
• In conjunction with field projects and the GDF Regional Technical Advisors, establish and maintain a system for quarterly collection and reporting of data on TB medicines and other products consumption, pipeline, TB program and guidelines trends, and uploading these data into the GDF forecasting and early warning system.

In conjunction with the GDF Technical Assistance team and Regional Technical Advisors broker the required technical assistance and capacity building for the priority countries, including assistance required for the adoption, introduction, and implementation of new medicines, regimens, and diagnostic products and technology

Develop annual summaries/briefs on priority countries as required

Establish priority country-specific stakeholders’ teams, including donors such as the Global Fund, prime recipients, and technical assistance providers, and provide technical leadership to ensure that procurement and supply issues are timely and properly addressed and coordinated, with a special emphasis on donor-funded procurement and supply projects, such as by the Global Fund

Monitor and report on the performance of Procurement Agent, freight forwarder, and quality control agent and the lead times

Monitor and analyze client satisfaction reports and develop interventions for improvements and the GDF performance strengthening

Analyze, develop and provide information as required for other GDF teams, such as Business Development and Market Management 

Represent the GDF at country and international meetings and fora, promote the GDF as a source of affordable quality-assured TB medicines and products, and the GDF direct procurement mechanism with national governments, non-governmental organizations, implementing agencies, and communities

Provide technical leadership and serve as a technical resource as required for StopTB Partners’ and WHO regional TB meetings, workshops, and capacity building exercises to keep rational procurement and supply of TB medicines and products on the regional agenda

Proactively work with StopTB partners, form groups/partnerships to ensure the GDF’s presence and technical leadership at the regional NTP meetings and Regional UNION TB Conferences via joint workshops, abstract or poster presentations, impact papers, etc. promoting the GDF experience and best practices

Develop training materials as required for regional and country specific capacity building exercises for procurement and supply management strengthening.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of progressive experience within the Procurement and Supply Chain field.
• Relevant experience in risk analysis; identifying clients’ procurement & supply-related needs and in providing support and guidance from clients’ point of view is a strong asset
• Experience in supply chain and logistics operations is desirable
• Knowledge of the UN Financial and Procurement Rules, Regulations and working practices pertaining to UNOPS is advantageous.
• Customer service experience is desired

Education:

• An advanced University Degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) in Health, Pharmacy, Logistics, Procurement, Business Administration, Social Sciences, Project Management or related subject with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience 
• or first Level University Degree (Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent) in a related field with 7 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• A Professional certification in Procurement and Supply Chain Management.

• Understanding of the pharmaceutical procurement and supply practices;
• Attention to details, tact, discretion and diplomacy;
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to promote consensus and to promote innovations;
• Computer literacy with emphasis on databases and data management and Excel proficiency

Language:

• Excellent knowledge of English is required
• Strong writing skills in English
• Knowledge of another UN language is an asset

• Please note, this position is based in Geneva, Switzerland and therefore, the selected incumbent will have to register with the Swiss authorities and comply with local regulations, including but not limited to - Taxation and Social Security. Additionally, the incumbent will have to purchase a Swiss based insurance (LaMal) within the first three months on contract, UNOPS will help subsidize the cost of this insurance, upon show of proof and for an amount up to 382.87 USD.
• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement (IICA) 
Contract level: IICA-2 (ICS10, P3 equivalent)
Contract duration: 12 months

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.