The Pharmaceutical Procurement Officer is responsible for the end-to-end supply chain process for pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) items, non-food items (NFI), and emergency pre-positioned stock. Scope includes strategic sourcing, product selection, inventory management and reporting, and transport.

The role establishes and maintains helpful partnerships with suppliers and other organizations and develops and implements critical initiatives within the pharmaceuticals and medical equipment and indirect categories stated above. A good proportion of the total category spend, and suppliers may not be handled directly.

Responsibilities:

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices

• Manage end to end supply chain process for pharmaceutical, nutrition product, medical device and medical equipment requirements.
• Serve as subject matter specialist for drug procurement and medical devices and equipment and service providers related to pharmaceutical regulations, and serve as a focal point for donors’ requirements
• Pharmaceutical officer processes, such as supplier prequalification, demand planning and quantification, quality assurance and control, cold chain storage, distribution, and pharmacovigilance for Global and Regional Suppliers
• Provide technical advice and guidance to Country Program Supply Chain staff on donor compliance, importation, and sourcing from Global suppliers.
• Negotiate supply agreements and renewals and cost saving management
• Lead strategic supplier relationship management which will include periodic business reviews with key suppliers to identify process improvements and cost reduction opportunities
• Develop supplier score cards and other analytics to enable team to effectively manage supplier performance
• Lead supplier selection and pre-qualification process for global and regional suppliers
• Support and participate in quality assurance and pharmacovigilance activities in conjunction with Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance and Health Unit as part of supplier relationship management
• Conduct and coordinate regular and ad hoc inspections of IRC suppliers and their manufacturers, to safeguard the quality of supplies delivered to IRC beneficiaries for Global and Regional suppliers only.
• Ensure that Essential Drug Lists and lists of waived additional items are communicated to Global and Regional suppliers.

Emergency Pre-Positioned Stock

• Strategic sourcing of suppliers for stocks required for Emergency response.
• Inventory management with all suppliers and monthly reporting to HQ finance
• Release authority for all pre-positioned stock
• Focal point for country programs regarding Emergency Stocks purchase

Indirect Categories: WASH, NFI

• Identify high-spend global categories for goods and services by collaborating with supply chain teams based in the regions.
• Demonstrate significant expertise in contract negotiations and cost management
• Nurture supplier relationships
• Lead strategic supplier relationship management to continually identify process improvements and cost reduction opportunities
• Well-versed in analysis of spend data and cost models for continuous improvement
• Develop supplier scorecards and other analytics to enable team to effectively assess supplier performance

• Bachelor’s degree is required preferably in Pharmacy, or equivalent qualification.
• Experience in sourcing pharmaceuticals and medical devices and equipment
• Extensive experience of medical logistics and pharmaceutical supply chain systems in developing contexts
• Experience managing medical warehousing facilities in support of NGO health programs.
• 2-4 years of related experience, preferably in a similar role
• INGO experience preferred with understanding of institutional donors’ policies relating to pharmaceutical procurement and management.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Knowledge of developments and trends within pharmaceuticals industry
• Knowledge of risk management, with the ability to identify and address anticipated issues
• Extensive knowledge of pharmaceuticals related quality systems such as GDP, GMP, and ISO 9000 series
• Must have shown project management skills and experience, excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to find solutions and achieve results, the ability to analyze and resolve sophisticated issues, and the ability to empower team members
• Ability to establish supplier specifications, measure conformance, and identify process improvement opportunities that are defined in conjunction with internal customers
• Ability to provide fact-based recommendations and market and industry analysis
• Advanced and validated knowledge of procurement industry cost structures and drivers
• General knowledge of applicable laws and regulations
• Excellent problem solving and negotiation skills
• Knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint, Word as well as experience implementing and using procurement systems
• Complexity of products and projects requires high quality project and program management skills and a shown ability to handle change both internally and externally

Language/Travel:

• English and Arabic are required, while Kurdish is desired.
• Travel: 10% to field sites in Derek and Raqqa as well as