Consultancy: Senior Technical Expert - Products and Markets, 1 year, Office-based, UNICEF Supply Division, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia

Consultant Logistics & Procurement

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Hope

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commit all governments to comprehensive, integrated, and universal transformations by 2030. Countries are required to mobilise efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. Without adequate and sustained investments in health, the SDGs will not be realised.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a specialized technical institution of the African Union that supports Member States in their efforts to strengthen their health systems. Africa CDC was officially launched on 31 January 2017, and is guided by the principles of leadership, credibility, ownership, delegated authority, timely dissemination of information, transparency, accountability, and value addition. The institution works with all African countries to strengthen the capabilities of their public health institutions for disease surveillance, emergency response, prevention, and control, including the capacity to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats. It also serves as a platform for Member States to share and exchange knowledge and lessons from public health interventions.

Through the Markets and Supplier Financing Centre (MSFC), UNICEF Supply Division seeks to positively influence market dynamics such that goods and services are fit for purpose, accessible, available, affordable, sustainable, produced by a competitive and diversified supply base, and to encourage market innovation of essential commodities to meet the changing needs of children in the SDG era. While MSFC will coordinate the efforts of influencing markets across UNICEF Supply Division’s different procurement centers and units, with each procurement center playing a critical role in identifying and defining the public procurement approaches required, MSFC will assist and facilitate this body of work with strategy design/review, market research, analysis, supplier financing, market communication, partnerships leverage, and promoting market information transparency.

How can you make a difference?

Under the general supervision of the Africa CDC’s PAVM Coordinator or equivalent, and in close collaboration with the Senior Supply Advisor and the Chief MSFC, the Senior Technical Expert - Products and Markets, seconded/embedded at Africa CDC, will work with the PAVM to drive market influencing strategy for vaccines and associated products such as syringes and cold chain equipment, essential medicines, medicinal nutritional, medical countermeasures like LLINs, in support of the PAVM implementation. The consultant will be expected to:

1. Identify product or market segments (immunization [vaccines, safe injection equipment and cold chain equipment], medicines, diagnostics), identify bottlenecks (trade barriers included), market failures and suboptimal market structures based on market shaping frameworks.
2. Conduct market analysis based on these identified bottlenecks and market issues.
3. Develop market assessments and frameworks relevant to market and/or product categories, with identified areas for intervention over time.
4. Support the development of African continental wide strategies including on special contracting, market analysis and opportunities, and market communications online and offline.
5. Ensure that opportunities for match making (so without funding levers) between private sector suppliers are engaged as part of the opportunities in the total assessment.
6. Create, consult, and align the short and mid-term targets of the PAVM with UNICEF SD’s capabilities for support - for prioritization, action, and resources to drive the diversification and supply security agenda.
7. Build and align on short, medium, and long-term targets and KPIs for both SD and PAVM, as well as for specific product and market categories over time, taking recommendations from the market assessment(s) and strategies and near and longer-term opportunities.
8. In collaboration with UNICEF SD centers (Procurement Services, Markets, Supply Financing, Monitoring, Strategic Data and Evidence, Vaccines, and relevant procurement centers), ROs and PAVM, advocate for new suppliers in identified products and markets.
9. Curate information from various sources by identifying market advocacy opportunities, and driving change through external communications activities, ideally building on strategic market communications tools e.g., dashboards, market notes, position papers.
10. Bring multiple strands of information together in an easily digestible manner, working with Africa CDC, SD procurement centers and other organizations including supranational ones, to identify progress stories, generating momentum and action through knowledge management.
11. Ensure networks are developed and maintained within SD; UNICEF RO and COs, African Union, and Africa CDC to share best practice.

Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview

1)

Tasks/Milestone:

Identify product and market segments including key bottlenecks and market failures.

Deliverables/Outputs:

Report on key products and markets for prioritization.

Timeline:

1 month after start.

2)

Tasks/Milestone:

Conduct market analysis and market assessments and framework.

Deliverables/Outputs:

Market analysis report is available including the market assessments and framework.

Timeline:

4 months after start date.

3)

Tasks/Milestone:

Build and align on short, medium, and long-term targets and KPIs for both SD and PAVM, as well as for specific product and market categories over time, taking recommendations from the market assessment(s) and strategies and near and longer-term opportunities.

Deliverables/Outputs:

A set of KPIs are identified.

Timeline:

5 months after start date.

4)

Tasks/Milestone:

Create, consult, and align the short and mid-term targets of the PAVM with UNICEF SD’s capabilities for support - for prioritization, action, and resources to drive the diversification and supply security agenda.

Deliverables/Outputs:

Report on UNICEF and PAVM approach on diversification of suppliers with a focus on supply security.

Timeline:

7 months after start date.

5)

Tasks/Milestone:

Curate information from various sources by identifying market advocacy opportunities, and driving change through external communications activities, ideally building on strategic market communications tools e.g., dashboards, market notes, position papers.

Deliverables/Outputs:

Development of advocacy and external communication messages including market notes.

Timeline:

9 months after start date.

6)

Tasks/Milestone:

Bring multiple strands of information together in an easily digestible manner, working with Africa CDC, SD procurement centers and other organizations including supranational ones, to identify progress stories, generating momentum and action through knowledge management.

Deliverables/Outputs:

Progress report on impact made thus far .

Timeline:

11 months after start date.

7)

Tasks/Milestone:

Develop final report capturing achievements.

Deliverables/Outputs:

Final report including key recommendations for both the PAVM and UNICEF.

Timeline:

12 months after start date.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:

• A completed Advanced University Degree (Master’s Degree) in Marketing, Business Administration, Management, Economics, or relevant applied sciences is required.
• *A completed first University degree (Bachelor’s Degree) may be accepted in lieu of a master’s degree in conjunction with two (2) additional relevant years of work experience.

Experience:

Minimum of eight (8) years relevant professional work experience including at least three (3) at the international level is required. Experience in the following areas in the private or public sectors is required:

• Deep knowledge of market analysis especially in the health, nutrition, biotech, and biopharma commodities sectors.
• Developing and implementing strategy, fostering change, and managing complex matrix-based management.
• Commercial activities and economic drivers in developing countries.
• Market knowledge relating to vaccines, diagnostics, medicines and/or products and services used in resource-poor settings.
• Market research in the manufacturing sector, especially in the health area.
• Partnerships for actions in manufacturing and/or market research areas.
• Knowledge of industrial development, financing, and operations; and sustainability actions linked to industrial development and manufacturing especially in health commodities.
• Leading, planning, and organizing multi-stakeholder briefings and meetings.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Evaluation Criteria

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

1. Cover letter/application.
2. Daily rate and all-inclusive lumpsum for this consultancy.
3. P11 form if not applying through UNICEF Employment site.
4. At least 3 Reference contacts.
5. A copy of your highest diploma.

Financial Evaluation 25% and Technical Evaluation 75%.

For vacancy announcement in UNICEF’s Employment site: Please indicate your availability and daily rate to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a daily rate will not be considered.

Kindly note that the advertisement will close on 26 Dec 2023

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Apply now

Added 4 months ago - Updated 3 months ago - Source: unicef.org