Consultant: Regional Cold Chain Logistics Consultant, Full-Time, 11.5 months, Office Based, Regional MENA Office

Contract

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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, commitment.

UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office (MENARO) is seeking a Cold Chain Logistics Consultant to support the Regional Office and Country Offices in the MENA region in supporting countries of the region for the Cold chain readiness to deploy the COVID-19 vaccine and ancillary items, re-establishing routine immunization services and strengthening of the fundamentals of cold chain system strengthening.

How can you make a difference?

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions of international, regional and local supply chains, undermining national response efforts and putting a strain on other critical and routine health services.

This multi-faceted crisis has critically exposed the structural and operational limitations of existing health systems and underlying supply chain models and calls for increasing the investments aimed at supporting governments in their efforts to build and manage stronger supply chain systems that are able to leave no child behind, operate at minimum capacity and meet surging needs.

The COVAX Facility (COVID-19 vaccine) forms a key part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a global collaboration established to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. COVAX facility aims to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country.

Under the supervision of the Health Specialist-Immunization & PHC the incumbent of this position will support countries of the region for the Cold chain readiness to deploy the COVID-19 vaccine and ancillary items, re-establishing routine immunization services and strengthening of the fundamentals of cold chain system strengthening.

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the RO Health Specialist Immunization and PHC the incumbent will;

1. Support countries to prepare and implementation of the CCE applications funded by various donors and related documentation including cold chain equipment inventory development and updating.
2. Undertake cold chain space mapping exercise at different level of supply chain to accommodate Covid-19 vaccines, routine vaccines and SIA vaccines and support COs for quality storage.
3. Organize all the required activities for the development of a functional real-time CCE Inventory cold chain gap analysis and planning to augment cold chain system in MENA countries.
4. Prepare operational deployment plans of CCE procured through various donors, support and keep a track of % cold chain space augmentation achieved at different supply chain level.
5. Map out the cold chain maintenance system in the countries and develop a regional cold chain equipment maintenance strategy and plan.
6. Undertake mapping of institutions, centres, agencies in the region with the capacity to provide regular courses for Cold Chain Technicians and engineers of countries of the region on electrical CCE repair, maintenance and management.
7. Organize capacity building programme of country cold chain technicians, biomedical engineers on repair, maintenance and management of commonly used electrical cold chain equipment through a regional course organized within the region.
8. Provide technical support and guidance to countries for enabling remote real-time temperature monitoring system at the national vaccine stores of at least 5 countries (Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Yemen and Syria).
9. Coordinate with countries for cold chain and vaccine handlers structured capacity building programme through training module development in regional languages, ensuring national trainers pool, training plan development and facilitate implementation.
10. Organize regional capacity building and orientation workshop for MOH EPI-Staff for end-to-end continuous temp monitoring at all level of vaccine storage, yearly mapping of cold rooms, and conducting temperature monitoring study.
11. Organize regular biweekly regional sub-working group review meetings of EPI-SC for Covid-19 and beyond.
12. Support countries to set up functional national logistics working groups.
13. Create a distribution strategy, including mapping the potential port(s) of entry, points of storage (stores) and stocking, and fallback facilities in the country with their respective cold chain storage (2-8C, -20C, -60/70C) and transportation capacity for vaccines and ancillary products, and ensure necessary human resource capacity is in place.
14. Map and develop plan to provide for infrastructure needs, including for energy (primary and back-up power, especially in cold chain), IT/communications (including internet connectivity) and water.
15. Assess dry storage and cold chain capacity and infrastructure needs at all levels with regards to the COVID-19 vaccines characteristics and fill the identified supply and logistics gaps.
16. Develop COVID-appropriate standard operating procedures (SOPs), protocols, or guidelines for collection and disposal of medical waste, both hazardous and non-hazardous, to the relevant stakeholders. Assure that properly licensed waste management providers (especially for hazardous waste storage, transportation and disposal) are identified and can be operationalized.
17. Support the updating and implementation of systems and protocols for tracking and monitoring the stock management and distribution of vaccines and key supplies through the Government's existing Vaccine Logistics Management and Information System (VLMIS), including operating procedures to reflect the characteristics of COVID-19 vaccines (i.e. vial size, VVM,).
18. Dissemination of delivery and acceptance protocols ensure monitoring arrangements are in place and identify supervisory focal points at each facility. Establish security arrangements to ensure the integrity of COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary products throughout the supply chain.

Work Assignment Overview:

Tasks/Milestone:

Deliverables/Outputs:

Timeline:

These deliverables are interlinked and need to be carried out on an on-going basis until the consultancy concludes. Payment will be made monthly on the actual number of days worked

1.Complete cold chain space mapping exercise at different level of supply chain to accommodate Covid-19 vaccines, routine vaccines and SIA vaccines and support COs for quality storage.

March 2022

2. Prepare operational deployment plans of CCE procured through various donors, support and keep a track of % cold chain space augmentation achieved at different supply chain level.

April 2022

3.Map out the cold chain maintenance system in the countries, Undertake mapping of institutions, centers, agencies in the region with the capacity to provide regular courses for Cold Chain Technicians and engineers of countries of the region on CCE repair, maintenance and management and develop a regional cold chain equipment maintenance strategy.

May 2022

4.Organize capacity building programme of country cold chain technicians, biomedical engineers on repair, maintenance and management of commonly used electrical cold chain equipment through regional course organized within the region.

June 2022

5. A functional real-time CCE Inventory developed, implemented and updated.

July 2022

6.Organize regional capacity building and orientation workshop for MOH EPI-SC staffs for end to end continuous temp monitoring at all level of vaccine storage , yearly mapping of cold rooms and conducting temperature monitoring study.

July 2022

7.Coordinate with countries for cold chain and vaccine handlers structured capacity building programme through training module development in regional languages, ensuring national trainers pool, training plan development and facilitate implementation.

August 2022

8. Organize capacity building programme of country cold chain technicians, biomedical engineers on repair, maintenance and management of commonly used electrical cold chain equipment through regional course organized within the region.

September 2022

9. National Logistics Working Groups or other coordination mechanisms established along with biweekly SWG meeting and monthly report produced.

October 2022

10. Cold Chain distribution strategy developed with GIS a mapping of storage points completed for selected countries.

November 2022

11. COVID19 Vaccine logistics and immunization logistics SOPs and protocols developed including waste management.

December 2022

12. Support MENA countries in implementing the Japan supported cold chain strengthening project and application for cold chain support to Covax.

January 2022

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

Consultancy Requirements:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Supply Chain Management, Cold Chain, Logistics or Public Health. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• An Advanced University Degree in one or more of the following areas; Supply Chain Management, Cold Chain / Logistics or equivalent public health.
• Minimum of eight years of progressively responsible relevant work experience in Immunization logistics and Supply Chain management in a developing country is required.
• Past experience in documentation of project work, training module development.
• Past experience of Cold Chain maintenance and management, Cold chain Equipment Inventory development.
• Experience working in the UN system agency or organization is an asset. Familiarity with emergency response is an asset.
• Fluency in English is essential. Desirable to have Arabic. French is an asset.
• Advanced knowledge of MS-Office, particularly EXCEL. Fluency in English is required.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.