National or International Consultancy : Procurement and Supply Chain Consultancy

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, Knowledge...

Strong supply chains are fundamental building blocks of national welfare systems and necessary for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This has been further highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic which has underscored the importance of resilient and mature supply chains in national emergency response efforts.

Recognizing these challenges, UNICEF has been increasing investments to support governments in strengthening their public supply chains, so that all children have equitable and timely access to health, nutrition, water, education, and sanitation and hygiene supplies, including in emergency situations when there is a peak in needs. The Government of Malawi (GoM) and Development Partners (DPs) are committed to working together to strengthen the entire health supply chain through an integrated national supply chain. This will ensure efficient and timely delivery of health commodities and essential medicines to the Service Delivery Points (SDPs) and ensure appropriate accountability and visibility as well as effective rollout of the Essential Health Package (EHP) as outlined in the HSSP II.

To address these barriers and despite remarkable progress achieved, UNICEF and the government have joined forces to identify supply chain bottlenecks, quantify investment needs and shape long-term improvement plans. Central to these efforts is the Master Supply Chain Transformation Plan (MSCTP) which serves to leverage the gains made to date and to support the achievement of supply chain integration, and the UNICEF Supply Chain Maturity Model which was used to measure the performance of key supply chain functions to guide investments and highlight areas that require additional resources to improve the efficiency of the supply chain in bringing essential medicines and health commodities to districts and communities across the country.

As part of continuous improvements in the supply chain, deliverables from this consultancy will contribute to strengthening of forecasting and quantification as outlined in the National Supply Chain Masterplan through the production of a comprehensive forecasting and quantification manual and training curriculum for the Malawi health supply chain system.

How can you make a difference?

The consultant will work closely with relevant Departments of Ministry of Health such as the District Health Offices (DHO), Health Technical Support Services (HTSS) Department in the Ministry of Health (MoH), the National Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), GHSC-PSM, PIU-GFATM Programs and UNICEF Supply and Health Sections of UNICEF Malawi.

Support MOH, HTSS and national EPI and subnational health teams to build capacity of district personnel in procurement supply chain management specifically with quantification to enable health offices manage forecasting and supply planning and monitoring and supportive supervision as part of system strengthening:

1. Conduct a desk review, interviews with key stakeholders of current Malawi public health sector supply chain design and performance to identify issues with the forecasting , quantification, planning, monitoring and supportive supervision at national and sub-national ( district, sub district , community) level.
2. Conduct targeted visits to districts (if possible) and selected health facilities to interview staff, observe practices and identify gaps and issues with the current Malawi public health sector forecasting, quantification, monitoring and supportive supervision practices.
3. Develop a comprehensive manual on forecasting and quantification, monitoring and supportive supervision with clear roles and responsibilities, SOPs, training manual and curriculum
4. Undertake a training needs assessment, development of materials and build capacity in forecasting , quantification monitoring and supportive supervision for supply chain staff and committees at districts.
5. Other technical assistance and tasks that might be required by UNICEF and MOH and national EPI to be discussed (if needed).

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

Education:

• An advanced degree or equivalent in health, Pharmacy, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Public health, immunization, or related field.

  Work experience:

• At least 5 years professional work experience at government level and/or professional experience working in with national and/or international institutions and programs and projects in health, Pharmacy, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Public health and immunization, Health systems management or another related field.

• Experience developing training modules in supply chain systems for health commodities in a developing country context. Demonstrated experience carrying out similar tasks in Malawi or in Southern Africa preferred.
• Experience in coordination, planning and implementation of system strengthening programs/projects in supply and logistics, health, immunization, public health and or related programs/projects.

• Experience of working in the UN or other international development organizations is most preferable,

  Technical skills, knowledge and competencies:

• Knowledge and expertise in assessing forecasting and quantification capacity gaps of human resources in supply chain management systems.

• High level knowledge of health sector products, supply chain, supply and logistics.
• Basic knowledge and understanding of UNICEF programs, public procurement principles, financial and legal aspects of supply chain issues, ethics and risk management of supply chain operations.
• Ability to engage in substantive technical discussion with all stakeholders
• Strong communication skills with ability to clearly and concisely express ideas and concepts convincingly in written and oral form.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and ability to interact with individuals at all levels. Ability to work sensitively in multicultural environments and build effective working relationships with clients and colleagues.
• Ability to extract and format data and to solve operational problems.
• Demonstrable analytical and research skills, review and synthesis of data and information and planning experience.
• Ability to organize work, set priorities and meet deadlines.
• Ability to handle work quickly and accurately under time constraints, with minimum of supervision.

Languages:

• Excellent oral and written English skills are required.

Please refer to the attached full Terms of Reference TOR Supply Chain System Strengthening_ Districts and Sub Districts.pdf for more details on the consultancy and requirements.

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.

HOW TO APPLY...

Interested consultants should provide the following:

1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Brief technical proposal (no longer than five pages) demonstrating the consultant’s understanding of the assignment and approach/methodology to the assignment
3. Financial proposal including a breakdown of their all-inclusive fees (including professional fees, travel, living cost, visa and other costs). Financial Proposal for Consultancy.xlsx Complete the attached form.
4. References details

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.