Remote Consultancy: Developing Supply Chain Management Outsourcing Capacity in Governments and National Supply Chain Organizations, People that Deliver (PtD) - SCSC, SD, Cph

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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.

BACKGROUND:

People that Deliver (PtD) was established in 2011 to advocate for a systematic approach to human resources (HR) for health supply chain management (SCM). PtD is a global coalition of 26 organizations focused on technical leadership in HR for SCM. Its unique feature is that member countries and organizations are expected to be the vehicles for the provision of services and funding. It builds on the experiences of coalition members to advocate for change at a global and country-level. This results in stronger and more sustainable systems for developing, recruiting, and retaining a qualified health supply chain workforce.

PtD promotes stewardship and leadership at the national level to address the health supply chain workforce needs and advocates for the development of a competent, supported supply chain workforce deployed across the public and private sectors within the health system. PtD not only understands the current HR for health SCM landscape globally and locally, it also identifies, builds, and strengthens the tools and resources needed to support capacity building in country.

Please visit www.peoplethatdeliver.org for a complete overview of our vision and goal, as well as access to materials and resources related to our work.

PURPOSE:

Significant health gains in low- and middle-income countries can be achieved by 2035, but human resources (HR) for supply chain management (SCM) remains a challenge.

Donor agencies such as USAID have put in place a private sector engagement policy which asserts that private sector engagement has proven to be an effective means for strengthening government capacity and filling gaps in demand for basic social services. When certain steps in the health supply chain can be managed through outsourcing, this frees up valuable time to focus on core supply chain functions.

Adopting best practices from the private sector can reduce costs, enhance performance and achieve wider benefits such as innovations and improved public sector efficiency (for example reduction in total delivery costs, better on-time delivery, reduced inventory costs, and greater ability to increase volume and scale).

We have seen countries contract with commercial sector logistics providers for specific supply chain functions – such as warehousing and transportation, or management of commodities, and transferring inventory control to commercial companies through vendor-managed inventory models. We have also seen implementing partners work with fourth-party logistics providers (4PL) to oversee and manage a third-party logistics provider (3PL)’s performance while simultaneously building their capacities.

Thus, at a high level we know what we need to do in terms of structure to make supply chains more sustainable. But how do we build the capacity of government agencies to implement these efforts and advance patient-centric supply chains? Outsourcing, or the “contracting out” of functions, has historically been provided by public employees, and has been done so with a largely consistent rationale: that applying market mechanisms and private sector expertise to the work of government can increase efficiencies, ensure that more products reach the patients, and ultimately improve the effectiveness of the entire health supply chain. However, for governments (ministries of health, central medical stores, vaccine stores and supply chain agencies) to outsource their supply chain services, they need to have the internal human resource capacity to effectively manage these outsourced activities.

In 2020, PtD contributed to the “People” enabler section of the Africa Resource Center (ARC) Outsourcing Toolkit (OSTK) by developing its narrative and content. The toolkit is a guide and reference document that supports users who would like to improve supply chain performance through outsourcing and provides steps, processes, practices and tools to support the process. The “People” enabler section supports the delivery of the process steps in the toolkit: Assess, Evaluate, Contract and Implement by building human resources and capacities, and developing organizational structure to manage a successful outsourced relationship. PtD created a reference group of public and private sector supply chain experts to inform the development of the content for the OSTK. The reference group was tasked with identifying specific areas and competencies that are required to enable effective outsourcing in governments, pinpoint approaches that need to be considered in building government’s outsourcing and contract management capacity, suggest opportunities in countries to initiate and drive the conversations on capacity building for effective outsourcing and contract management, and identify resources, tools, guidelines and best practices to support building the human resources for outsourcing.

The reference group members indicated that further advocacy would be needed to encourage uptake and use of the OSTK in order to support countries to strengthen their capacity to outsource supply chain services, therefore PtD has been tasked and funded by USAID to develop an outsourcing roadmap, a checklist for applicability of the toolkit, and a video to assist country level stakeholders in preparing their workforce for outsourcing. The purpose of the consultancy is to lead this workstream and collaborate with PtD and partners to successfully complete the deliverables.

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT:

The consultant will work with members of the PtD Outsourcing Reference Group (a special task force created in January 2021) to tap into their private sector experience to inform the approach and development of the deliverables described below:

1. Develop a PtD-branded Country Roadmap. This roadmap needs to build off on the work done on the OSTK people enabler section and should outline the considerations and tools necessary to help governments and national supply chain organizations successfully outsource from a “people” perspective. The country roadmap will help to assess the strengths, gaps, and weaknesses in current people practices, set targets for change and improvement in those practices, plan strategic actions, and identify best-practice resources. The Country Roadmap will be a self-contained resource, including instructional information and guidance, assessment tools, explanations of terms and concepts, and resource materials, to allow organizations to evaluate their own capabilities and identify priorities for action.
2. Create a short video to describe the roadmap. This video will be used as an advocacy tool for in-country supply chain managers interested in outsourcing aspects of their organization’s functions.
3. Develop a checklist for applicability of the roadmap that country level stakeholders can use to inform their workforce planning for outsourcing
4. Develop a case study on the human resources aspects of outsourcing. Consult with members of the Outsourcing Reference group and PtD coalition members to identify an example in a low or middle-income country where outsourcing within the health supply chain has taken place and conduct interviews. Synthesize the information collected into a brief case study.

It is envisioned that this work will take place over 30 working days from July 12, 2021 until end of October 2021.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

#

Deliverable

Deadlines

1

Outsourcing roadmap and checklist

27 August 2021

2

Outsourcing roadmap advocacy video

17 September 2021

3

Health supply chain outsourcing case study

15 October 2021

Deliverables are expected to be submitted electronically.

Further specification on individual activities will be specified and agreed after contracted.

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

• University degree is required, preferably in relevant field (e.g., business administration, human resource management, public health, supply chain management, international development studies, logistics, or other relevant degree). Applicable work experience can substitute in cases where university degree is not aligned to a relevant field.

Work Experience:

At least 10 years work experience in supply chain management, human resource management, and staff performance management, in a global, regional or country setting. Experience in national supply chain systems strengthening and human resources for health, at the global, national, and local levels in developing-country settings. Demonstrated experience supporting public sector supply chain organisations in outsourcing and human resources management is preferred. Experience working with UN agencies or multilateral agencies is an asset.

Competencies:

• Experience with supply chain capacity building activities and professionalization frameworks
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English. Good judgment, initiative, high sense of responsibility, tact, and discretion
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and ability to establish harmonious working relations in a multicultural environment
• Demonstrated knowledge in the field of health supply chain management, human resource management, health systems strengthening, organizational development, and capacity strengthening is strongly desired

PAYMENT TERMS:

The consultant will produce the following deliverables aligned to the payment schedule indicated as a percentage:

Outsourcing roadmap and checklist 50%

Outsourcing roadmap advocacy video 25%

Health supply chain outsourcing case study 25%

The above percentages are indicative, final payment schedule will be based on the financial proposal from the successful consultant, on the understanding that all payments will be against deliverables as outlined above. No advance payments are possible.

Before payment is made the deliverables will be evaluated according to the following indicators: timeliness (meeting deadlines), achievement of goals, and quality of work (approval of reports by People that Deliver (PtD) Executive Manager).

EVALUATION PROCESS:

Please complete your profile in UNICEF's e-Recruitment system. Please provide (attach) a Personal History Form (P-11) highlighting previous engagements which meet the qualification criteria described above.

Personal History Form (P11) can be downloaded from: https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_consultancy_assignments.html

Please indicate your ability, availability, and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above. Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

RENUMERATION:

Payment commensurate with experience. No other remunerations apply.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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:

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.