Provincial Technical Officer, Pharmaceutical Services 48 views0 applications

Overview

The Provincial Technical Officer for pharmacy services will provide leadership and technical directions for pharmaceutical services to the project in the designated provincial office and region. S/he will be primarily responsible for overseeing all pharmaceutical activities in the designated district, implemented under the portfolio of the subcontract to FHI in the delivery of support to HIV/AIDS interventions under the Zambia Prevention Care and Treatment (Bridge) Partnership Project. S/he has primary responsibility of ensuring that the pharmaceutical services components of the project in the designated provincial office and region are in adherence to and in fulfillment of programmatic activities within budgetary guidelines and compliance with project award requirements.  The Provincial Technical Officer will work with other project staff, Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), Ministry of Health (MOH), NGOs and other local institutions to ensure effective pharmaceutical quality management systems. S/he participates in the project wide implementation activities.

Specific Responsibilities

Operations and Administration

 

1. Provide oversight, guidance, and management support to the pharmacy services in the designated provincial office and region to ensure project success, including achievement of deliverables on time and within budget, compliance with donor reporting and other requirements, and adherence to MSH policies and procedures.
2. In collaboration with Senior Technical Advisor, provide Provincial Technical Officers, the guidance and coaching needed to ensure results and accountability. Ensures that unit reports are completed and submitted on time and with high quality. Oversee the documentation of the results and lessons learned from this unit.
3. Manage designated employee/s, as per MSH values, policies and guidelines. Manage employee performance focusing on results and individual accountability; schedule and hold recurring check-in meetings; conduct annual performance, planning and reviews in collaboration with FHI360  organization supervisors and respective Senior Technical Officers; provide supportive supervision, rewards, training; and provide coaching and career development support for employees.
4. Provide overall leadership and strategic direction and guidance at the provincial level for pharmaceutical service in achievement of project goals and objectives.
5. Ensure the high quality, within-budget, and on-time delivery of the interim and final results of the pharmacy unit as outlined in the workplans. In collaboration with FHI360, periodically evaluate progress towards the completion of unit deliverables to verify alignment with technical strategies and defined targets.
6. Ensure collaboration with partners, donor, and stakeholder representatives. Cultivate, manage, and strengthen positive, productive relationships with partners, Ministry of Health (PHO, DHO), other cooperating agencies, NGO’s, etc.
7. Ensure consistently effective, timely responses to management and other key stakeholder inquiries and concerns.
8. Support, as needed, responses to audit requests from FHI360, MSH and various government entities as required.

Technical Assistance in Pharmacy Services

 

1. Work with Senior Technical Advisor: Pharmaceutical Management and Technical Officers to ensure that pharmaceutical commodity management issues and the means to address them are informed of the latest technical and clinical research and developments, and are appropriate to the local, provincial level. This will include adaptation, when necessary, of such information to the needs of public sector, NGO, FBO and other institution service delivery settings.  This may include the development and delivery of training to concerned parties.
2. Work with Technical Officers to collect and analyze patient information for feedback to providers to support clinical management.
3. Work with Senior Technical Advisor: Pharmaceutical Management and Pharmaceutical and Laboratory Services to refine drug management tools, implement standard operating procedures (SOP) for pharmaceutical management, including prescribing, counseling, adverse drug reaction (ADR) monitoring and dispensing, and monitoring of use.
4. Disseminate SOPs, particularly in regard to good dispensing practices, medication counseling on ARVs administration, monitoring of drug adherence, adverse drug reactions (ADR).
5. Implement, in consultation with Senior Technical Advisor: Pharmaceutical Management and Senior Provincial Technical Officer, Quality Assurance and Quality Monitoring procedures for pharmacy.
6. Train health care teams, particularly pharmacy staff, in the technical areas as described above.
7. Assist local institutional teams in the implementation of on-going Supportive Supervision.
8. Work with the Senior Technical Advisor: Pharmaceutical Management, to ensure that local partner staffs – public sector, NGO, Mission and private sector, as appropriate – with drug management responsibilities have the means to develop associated skills.
9. Work with national and provincial Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) partners to ensure that policy issues regarding ARVs and associated drugs (e.g., drugs for the relief of side effects associated with ARVs and ensuring that these are kept up to date as needs change; drugs for opportunistic infection prevention and treatment; those that are monitored for anti-microbial resistance) are monitored, and monitoring information is passed to the appropriate partners.
10. Ensure that the selection and management of TB drugs, and any changes in TB testing, keeps pace with changes in the intellectual, infrastructural and epidemiological environments, and that policies are implemented appropriately at the provincial level.
11. Ensure that pharmaceutical management issues and the means to address them are informed by the latest technical and clinical research and developments, and are appropriate to the local environment.
12. Work with Senior Technical Advisor: Pharmaceutical Management to ensure effective inventory management.
13. Collect and analyze patient information for feedback to clinicians to support clinical management.
14. Work with Senior Technical Advisor: Pharmaceutical Management to refine drug management tools, implement standard operating procedures (SOP) for pharmaceutical management, including prescribing, counseling, ADR monitoring and dispensing and monitoring of use.
15. Develop technical training and information sharing approaches as new information about pharmaceuticals becomes available.
16. Develop and disseminate SOPs, particularly in good dispensing practices, medication counseling on ARVs administration, monitoring of drug adherence, and recording adverse drug reactions (ADR).
17. Develop and implement Quality Assurance procedures for pharmacy.
18. Training of health care teams particularly pharmacy staff in the technical areas as described above.
19. Evaluation and monitoring of Project-related training. (Supportive supervision)
20. Work with the Senior Technical Advisors to ensure that local partner staffs – public sector, NGO, Mission and private sector, as appropriate – with drug management responsibilities have the means to develop associated skills.
21. Work with national GRZ partners to ensure that policy issues regarding ARVs and associated drugs (e.g., drugs for the relief of side effects associated with ARVS and ensuring that these are kept up to date as needs change; drugs for OI prevention and treatment; drugs are monitored for AMR and associated changes made) are addressed as they are identified so that delays in making these drugs available and accessible are minimized or avoided altogether.
22. Ensuring that the selection and management of essential drugs keeps pace with changes in the environment.

Qualifications and Experience

Technical:

1. Undergraduate or graduate degree either in Pharmacy, with a concentration in public health issues. Biomedical Sciences.
2. Demonstrated technical skills in the application of rational pharmaceutical management principles to ARV services for pharmacy services in Zambia. These include services directed at reducing infection through prophylactic use in occupational and other settings, PMTC, and long term ARV therapy.
3. Demonstrated skills in supporting and giving technical advice to a team of geographically and technically diverse staff at the provincial level for expanding ARV services.
4. Demonstrated capacity to manage drugs and associated commodities for delivering ARV services.
5. Ability to effectively work with local counterparts, including academic institutions, public sector facilities, hospitals, Missions, health centers and community level workers; non-Governmental Organizations, national and international funders and donors, especially USAID, cooperating partners, and other individuals as needs dictate.

General:

1. Ability to effectively work with local counterparts, including academic institutions, public sector facilities, hospitals, Missions, health centers and community level workers; non-Governmental Organizations, national and international funders and donors, especially USAID, cooperating partners, and other individuals as needs dictate.
2. Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to build a team and maintain project and MSH policies and procedures. Previous supervisory experience preferred.
3. Ability to work as a team member, both within MSH, the Project as a whole.
4. Good technical writing skills.
5. Flexibility in approaching implementation strategies.
6. Good stand up training delivery skills.
7. Ability to travel within Zambia as well as, periodically, internationally.
8. Competency in English and at least one local Zambian language.
9. Familiarity with the operations of international and non-governmental organizations as well as international donor organizations, especially those funded in Zambia is a plus.
10. Experience in providing technical assistance in the design, implementation, and/or evaluation of health programs in developed and developing countries, preferred.
11. Experience in managing large-scale projects in field or large scale projects from home office.
12. Project management skills such as financial management, familiarity with USAID regulations, and contractual and compliance issues.
13. Solid oral and written communications skills.
14. Ability to work as a team member, both within MSH, the Project as a whole, and as a team member of the national laboratory services partnership.
15. Experience in providing technical assistance in the design, implementation, and/or evaluation of health programs in developed and developing countries, preferred.

Background Information

Management Sciences for Health (MSH), a global health nonprofit organization, uses proven approaches developed over 40 years to help leaders, health managers, and communities in developing nations build stronger health systems for greater health impact. We work to save lives by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health. Since its founding in 1971, MSH has worked in over 150 countries with policy makers, health professionals, and health care consumers to improve the quality, availability and affordability of health services. Working with governments, donors, non governmental organizations, the private sector, and health agencies, MSH responds to priority health problems such as HIV & AIDS; tuberculosis; malaria; maternal, newborn and child health; family planning and reproductive health; and chronic non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and lung and heart disease. Through strengthening capacity, investing in health systems innovation, building the evidence base, and advocating for sound public health policy, MSH is committed to making a lasting difference in global health.

EEO Statement

Management Sciences for Health is an equal opportunity employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, citizenship, physical or mental disability, or veteran status.

Reports To

Senior Technical Manager