Cold Chain and Vaccine Management Officer 66 views0 applications

Overview of position

• To support vaccine & cold chain management related to COVID-19 vaccine deployment in the country during the vaccination campaign & integration into Primary Health Care (PHC).
• To provide technical support to the national cold store (NVS), state cold stores & the county cold store to strengthen vaccine stock reporting & visibility.

Background & rationale:

• Every year, at least one third of Low & Middle Income Countries (LMICs) experience vaccine stockouts lasting for a month or more. By reviewing annual government reported supply chain indicators over the last 10 years, LMICs have seen an increase in the number of stockouts of at least 1 routine antigen from 30% in 2010 to 45% in 2019.
• Sub optimal vaccine management not only increases the operational & opportunity costs of vaccination but can also play a significant role in broadening inequities & stagnating demand, predominantly affecting underserved, urban poor, insecure & hard to reach populations.
• The COVID-19 vaccine deployment is ongoing since the 2nd quarter of 2021 & continuous deployment of the COVID-19 is in place with pipelines expected. In such situation, several activities need to be accomplished within a record time, this includes but not limited to determination of the required logistics that will be informed by vaccination strategies.
• To effectively manage the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccination campaign & integration of COVID-19 vaccine in Primary health Care (PHC) in South Sudan, our client is deploying Vaccine Management Specialists (VMS) into the field. The VMS will build capacity & support national authorities in planning, storage, distribution, temperature tracking, monitoring, accountability & waste management of COVID-19 vaccines & relevant commodities.
• Through stock management strengthening stream, our client would fund the focused technical assistance support the Ministry of Health to report monthly on stocks of routine immunization & COVID-19 vaccines & devices to sustain visibility already created at all levels of the immunization supply chain in the country.
• Our client in South Sudan is seeking assistance in the form of 3 consultants equivalent to national Cold Chain Vaccine Management Officers to support effective planning, storage, distribution, monitoring & accountability of the upcoming surge in COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the country. This technical assistance would support to strengthen vaccine & cold chain management in the cold store at national, assigned states & county & strengthen vaccine & supplies visibility at the sub national levels.

Scope of work:

• The consultants will support capacity building activity of the vaccine handlers (SOP & trainings), manage vaccine & dry stock receipt, storage, distribution, return at the sub national level & support the use of COVID-19 vaccine logistics information system (tools, SOP & data management), monitoring & supportive supervision on vaccine accountability & wastage management in line with the national guidelines.
• The consultant will also support the routine immunization supply chain strengthening activities such as regular review of the vaccine request, utilization status, wastage monitoring & rollout of eSMT at sub national level.
• The consultant would work closely with our clients Vaccine Management Officer & the Cold Chain Officer under the close supervisor of the Cold Chain Specialist.

Role objectives

Main duties & responsibilities include:

• In collaboration with partners, strengthen a data collection system (ODK etc.) so NLWG / EOC has weekly data on COVID-19 vaccine quantities, expiry dates, closed vial wastage & critical operational challenges.
• Prepare monthly vaccine status & accountability reports of the assigned states / administrative areas & share with supply & logistics working groups & key stakeholders.
• Support SMOH & sub national EPI teams (TOT, on the job training, adopt / deploy SOPs) to plan the timely & equitable distribution of vaccines with active temperature monitoring in transit & on arrival at receiving stores in the assigned states / administrative areas.
• Support the planning, implementation & monitoring of the 3rd round of COVID-19 vaccination campaign & integration of COVID-19 into the PHC & Routine Immunization System in the country.
• Support sub national EPI & COVD-19 vaccine deployment teams to expand / deploy data management systems / tools (ODK, eSMT, eLMIS) that improve / automate vaccine inventories at national, state & county level stores.
• Support regular review of supply chain performance at the sub national level, ensuring course correction & triangulating with service delivery data.
• Prepare monthly vaccine monitoring reports & share them with key stakeholders for required action.
• Strengthen routine stock management practices (ToT, cross learning, documenting best practices & lessons learnt) & track monthly reporting rates at central, states & county level stores to ensure visibility for vaccines & devices.
• Support to collect, analyse & share COVID-19 & RI stock, consumption & expiry data up to 3rd level stores with country office focal point.
• Support implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination & routine immunization wastage management at the sub national level in line with the national SOP.

Key deliverables:

• Distribution plan developed & shared & vaccine delivery monitored till state / county stores with submission of proof of delivery as per assigned state.
• Analytical report on the vaccine request, utilization & wastage report.
• Field monitoring report on the vaccine monitoring at sub national level.
• Logistical micro-plan submitted as per assigned state.
• End of campaign reports developed & shared with EPI team.
• Updated cold chain inventory reports submitted as per allocated state using the organization inventory tool.
• Report on the comprehensive vaccine utilization report for assigned states & counties.
• Monthly comprehensive & final contract report.

Project reporting

• This role will work under the Vaccine Management Officer & the Cold Chain Management Officer.
• Updated cold chain inventory reports submitted as per allocated state using the organization inventory tool.

Key competencies

• A University Degree is required in Pharmacy, Public Health, Epidemiology, Public Administration, Supply Chain Management, Logistics & Procurement, Engineering, or other relevant disciplines.
• A minimum of 5 years of professional work experience in planning, programming implementation monitoring & evaluation of health / immunization programs, immunization / health supply.
• Fluency in English & knowledge of another UN languages is an asset.
• Work experience managing large scale projects, working with governments, working in resource limited settings, monitoring & evaluating supply chains & risk management, mitigation will be an asset.
• Knowledge & experience with data collection, data management analysis & reporting are essential.
• Knowledge of procurement processes & good distribution practice could be beneficial.
• Proficiency in computer tools & the logistics tools of the EPI, SMT, ViVa, CCE inventory tool.
• Know how to maintain good relations with all partners.
• Be a team player.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment.
• Have the ability to communicate & train.

Team management

This role has no team management responsibility however, the personnel’s will have close interactions with our client’s field office program colleagues & frequent travel to the field for supporting coordination & planning at county level & monitoring the implementation of health activities in the ground.

Further information

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply for this role.
• Payment will be done monthly upon presentation of a monthly report that will be validated by our clients Technical Supervisor.
• The position is open for South Sudanese nationals only.