JOB DESCRIPTION
Manager- Supply Chain Management, Evidence Action, New Delhi

1. POSITION VACANT: Manager- Supply Chain Management, Evidence Action, New Delhi

2. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND:

Founded in 2013, Evidence Action is a global, non-profit organization operating in seven countries in Africa and Asia, that aims to be a world leader in scaling evidence-based and cost-effective programs, to reduce the burden of poverty for hundreds of millions of people living in the poorest places on earth.

 “Deworm the World Initiative” and “Dispensers for Safe Water” are the two flagship programmes of Evidence Action. Last year Deworm the World reached 280 million people with deworming medications, partnering with governments to launch, scale, and sustain mass school-based deworming programs. Meanwhile, Dispensers for Safe Water provided four million people across rural Africa with clean water, saving thousands of young lives. The approach relies on an innovative and human-centric design to deliver clean water at source.

In addition to running these scaled programs, Evidence Action leverages its unique “Accelerator” to develop the next generation of programs. These programs are rigorously tested to ensure exceptional scale, cost-effectiveness, and clear evidence of impact.

In 2019, Evidence Action launched an ambitious new strategy, with the goal of doubling impact over the next five years, with much of that impact coming from new programs identified and scaled through the Accelerator.

In India, Evidence Action’s technical service provider EAII Advisors Private Limited, provides technical assistance to national and selected state governments’ Ministries of Health, Education, and Women and Child Development, to implement the school and anganwadi based National Deworming Day (NDD) and Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation programs, to improve children’s health, education, and long-term development.

For more information, please visit https://www.evidenceaction.org/. 

3. JOB DESCRIPTION/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reporting to the Director, Programs, and working in close coordination with other departments and team members, the Manager- Supply Chain Management (MSCM) shall be responsible for providing the drug supply chain technical assistance (TA) component of the NDD and IFA programs, at the national level and across 11 implementing states, to achieve the primary objectives of the programs.

The post-holder shall also work closely with the Deputy Directors of the NDD and IFA programs and State Program Managers (SPMs), to ensure that state governments have strong supply chain systems for albendazole and three iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation variants. Key goals include:

(1) Improving the supply security of quality-assured albendazole and IFA supplementation products at the state level;
(2) Strengthening drug distribution planning and implementation, to ensure consistent supply availability at the district, block, PHC and community levels; and
(3) Strengthening state governments’ reporting systems/ tools and capacity to monitor key supply chain indicators and activities, including adverse event monitoring.

Key Job Responsibilities:

A. Technical Assistance and Program Management for the NDD and IFA Programs

(1) Develop tools and establish mechanisms in collaboration with state teams, to ensure state governments place timely purchase orders that accurately reflect drug consumption and demand;
(2) Provide support to the state teams and governments for developing and implementing drug distribution plans at the district, block and PHC levels;
(3) Strengthen internal monitoring systems and monitoring through the government’s e-Aushadhi platform, to track supply availability of IFA variants, and albendazole where applicable, at the district, block, PHC and community levels. Support state teams with triangulating and reconciling internal and government IFA supply data and sharing key findings and recommendations with government officials;
(4) Oversee drug recall activities starting from template design to compilation of all state data at the national level, with the support of state teams for the NDD program;
(5) Ensure states have adverse event (AE) guidelines and monitoring systems in place for albendazole and the IFA variants;
(6) Coordinate with state teams to effectively use field staff to support core supply chain key activities at the district and block level;
(7) Build relationships and liaise with states’ national health mission (NHM) and medical corporation staff, on procurement and quality testing activities;
(8) Carry out field visits to state offices to provide program and technical support, as needed.

B. Strategic Planning and Support

(1) Work with Delhi and state-based team members, to critically assess the effectiveness of supply chain strategies and adapt them to achieve higher program coverage, ensuring alignment with government guidelines, as well as high quality and cost-effectiveness;
(2) Identify cost-effective and sustainable downstream interventions to ensure consistent supply availability from the regional warehouse to the community level, in partner states for the IFA program;
(3) Identify and share best practices to facilitate cross-state, cross-program learnings for NDD and IFA programs;
(4) Conduct drug risk assessments before NDD rounds and routinely for IFA supplies, including risks in the manufacturing process and delays in production lead times.

C. National Level Engagement

(1) Coordinate with key Government of India (GOI) officials and technical partners on the phasing out of the WHO albendazole donation program to ensure smooth transition at the state level; Provide support for calculating drug requirements for WHO donations;
(2) Liaise with key drug suppliers on drug availability, lead times, and costs;
(3) Disseminate Evidence Action’s results and lessons learned on supply chain strengthening in key forums with government and development partner stakeholders.

4. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

Qualification

(1) Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field;
(2) Applicants with a master’s degree in supply chain management shall be preferred.

Experience

(1) Minimum seven years’ of relevant professional experience in an analytic or management role related to supply chain management;
(2) Applicants must have the requisite supply chain expertise and knowledge of national and state governments’ drug supply chain systems, as managed through state Corporations and National Health Missions (NHMs);
(3) Demonstrated experience in managing day to day project activities, preferably in the context of scaling health and nutrition interventions in India;
(4) Demonstrated experience of working with the government in India;
(5) Prior experience of managing government and stakeholder relationships, at the national and state level;
(6) Experience of working with multiple state offices.

Skills and Competencies

(1) Must be highly proficient in project management, and possess the experience and skills to guide state-based program staff;
(2) Must have strong analytical skills that enable her/ him to collect, analyze and suggest appropriate action on data, to meet program goals;
(3) Expertise in using Excel;
(4) Excellent written, verbal communications in English; Ability to synthesize information clearly and produce good quality documents, within stringent deadlines;
(5) Demonstrated ability to synthesize findings and actionable recommendations for government and development partner stakeholders;
(6) Possess a strong network in the development sector in India;
(7) Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to engage with internal and external stakeholders, within India and globally;
(8) A critical, analytical, and process-oriented thinker, with a willingness to form and adjust opinions, based on evidence;
(9) Exceptional ability to work with minimal supervision, while also proactively communicating relevant progress updates and bottlenecks, requiring attention or support from leadership;
(10) Availability and willingness to travel within India, up to 30% of the time.

5. COMPENSATION OFFERED:

Gross compensation for the position is attractive. Please note that the offer made to the selected candidate shall be commensurate with qualifications, experience, and salary history.

6. LOCATION: New Delhi

7. REFERENCE: MSCM-EA

8. CONTACT INFORMATION:
Team SAMS
Strategic Alliance Management Services P Ltd.
1/1B, Choudhary Hetram House, Bharat Nagar 
New Friends Colony, New Delhi 110 025
Contact: 9871502953

9. APPLICATION PROCESS:
Eligible candidates interested in the position are requested to apply using the link https://recruitment.samshrm.com/jobs/EA, at the earliest.