Pharmacist

The Pharmacist will provide strategic and technical leadership for pharmaceutical services across IRC's health and nutrition programme in South and West Kordofan, Sudan. The role ensures availability, quality, safety and appropriate use of essential medicines and health commodities in a complex humanitarian context.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall technical leadership and direction for pharmaceutical management across IRC's health and nutrition programme.
• Develop and implement practical pharmaceutical strategies, systems, risk-mitigation measures and improvement plans appropriate to the operational context.
• Provide technical input into programme design, expansion, budgeting and operational planning to ensure pharmaceutical needs and supply risks are adequately addressed.
• Maintain and update the country-specific Essential Drug List and support approval processes for medicines outside the approved list.
• Identify pharmaceutical risks and recommend practical measures to maintain quality and continuity of essential supplies.
• Lead and support pharmaceutical quantification, forecasting and supply planning based on consumption, morbidity patterns, programme requirements, lead times and access constraints.
• Establish and monitor appropriate stock levels, reorder points and buffer stocks, particularly for hard-to-reach locations and periods of predictable access disruption.
• Provide technical pharmaceutical input and support pharmaceutical procurement and supplier management in line with IRC quality assurance requirements and approved supplier systems.
• Strengthen Good Storage and Distribution Practices across warehouses, field storage locations and supported health facilities.
• Maintain appropriate pharmaceutical storage and inventory practices, including stock rotation, FEFO and segregation of controlled, expired and damaged commodities.
• Monitor stock levels and consumption trends to identify and address stock-outs, overstocks and other supply risks in collaboration with Health and Supply Chain teams.
• Strengthen pharmaceutical cold chain management including temperature monitoring and documentation, equipment maintenance, contingency planning and timely corrective action.
• Support appropriate management of pharmaceutical donations, recalls, quarantined products and disposal of expired or unusable commodities.
• Strengthen pharmaceutical management systems across IRC-supported primary health care and referral facilities.
• Support facilities to maintain appropriate availability and management of medicines and commodities required for their level of service delivery.
• Strengthen inventory control, dispensing, record keeping and appropriate storage practices.
• Promote rational and appropriate use of medicines in collaboration with clinical and health teams.
• Support pharmacovigilance and appropriate identification and reporting of adverse drug reactions and other medicine safety concerns.
• Provide technical support to maintain continuity of pharmaceutical supplies across the service delivery and referral pathway.
• Conduct periodic pharmaceutical assessments and supportive supervision of health facilities, document identified gaps, agree corrective actions and monitor their implementation and closure.
• Support pharmaceutical preparedness for disease outbreaks, displacement, seasonal access constraints and other humanitarian emergencies.
• Develop and support pharmaceutical contingency plans, including emergency quantification, buffer stocks and prepositioning where appropriate.
• Monitor supply risks during periods of insecurity or disrupted access and recommend practical mitigation measures.
• Work with Health, Nutrition and Supply Chain teams to integrate pharmaceutical requirements into emergency preparedness and response plans.
• Develop practical continuity-of-supply scenarios for hard-to-reach locations, including pre-positioning, alternative replenishment mechanisms, emergency redistribution and minimum stock requirements.
• Assess capacity and identify priority training and mentorship needs among pharmacy, warehouse, health and facility teams.
• Provide practical training, mentoring and supportive supervision on pharmaceutical commodity management, quantification, stock management, storage, dispensing, rational use of medicines and pharmacovigilance.
• Strengthen the use of pharmaceutical and logistics management information systems and reporting tools to ensure data quality, completeness, timeliness, stock reporting, consumption reporting and use of data for decisions.
• Promote appropriate task sharing of pharmaceutical management responsibilities while maintaining clear accountability and technical oversight.
• Develop practical and sustainable systems that can be maintained by national teams and facility staff.
• Strengthen pharmaceutical stock, consumption and reporting systems, data quality and monitor key supply chain performance indicators.
• Analyze pharmaceutical data and trends to identify gaps, risks and opportunities for improvement and support timely programme decisions.
• Establish and monitor a core set of pharmaceutical performance indicators and use these to identify trends, prioritize corrective actions and inform program and supply-chain decisions.
• Prepare regular technical analyses and updates on pharmaceutical performance, risks and corrective actions.
• Work closely with Health, Nutrition and Supply Chain teams to ensure coordinated pharmaceutical planning and management.
• Coordinate with relevant IRC technical teams and engage with health authorities, partners and technical coordination forums on pharmaceutical issues.
• Document lessons learned and contribute to programme improvement and future scale-up.

Requirements

• Degree in Pharmacy (Bachelor’s or equivalent; Master’s an advantage)
• Registration and valid license to practice as a pharmacist in the country of qualification is desirable.
• Health supply chain or Medical Logistics certification/qualification will be an added advantage.
• Minimum 5 years’ progressively responsible experience in pharmaceutical management, health supply chain management or humanitarian health programming, with strong understanding of IRC systems and procedures.
• Demonstrated experience in pharmaceutical quantification, forecasting, procurement, storage, distribution and stock management.
• Proven knowledge of Good Distribution Practices (GDP), quality assurance, and pharmacovigilance systems.
• Experience working with Essential Drug Lists (EDL) and ensuring compliance with national and IRC pharmaceutical guidelines.
• Hands-on experience using IRC Integra or similar supply chain/data management systems for tracking, reporting, and analysis of medical commodities, highly desirable.
• Strong capacity in data analysis and use of pharmaceutical indicators to inform decision-making and prevent stock imbalances.
• Experience working with major humanitarian donors, including UN pooled funds (e.g. SHF), UNICEF, ECHO, BHA, and FCDO, with understanding of compliance requirements related to medical commodities.
• Experience supporting emergency preparedness, disease outbreak response or continuity of pharmaceutical supplies during access disruptions is highly desirable.
• Experience in capacity building, mentorship, and supportive supervision of pharmacy, supply chain, and health staff.
• Ability to strengthen pharmaceutical systems in humanitarian, fragile or resource-constrained settings is highly desirable.
• Strong coordination and communication skills, with the ability to work across Health and Supply Chain functions.

Skills

• Pharmaceutical Management
• Health Supply Chain Management
• Medical Logistics
• Pharmaceutical Quantification
• Pharmaceutical Forecasting
• Pharmaceutical Procurement
• Pharmaceutical Storage
• Pharmaceutical Distribution
• Stock Management
• Good Distribution Practices
• Quality Assurance
• Pharmacovigilance Systems
• Essential Drug List Management
• Pharmaceutical Compliance
• IRC Integra
• Data Analysis
• Pharmaceutical Indicators
• Humanitarian Donor Compliance
• Emergency Preparedness
• Outbreak Response
• Capacity Building
• Mentorship
• Supportive Supervision
• Pharmaceutical Systems Strengthening
• Health and Supply Chain Coordination

Languages

English