Consultancy for Standardized Stock Management Tools

We improve lives

The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.

About this position

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through the Improving Efficiency, Quality, and Access in Belize’s Health System (BL-L1048; BL-J0008) loan project, aims to strengthen the health system in Belize by enhancing service delivery quality, expanding the health workforce, and improving health governance. The project seeks to improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare services while expanding access to essential health services, particularly for vulnerable populations.

A critical sub-component of this initiative is the system’s governance, which includes interventions for improving the supply chain of medicines and supplies, including procurement, to ensure their timely availability. Efficient monitoring and management of stockouts of essential medicines are critical to ensuring the uninterrupted availability of life-saving medications and improving health service delivery. However, persistent challenges in tracking stock levels, forecasting demand, and ensuring timely procurement have resulted in inefficiencies within the healthcare system.

In light of these challenges, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) of Belize, is seeking to strengthen the country’s healthcare supply chain management. The MOHW requires support to develop standardized tools that will enhance real-time monitoring, streamline reporting mechanisms, and support evidence-based decision-making for stock management of essential medicines. These tools will be used by health facilities, the MOHW, and other relevant institutions within the healthcare system to improve supply chain efficiency, reduce wastage, and minimize the risk of stockouts.

The IDB is seeking a consultant to support the MOHW in designing and developing these standardized tools to enhance monitoring and management of medicine stockouts. The consultant will work closely with members from the Nutrition, Population and Health Division of the Social Sector of the IDB (HNP/SCL), staff from the MOHW, and other relevant stakeholders, to ensure the tools are practical, scalable, and aligned with Belize’s healthcare system as well as with the broader goals of the Improving Efficiency, Quality, and Access in Belize’s Health System (BL-L1048; BL-J0008) loan.
 

What you’ll do

•    Develop a work plan and methodological approach to designing and developing these standardized tools to enhance monitoring and management of medicine stockouts. The work plan should detail milestones and methodologies to be implemented (e.g., literature reviews, consultations, interviews) and should include a Gantt chart outlining the project timeline and key deliverables.

•    Conduct an in-depth assessment of current stock monitoring and reporting mechanisms in Belize, identifying key bottlenecks, gaps, and inefficiencies in the system. This assessment should focus on health facilities located in Stann Creek and Cayo Districts of Belize while considering their specific operational challenges.

•    Review best practices from other healthcare systems with similar contexts to identify proven methodologies and tools that can be adapted to Belize’s needs.

•    Review past efforts, particularly in the context of the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative, to identify relevant findings and approaches that could inform the design of new tools and solutions for improving stockout monitoring and management.

•    Design and develop standardized tools tailored to the Belizean health system, ensuring ease of use, integration with existing systems, and compatibility with digital platforms where applicable. The tools should be specifically adapted to the needs of Belizean health facilities, ensuring standardization in concepts, indicators, and methods of reporting. Additionally, the consultant should design tools for the use of the Belize MOHW to improve national-level monitoring, including process manuals and templates for consolidating reports from different health facilities. Implementation guidelines should be developed, detailing step-by-step procedures for data entry, analysis, and reporting. In addition, the consultant should provide detailed costing estimates for implementing the tools, including a breakdown of necessary resources such as human resources, technological infrastructure, legal frameworks, and physical infrastructure.

•    Propose actionable recommendations for improving supply chain efficiency, distinguishing between short-, medium-, and long-term solutions, and outlining the specific steps needed for their execution. The recommendations should define specific interventions to be implemented within health facilities, the MOHW, and other relevant institutions to strengthen stockout monitoring and response mechanisms.

•    Conduct capacity-building sessions with MOHW personnel and health facility staff to ensure effective use of the tools and their long-term sustainability.

•    Actively participate in meetings with the IDB team and members of the Belize MOHW to discuss the content and progress of the study under development.

•    Work closely with the Belize MOHW and the IDB throughout the development of the manual, ensuring alignment with the BL-L1048; BL-J0008 loan objectives and the broader health workforce development goals.
 

What you'll need

•    Education: Bachelor’s degree in social or medical sciences and a master or equivalent advanced degree in health administration, health policy, public health, health economics, or other fields relevant to the responsibilities of the role.

•    Experience: of specific professional experience in supply chain management within the health sector, procurement processes, health logistics, and health systems strengthening. Experience must be demonstrated through descriptions of relevant roles and project durations. Familiarity with the regulatory framework, procurement policies, and healthcare logistics in Belize or low-middle income countries similar to Belizean context is desirable  

•    Languages: Proficiency in Spanish and English, spoken and written, is required. Additional knowledge of French and Portuguese is preferable.

Requirements

•    Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries. We may offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your eligible dependents.
•    Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab.
 

Type of contract and duration

• External Products and Services Consultant (PEC)
• Duration: 6 months 
• Work Location: Remote

What we offer

The IDB group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee's life. These benefits include:
 
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Our culture

At the IDB Group we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work, willing to try new approaches without fear, and where they are accountable and rewarded for their actions.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) are at the center of our organization. We celebrate all dimensions of diversity and encourage women, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply.
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job interview process. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at diversity@iadb.org  to request reasonable accommodation to complete this application.
Our Human Resources Team reviews carefully every application.