Country Pharmacist

JOB OVERVIEW/SUMMARY:

·As the referent on management and dispensing pharmaceuticals items, the Country Pharmacist is mandated by the Deputy Health Coordinator to intervene at all stages of the program’s medicine chain in accordance with his/her responsibilities and any other tasks involving his/her collaboration and participation. S/he participates in the definition of strategies for medical supply management, distribution and use of medical products and donations in the programs in line with the health department’s recommendations and policies while ensuring national regulations are followed. S/he develops familiarity with Ministry of Health’s regulation of drugs in force in the country and shares his/her knowledge with the team. This position is the link with external actors/partners concerning pharmaceutical issues.

Job Purpose/Objective

·Working under the guidance and supervision of the Deputy Health Coordinator, the Country Pharmacist is responsible for drug management in the country program.

KEY RESPONSBILITIES

·Monitors the availability of medical products to avoid stock-outs and financial losses generated by expired items; Collaborates with the Deputy Health Coordinator and Senior Health & Nutrition Coordinator to define stock security levels in IRC’s health facilities;

·Leads in country program quantification- ensures drug consumption data is collected at health facilities, aggregated, analyzed and used for forecasting needs of the program;

·Provides input for international orders; draws up the first draft of orders with the senior Health Coordinator, reviews the parameters involved in replenishing stock, reviews the projects’ essential drug list, finalizes orders based on consumption and future needs arising from the developments in the field

·Participates in defining strategies for supply, management, distribution and use of medical products in line with IRC’s recommendations and policies; under the supervision of the Deputy Health Coordinator and in collaboration with Health and Supply Chain Managers, support development/use of new pharmaceutical stock management systems and software;

·Participates in implementing the pharmaceutical supply chain standard operating procedures;

·Applies Good Distribution Practices (GDPs) for pharmaceutical products at storage level, and Good Dispensing Practices in end user units. These include:

oDocumentation verification:

§Conduct systematic checks of all medical goods purchased locally and for direct shipments, and control their details correspond to the requested specifications and the received documentation (Certificate of Analyses)

§Check conformity of the received goods with the PO (Purchase Order) and the PL (Packing List) (strength, origin, manufacturer, batch number)

oTransportation and storage:

§Ensure transportation of medical goods (including any dangerous goods and cold chain) is done in an appropriate manner and following national regulations

§Handle cold chain products according to the recommendations of the manufacturer

§Ensure that cold chain equipment is working properly, and that daily temperature monitoring of cold chain items is in places

§Ensure that appropriate storage conditions are in place for medicines (including dangerous goods products) and advise any need for improvements

§Ensure controlled drugs are managed according to national regulation

·Ensure stock rotation according to FIFO (First In First Out) and FEFO (First Expiry First Out)

·Support in conducting monthly and annual physical stock counts

·Quality assurance of commodities:

oEnsure with the support of HQ that all offered donations by any partner or others are in compliance with the IRC Quality Assurance Policy

oFollow-up any claim reports from the field concerning quality (IRC Product Incident Form) with the GSC Pharma QA Manager and maintains a file with all claims

oInvestigate and put in quarantine any medical product that has been identified as suspect - meaning that it may be counterfeit, unapproved, or potentially dangerous

·Disposal and returns:

oEnsure disposal of health care products is done according with national regulations/or IRC Waste Disposal SOP, and that a disposal file is maintained

oEnsure full traceability of the medical products journey through all the stakeholders in the Supply Chain and is responsible for batch recall

oOrganize return or exchange of rejected goods with the SCC

·Provides support to procurement and supplier management, this includes:

oIn coordination with the GSC Pharma QA Manager, maintain, update and file the CP Pharma Database (list of validated suppliers)

oProvide the purchasing team with a list of validated suppliers approved and validated by the GSC Pharma QA Manager (ensures that all local purchases are done via prequalified suppliers)

oEnsure that all requested items by the Health team are compliant with the CP EDL and flags any discrepancy. If non-standard items are requested, asks the Health Coordinator to get the green light from HQ before proceeding with the order

oIn coordination with the GSC Pharma QA Manager, perform market assessment for preselection of products and suppliers and organizes visits of suppliers

·Regularly visits the warehouse to conduct audits and follow up on recommendations on GDPs: the layout of the warehouse, storage, product arrangement, reception, distribution and transport.

·Supervise the store release, distribution, and transfer of all stock to the required field site locations;

·Carries out regular follow up/team meetings with Pharma officers and any other Pharma team in the field sites in Yemen to maintain regular work plans in line with project objectives and identified capacity building need

·Mentor field-based staff (e.g. pharmacists, medical store officers, health officers) on the proper management of medical stock through remote trainings, in-person trainings and on-job coaching;

·Provide indirect supervision of staff responsible for pharmacy management in the field; and direct supervision for the Pharma staff in Yemen

• Any other duties as assigned by the supervisor