Regional Commodity Access Advisor

Location: Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, or DRC

Jhpiego seeks a Regional Commodity Access Advisor who will contribute to Jhpiego’s efforts to ensure sustainable access to health products. Under an Unitaid-funded Scaling the Optimal Use of Multiple ACT’s to Prevent Antimalarials Drug Resistance (STOP-AMDR) project, Jhpiego aims to combat antimalaria drug resistance by supporting National Malaria Control Programs in 6 African countries to introduce and adopt and scale multiple first-line treatments (MFTs) over a 4-year period.

The Regional Commodity Access Advisor will be responsible for leading project activities to ensure the consistent availability of multiple artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) that support the implementation of MFT across project countries and contribute to generating global evidence and lessons on how to manage ACT supply to facilitate effective MFT implementation. In addition, this advisor will contribute to the development of strategic market intelligence that will inform and guide partner-supported market interventions that aim to reduce the prices and improve supply security of newer ACTs across Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). The Regional Commodity Access Advisor will ensure technical and methodological rigor as well as complementarities with activities by other partners. This is a role based in one of the 4 demonstration countries (Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, or DRC) and responsible for the execution of project activities within one’s scope in all 6 project countries in collaboration with Jhpiego country teams.              

• Develop approaches, tools, and templates to collect country data on MFT adoption and uptake of newer ACTs across 6 project countries, including policy status, funding, regulatory approvals, quantification, order and shipment volumes and consumption.
• Work with Jhpiego’s country teams and in-country stakeholders to validate and synthesize country data and produce insights into uptake trends to help inform partner-led manufacturer negotiation.
• Execute the market intelligence plan to help guide donor and partner investments to improve affordability and supply diversity of newer ACTs, including the value chain analysis, distributor landscaping, price benchmarking, and market share assessment.
• Prepare presentations and reports for a variety of audiences.
• Train and mentor project country staff and manage consultants on market intelligence activities.
• Identify gaps, collaborate with relevant MOH counterparts and partners, and provide technical assistance as needed to ensure newer ACTs that enable selected MFT strategies are registered, appropriately quantified, integrated in the national supply chain system, and adequately included in donor platforms such as Global Fund budgets and PMI’s malaria operational plans as well as domestic health budgets across 6 project countries to ensure sustainable access.
• Estimate and quantify the ACT volumes needed to support MFT pilots in project countries.
• Collaborate with MOH procurement units, national and regional medical warehouses, PMT, Global Fund PR, and other relevant partners to track ACT orders and shipments, arrange delivery of relevant ACTs to pilot sites, monitor stock levels, and take actions to minimize the risk of stock-outs and expiries at pilot sites.
• Work with project M&E team to generate lessons learned on commodity management to facilitate effective MFT implementation.

• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience, preference for candidates with background in new product introduction and uptake, market access, product commercialization, and supply management for health products in the LMIC market.
• A bachelor’s degree in management, business administration, public health or a related field. An advanced degree is a plus, although not required.
• Experience working on multi-country projects focused on supporting national governments to increase uptake of new health products in LMICs.
• Experience in designing and conducting relevant market assessments, building demand estimates, and creating succinct synthesis of market data to direct investments and identify opportunities to increase access to health products in LMICs.
• Understanding of procurement and supply management mechanisms and processes for donor-funded commodities within public health systems in LMICs.
• Understanding of PMI and GF planning and budgeting processes.
• Exceptional analytical (qualitative and quantitative), problem solving, and communication (written and verbal) skills.
• Ability to collaborate remotely with team members spread across geographies.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
• Ability to coach, mentor and develop technical capacity in project and technical staff.
• Proven stakeholder relationship management skills.
• Excellent business-oriented oral and written communication skills in English.
• Ability to travel regionally.
• Working knowledge of French is a plus.