Health Supply Chain Specialist

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

This position has an end date of 30 September 2027.

1. Job Overview

The Health Supply Chain Specialist will provide integrated operational and technical leadership to strengthen supply chain performance across four critical health program areas, including but not limited to: Nutrition (with a focus on Ready-to-Use Food, or RUF), Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH, covering Family Planning commodities and Postpartum Hemorrhage prevention and treatment supplies), Primary Healthcare (PHC, covering essential medicines and primary-level clinical supplies), and Infection and Disease Prevention and Control (IDPC). Focus will be on IRCs Impact at Scale ‘’go-big’’ designated country programs.

This is a project management and integration role embedded in Global Supply Chain (GSC), with a Management in Partnership (MIP) reporting line to Deputy Director, Health Unit (HU). The role translates health program priorities into optimized, scalable supply chain solutions, and directly advances the IRC's Impact at Scale (I@S) objectives across all program areas.

Working in close collaboration with Country Programs, Regional Supply Chain Directors (RSCDs), Global Procurement, Nutrition, SRH and IDPC Technical Leads, and external partners (including UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, other UN agencies and NGOs, and vendors), the Specialist will cover demand planning, forecasting, procurement coordination, and delivery across all four commodity areas, including essential medicines and IDPC commodities used in IRC health facilities and outbreak response. The role will also act as a key connector between field realities and global supply strategies — ensuring operational challenges are converted into actionable learning, system improvements, and scalable solutions.

2. Key Responsibilities

2.1 Integrated Demand Planning and Forecasting

• Develop and maintain a consolidated global demand plan covering RUF (Nutrition), IDPC and key SRH commodities (FP and PPH) for Go-big countries.

• Lead responses to specific commodity shortages and urgent projects across all countries.
• Analyze consumption data across programs (procured and Contribution in Kind -CIK) to inform forecasting and procurement decisions.

• Implement forecasts and supply chain plans for FY27 and FY28 for all Go-Big countries in Nutrition, IDPC and SRH.

• Regularly analyze and report on demand, stock, pipeline, and spend data at global and country levels, incorporating stockout data and mitigation actions.

• Proactively monitor global supply outlook for RUF, SRH and IDPC commodities and escalate alerts within program, supply chain and leadership.

2.2 SRH Supply Chain Strategy and UNFPA Engagement

• Lead scoping and stakeholder engagement to design and implement a UNFPA relationship strengthening strategy, including pre-positioning, CIK strengthening at global/country level, service and delivery improvements etc.

• Classify IRC country programs into operational SRHR supply chain profiles (e.g., PPH-focused, LARC-driven (long‑acting reversible contraception), UNFPA-dependent, emergency-only) to support differentiated supply chain strategies and prioritization.

• In alignment with country scale plans, support short-, medium-, and long-term improvement activities anchored to each country's operational profile and risk level.

• Engage with vendors like DKT, MSI, and other partners to leverage their in-country distribution networks and broad FP/PPH product portfolios.
  

2.3 RUF SOP Implementation and Fraud Risk Management

• Coordinate with Ethics and Risk and Compliance (R&C), and country focal points to strengthen fraud risk monitoring, incident review, and mitigation actions.

• Track RUF SOP adoption, compliance gaps, and corrective actions to ensure accountability and continuous improvement, including travel to at least one country program.

2.4 IDPC-Specific Supply Chain Strengthening

• Assess the availability of key designated IDPC commodities and supply chain readiness against WHO IDPC minimum requirements at health facility level, and support country teams in developing corrective action plans.

• Support country programs in forecasting and pre-positioning key designated IDPC and essential medicine stocks for outbreak and epidemic preparedness and response.
  

2.5 Supply Chain Strengthening and Capacity Building

• Build country capacity, with a focus on pharmacists, in forecasting and demand planning, stock monitoring and stockout mitigation, and supply and sourcing strategies.

• Provide targeted technical support to address bottlenecks and operational challenges in Nutrition, IDPC and SRH programs.
  

2.6 Stakeholder Engagement and External Representation

• Cultivate strong relationships with UNFPA, UNICEF supply chain teams, WHO, DKT, MSI, and other key SRH, nutrition, and IDPC stakeholders.

• Represent IRC in relevant external supply chain and humanitarian coordination platforms, including the Global Health Cluster and IDPC technical working groups.

• Act as the global focal point for CIK deliveries in Nutrition, IDPC and SRH.

2.7 Reporting, Data, and Knowledge Management

• Document best practices and lessons learned to inform future improvements across all commodity areas.

• Produce a data-driven summary report linking supply levels to FY27 and FY28 I@S targets for Nutrition, IDPC and SRH Go-Big countries.

• Maintain an evidence repository (data, reports, learnings) for handover to Nutrition, SRH, IDPC and GSC teams.

• Lead the integration of Impact at Scale (I@S) priorities and core indicators into the Global Pharma Indicator (GPI) Dashboard, in collaboration with relevant I@S Leads, the Health Unit/Pharma Specialist, and Global Supply Chain teams. Ensure the dashboard tracks key pharmaceutical and nutrition supply chain performance indicators aligned with I@S objectives, enabling progress monitoring, gap identification, and evidence-based decision-making.

3. Key Working Relationships

Reporting Line

Position Reports to: Director, Emergency and Health Supply Chain, with a Management in Partnership (MIP) line to the Deputy Director, Health Unit, and with strong technical engagement with the Global Practice Leads for Nutrition, SRH, Primary Healthcare (PHC), and Infection and Disease Prevention and Control (IDPC).

Internal Relationships

• Regional Supply Chain Directors (RSCDs)

• Nutrition Technical Advisors, SRH specialists, and Health / PHC and IDPC Technical Advisors —

• Senior Pharmacy Specialist & Deputy Director for Pharma QA

• Country program teams and CP pharmacists —

• Global Procurement and Senior Procurement Manager for Health

• Risk & Compliance (R&C) and ECU

• Research and Nutrition/SRH/IDPC leads

External Relationships

• UNFPA, UNICEF, Hulo/EUHAB/Airlink, Vendors, WHO, INGOs,

4. Job Requirements

Essential Qualifications

• Degree in supply chain management, pharmacy, business administration, public health, nutrition, or related field — or equivalent additional experience.

• Minimum 4 years' experience in commodity procurement or supply chain management in humanitarian or development settings.

• Proven experience managing health commodities across at least two of the following areas: nutrition (therapeutic foods, RUF), SRH (FP, PPH supplies), primary healthcare (essential medicines), or infection and disease prevention and control.
• Demonstrated understanding of donor procurement regulations — particularly U.S. Department of State (formerly USAID/BHA), ECHO, FCDO, and UNFPA/UNICEF frameworks.

• Proficiency in MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills in supply chain optimization, forecasting, and risk mitigation.

• Familiarity with Nutrition supply chain challenges (RUTF/RUF, therapeutic food systems), SRH supply chain dynamics (FP method mix, PPH commodity management), primary healthcare essential medicines management, and IDPC commodity requirements.

• Experience with MEAL, ERPs, or Logistics Management Information Systems (LMIS); experience with Power BI or similar data visualization tools is an asset.

• Understanding of international freight (Incoterms), warehousing, transportation logistics, and last-mile delivery in humanitarian contexts.

• Knowledge of pharmaceutical management — vendor prequalification, quality assurance, cold chain, distribution, and pharmacovigilance — is an advantage.

• Exceptional interpersonal and stakeholder management skills; ability to engage credibly with country program staff, global leads, and external partners.

• Familiarity with UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, and NGO supply chain partnership modalities.

• Proactive, results-oriented, service-focused.

• Fluency in English required; French proficiency is a strong advantage.
  

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking and systems-level supply chain leadership, including the ability to integrate multiple health program supply chains (Nutrition, SRH, PHC, and IDPC) into a unified, efficient approach.

• Ability to synthesize complex multi-country data into clear, actionable recommendations.

• Collaboration and effectiveness in multicultural, matrixed environments.

• Commitment to ethical standards and to the IRC Way values of Integrity, Service, Equality, and Accountability.

• Attention to detail; proactive risk identification and response.

5. Additional Information

Working Environment

Remote work / standard office environment (location dependent).

Travel upto 20%

 IRC-UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC-UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for  all  job  applicants  and  employees,  and  we  seek  to ensure  we  achieve diversity  in  our  workforce regardless  of  gender,  race,  religious  beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

Compensation (UK): (GBP 41,767- GBP 49,599 - annually). Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget.  Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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