Vacancy Announcement for Specialist (Pharmacist) – SPARS

Vacancy Announcement for Specialist (Pharmacist) – Supervision, Performance Assessment, Recognition Strategy (SPARS)

Overall Responsibilities:

The goal of the global five-year USAID Medicines, Technologies and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) Program is to help low- and middle-income countries to strengthen their pharmaceutical systems to ensure sustainable access to and appropriate use of safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable essential medicines and pharmaceutical services. MTaPS, implemented by Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and partners, will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) and the Department of Drug Administration (DDA) including other relevant implementing agencies to strengthen pharmaceutical systems including pharmaceutical sector governance, good pharmacy practices, regulatory systems, pharmaceutical management information systems, and improve patient-centered pharmaceutical services.

The MTaPs program are looking for two specialists to support the provincial implementation of Supervision, Performance Assessment, Recognition Strategy (SPARS). The two (Specialist-SPARS) will under the guidance of the Technical Advisor (TA-SPARS) support the implementation of the SPARS strategy in three districts (Ramechhap, Sindhuli and Chitwan) of Bagmati province and in three districts in Lumbini province (Pyuthan, Argakhanchi and Rupandehi) to build capacity in good pharmacy practices and medicines management in pharmacies of government health facilities. The two Specialist-SPARS in close collaboration with the provincial health directorate and district health offices supervise and monitor piloting the SPARS strategy including capacitation and equipping the selected healthcare facilities pharmacies and developing the recognition strategy and the monitoring and reporting system aimed at impact assessment.

Location:

One Specialist-SPARS will be situated at the Health Directorate Bagmati Province -Hetauda with frequent visits to Sindhuli, Ramechhap and Chitwan districts

And the other Specialist-SPARS will be situated at the Health Directorate Lumbini Province – Butwal with frequent visit to Pyuthan, Argakhanchi and Rupandehi districts.

Both specialists -SPARS will have frequent travel to Kathmandu, Nepal

Technical Support (50%)

Have a strong understanding of the SPARS concept and the SPARS pilot study in Nepal
Assist TA SPARS to develop SPARS strategy and implement piloting of the strategy
Develop detailed provincial and district SPARS pilot implementation plan together with the TA-SPARS, provincial office and medicines management supervisors (MMS)
Assist in SPARS tool piloting and monitoring and reporting from the MMS, district and provincial performance
Set up and implement quality assurance system for SPARS visits, assessments, and reporting.
Verify and sign off payment and refund slips linked to meetings, travels, supervisory visits and piloting of SPARS.
Have a good understanding of the good pharmacy practices (GPP) requirements and how to meet GPP certification requirements
Join the MMS on SPARS visits to build supervision capacity, provide in-service training and SPARS assessment capacity
Support implementation of the reward strategy
Contribute to develop monthly and quarterly progress reports
Organise and implement regular MMS district and provincial meetings
Take part of SPARS national meetings and progress monitoring and reporting
Identify, document, and report on barriers and assist with resolving issues

Capacity Building (20%)

Supervise MMS in implementing SPARS supervisory visits in health facilities
In collaboration with TA – SPARS Implement training sessions in i.e. problem assessment, supervision and mentoring, use of PC, adverse drug reaction reporting, SPARS data entry and reporting etc.
Develop training materials to strengthen mentoring skills and to increase interrater reliability

Coordination (30%)

Organise meetings in coordination with TA-SPARS with i.e. district health office staff and health coordinators of municipalities, meetings with the MMS, curative service division and provincial health directorate.
Communicate and follow up with MMS and assess performance
Manage SPARS implementation in close collaboration with the TA-SPARS, provincial and district health offices and the MMSs
Report regularly to the TA-SPARS on progress/results achieved in technical work plans and barriers encountered, and resolve any challenges faced
Work closely with other MTaPS team members to ensure technical work plans are being implemented in a timely and technically sound manner, and productively leverage collaboration with key government and other stakeholders and partners
Contribute to indicators reporting to provincial health directorate, curative service division, and district health office.

REQUIRED MINIMUM EDUCATION

Required:

Bachelor’s degree in pharmacy with 4 years of experience or health sciences degree, clinical officer with 4 years of experience in pharmaceutical care and management.

REQUIRED MINIMUM EXPERIENCE

Required:

At least four years of relevant experience in areas of medicines management, supply chain and good pharmacy practices
Hands on experience in capacity building and training implementation, supervision and mentoring health professionals
Considerable experience in organizing and implementing capacity building supervision and mentoring visits
Experience in stock and storage management, ordering and reporting, and dispensing and prescribing of medicines
Strong managerial and planning experience and experience in program implementation, planning and follow up
Experience in data collection, data analysis and report writing
Experience working with management information systems

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Understanding of the government pharmaceutical sectors supply chain in Nepal.
Knowledge about health care provision at decentralized levels
Strong people skills with the ability to develop others and to impart knowledge and experience in clear and respectful manner according to the stakeholder needs
Mentoring, Supervising, Training, and Coaching abilities.
Facilitation, training and communication skills
Strong networking, collaboration, and advocacy skills
Strong analytical and problem identification skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Nepali are essential.
Demonstrated intermediate skills in Microsoft Office Suite applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and organize meetings and trainings and plan supervisory visits

COMPETENCIES