Immunization Supply Chain Specialist, P-4, Temporary Appointment (364 days), ROSA, Kathmandu, Nepal # 00127395

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, health

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, advocacy, and operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop, and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

UNICEF is the lead technical agency to provide technical assistance to countries in strengthening immunization Supply Chain Systems (iSCS). It directly contributes to Immunization Agenda (IA)2030 Strategic Priority #6 and Gavi 5.0, which will ensure that a) high-quality vaccines are always available in the right quantity and form at the right time, in the right place and stored and distributed under the right conditions; b) will help promote integration with other supply chains for more effective delivery of primary health care, and c) invest in systems and infrastructure to safely manage, treat, and dispose of vaccine waste to help reduce their environmental footprint. 

UNICEF’s Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA) plays a pivotal role in supporting health and supply sections of UNICEF country offices across the region to plan and coordinate technical support to national Ministries of Health (MoH) for addressing gaps in technical expertise, managerial capacities, logistics efficiency and financial strategies related to Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) issues; and rolling-out global initiatives and innovations for iSCS strengthening. 

During the past four years, amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent efforts to recover from a decline in immunization coverage in South Asia, the region has made considerable progress in strengthening its immunization Supply Chain Systems. Five of eight SA countries completed Effective Vaccine Management Assessments (EVMA) and developed continuous Improvement Plans (cIP). Three countries [Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan] made successful submissions of Cold Chain Equipment Optimization Platform (CCEOP) applications and completed Gavi’s Full Portfolio Planning (FPP) submission, this will further expand cold-chain capacity, add energy-efficient equipments like Solar-Direct with remote temperature monitoring devices. The SA region has aligned its iSC plans with the global guidelines and objectives and successfully rolled out digital innovations such as Health Facility Solar Electrification (HFSE), electronic Logistic Management Information System (eLMIS), and Inventory Gap Analysis (IGA). 

As a result, there is a 3-to-5-fold increase in the cold-chain capacities of the SA countries together with the induction of ultra-low temperature (ULT) cold-chain equipments. The countries introduced systematic appraisals of iSCS and initiated rolling out HFSE, eLMIS, remote temperature monitoring, and IGA tools for real-time monitoring of cold chain functionality. The concerted multi-disciplinary immunization acceleration efforts, of which iSC is a critical component, led South Asia to be the first UNICEF region globally to surpass pre-COVID-19 levels of routine vaccination coverage, besides achieving global COVID-19 targets in most of the south-Asian countries. 

How can you make a difference?

The Immunization Supply Chain Specialist (P4) will be part of the regional Health/Immunization team, based in the Regional Office, and will report to the Immunization Specialist P-4. Under the GAVI 5.0 – the Vaccine Alliance strategic plan 2021-2025 the funding is available to continue this technical assistance to countries for 2024-25. 

The primary objective of this role is to address sub-optimal vaccine and logistics management, recognizing its impact on operational and opportunity costs for vaccination. Inefficient management can exacerbate existing inequities, particularly affecting under-served, urban poor, insecure, and hard-to-reach populations. Over the past decade, South-Asian countries have made considerable progress in EVM and have undertaken continuous Improvement Plans (cIPs) and scaling up digital innovations for strengthening iSCS.

In alignment with global iSC norms and standards and institutionalization of digital innovations, it is vital to consolidate supply-chain achievements. This includes expanding capacity to meet the additional demands to support Big Catch-up initiatives, optimizing waste management systems, enhancing immunization service delivery (ISD), and scaling up digital innovations across South-Asian countries. This involves continuity of providing technical assistance to the countries, strengthening collaborations, and building alliances, and therefore, continuing this Immunization Specialist – Supply Chain (iSC) position in the regional office will help drive these critical endeavors. 

The incumbent of this position will lead Technical Assistance (TA) to South Asian countries for strengthening iSCS to help with effective planning, storage, distribution, temperature tracking, monitoring, accountability, and waste management of vaccines and relevant commodities. He/She will be instrumental in scaling up eLMIS, IGA, and HFSE rollouts and expanding collaborations with the global and regional counterparts and partners. 

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

The Immunization Supply Chain Specialist P-4 (TA) will work under the direct supervision of the Immunization Specialist ROSA, and in close collaboration with the Programme Group (PG) and Immunization Supply Chain Teams will provide TA to the regional office and target countries for:

1) finalizing regional Immunization supply chain strategy 2023-25 and the regional immunization action plan,

2) undertaking regional immunization supply chain reviews, periodic EVM assessments, and capacity building of cold chain technicians,

3) scaling up HFSE initiatives including feasibility assessments [target countries; Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka],

4) introducing innovations such as new real-time temperature monitoring devices (RTMD), freeze-free lightweight vaccine carriers,

5) introducing eLMIS [target countries; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Nepal]

6) the development of operational development plans for CCEOP 2 [target countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan],

7) developing country-specific immunization waste disposal system [target countries; Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal],

8) strengthening regional collaborations with the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) and UNICEF East-Asia-Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) and academia for immunization waste management policy mapping and assisting south-Asian countries with the development of immunization waste management systems

9) carrying out annualized projections of cold chain equipment requirements covering the next 10 years (All), and mapping of cold and freezer rooms [target countries; India, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh]; and piloting of GIS mapping of cold chain and immunization session sites [target country; TBD].

10) scaling-up the capacity building of cold chain technicians on ‘Repair & Maintenance of Cold Chain Equipment’ to increase the serviceable life of cold chain equipment,

11) scaling-up the inventory gap analysis (IGA) tool in the region,

12) instill the system of decommissioning obsolete and non-functional cold chain equipment with public and private partnerships.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education: Advanced University Degree in business administration, logistics management, supply chain or closely related area

Experience: A minimum of 8 years experience in health programming; with extensive experience in the immunization supply chain, vaccine, and cold chain management at national and international levels, Familiarity with Effective Vaccine Management, eLMIS, IGA tools, and UNICEF vaccine/equipment procurement modalities is highly desirable, Be proficient in computer applications, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint software, Expertise in cold chain equipment inventory, VLMIS and RTMDS, Experience of working with national governments, the partners, and UNICEF will be an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or the local language of the duty station is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.
We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.
UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. 

Remarks:

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.