Distribution Associate, Essential Medicine at Clinton Health Access Initiative

The Distribution Associate will join the Nigeria country program, working with the Essential Medicines team, to enable CHAI, the Government of Nigeria, and their partners to achieve transformational impact in increasing Essential Medicines coverage rates to reduce childhood mortality across Nigeria. We are seeking highly motivated individuals with outstanding credentials, analytical ability, and communication skills. The Associate must be able to function independently and flexibly as well as build strong relationships with government officials and partners. Additionally, the successful candidate will adhere to the core CHAI values of resourcefulness, entrepreneurialism, flexibility, independence, humility, and work ethic.

Candidates should have a strong background in the pharmaceutical industry, including experience relevant to new product introduction and product innovation, and an understanding of pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution processes.

The Distribution Associate will be based in Lagos with travel to program locations throughout Nigeria.

    Under the direction of the Program Director and Deputy Program Director, develop and execute strategies to sustainably streamline and extend the reach of zinc/ORS supply chains into rural and hard-to-reach areas in support of product availability and affordability objectives;
    Liaise with committed suppliers to identify needs for targeted technical and incentive support related to private-sector supply chain extension and coordinate with CHAI's Essential Medicines Global Distribution Lead to deliver necessary technical support in accordance with program objectives;
    Oversee the implementation of incentive structures and co-investment strategies to encourage suppliers to increase product availability in rural and hard to reach areas, including the establishment of disseminated sales forces and wholesaler activation programs;
    Develop detailed business cases demonstrating the long-term profitability of rural distribution systems and highlighting key short-term risks for mitigation;
    In collaboration with State Program Officers, provide support to state government partners in the forecasting, procurement, and distribution of essential medicines;
    In collaboration with the Program Coordinator, provide support to national government and non-governmental partners in the forecasting, procurement, and distribution of essential medicines;
    Develop and maintain technical support packages related to quantification and tendering for essential medicines for use by key government and non-governmental partners;
    Provide mentorship and develop and lead activities to build capacity of key government and non-government partners on distribution and supply chain related areas of expertise;
    In collaboration with the M&E Manager, Essential Medicines and the Market Activation Manager, Essential Medicines, develop market forecasts and demand quantifications to inform and increase efficiency in supplier production cycle planning;
    In collaboration with the M&E Manager, Essential Medicines develop metrics and measurement techniques to track progress on distribution-related objectives;
    Contribute distribution components to the development of proposals, program reports, and communications materials;

    Any other task as requested by the Country Director

    A bachelor's degree and a minimum of 5 years supply chain and/or distribution related work experience in the Nigerian pharmaceutical or Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) fields;
    Demonstrated competence in developing insight-led and evidence-based strategies for increasing market penetration of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and/or Over-the-Counter (OTC) health products;
    Demonstrated familiarity with and a holistic understanding of the impacts of distinct business areas (i.e. sales, marketing, regulatory compliance) on distribution strategy;
    Exceptional strategic development skills; ability to be a thought leader amidst substantial ambiguity and changing circumstances
    Strong management skills, experience with managing complex projects with remote teams.
    Exceptional analytical (quantitative and qualitative) and communication (written and verbal) skills, including the ability to communicative effectively with people of varied professional / cultural backgrounds
    Demonstrated success in coordinating partners and developing strong relationships in order to drive a multi-stakeholder process
    Ability to be effective in high-pressure situations, handle multiple tasks simultaneously, and set priorities
    High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
    Detail-oriented with strong organization skills

PLUSSES
    Demonstrated success designing and implementing rural distribution systems;
    Familiarity with public-sector procurement and distribution processes at various levels of health services delivery.
    PI80510394