Local Manufacturing Coordinator (AfCDC) at African Union(AU)

Requisition ID: 2498

Purpose of Job

• The Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) was established by the African Union in 2021, under the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to deliver on the goal of enabling the Africa vaccine manufacturing industry to increase its capacity to meet local demand from its current level of 1% to 60% by 2040. To do this, the PAVM will support partnerships in the creation of an environment fully conducive to the emergence of a thriving private sector manufacturing base.
• It will also steward a continental strategy that efficiently maintains both scale and cost- competitiveness and avoids vaccine nationalism when future demand surges emerge on the continent. The continental strategy was developed and published as the PAVM Framework for Action (FFA), laying out the key interventions required across six categories and 8 bold programs.
• The PAVM will identify the enablers, or absences and shortcomings thereof, of this conducive environment across the continent. It will outline possible remedies – whether the expansion of existing programs and initiatives or the provision of new solutions – and set out how to implement them over the next 20 years through the activities of both members and non-member stakeholders. It will play the role of convener, orchestrator, and advocate. The PAVM taskforce defined 8 bold programs to support the vaccine manufacturing ecosystem and continental strategy this include regulatory strengthening, market design and demand certainty, access to finance, tech and IP, infrastructure, Research & Development hubs, and talent development. Within each of these enabler categories, several activities have been outlined already by PAVM. 
• At the 37th African Union Assembly, in February 2024, the mandate of PAVM was expanded to include the manufacturing therapeutics, and diagnostics, and other health products. Thus, PAVM has transitioned into Platform for Harmonized African Health Products Manufacturing (PHAHM).
• Africa CDC is seeking to recruit Head of Local Manufacturing of Health Commodities (Local Manufacturing Coordinator) to support the work on developing and implementing a strategic approach to support vaccine manufacturing in African.

Specific Responsibilities

• Lead the local manufacturing team.
• Outline the short- to medium-term strategy and outlook for PHAHM. 
• Oversee planning and implementation of all initiatives across the 8 bold programs of the health products manufacturing Framework for Action, review progress made against program milestones and deliverables defined, identify synergies and collaboration areas across programs.  
• Provide guidance and lead decision-making on prioritization of initiatives, and stakeholder engagements across all bold programs.
• Represent Africa CDC and the continental vision for regional manufacturing at continental and international arena.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with member states, international organizations, African manufacturers, and other partners, to keep them informed on important, strategic and operational issues of the Africa CDC.
• Build and maintain respectful and action-oriented partnerships and coalitions with donors and partners.
• Work with other relevant stakeholder representatives to manage multi-country networking and opportunity identification.
• Mobilize resources (including but not limited to financial) for the success of the programme and Africa CDC.
• Perform any other related responsibilities as may be assigned 

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• MD, PharmD or PhD Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences or Biomedical Sciences or related fields and 12 years of work experience. Candidate must have a minimum of 7 years of experience in a managerial and 5 years supervisory positions in the field of health products manufacturing. 
• MPH degree is an added value.

Required:

• Strong leadership experience such as leading a similar program or organization. 
• Proven experience in working on vaccine development and/or manufacturing. 
• Demonstrable experience in managing relationship with multiple partners.
• Proven record of working with international organizations.
• Proven experience in successful resource mobilization. 
• Proven record of working with African manufacturers.
• Experience working in multicultural institutions.

Desirable:

• Experience working with private companies.

Required Skills:

• Excellent expertise, skills and understanding of vaccine and pharmaceuticals development and/or manufacturing ecosystem. 
• Excellent leadership skills. 
• Good knowledge of the African and the global vaccine development and manufacturing ecosystem. 
• Excellent skill in managing complex projects including planning, budgeting, and reporting. 
• Excellent capacity for developing and maintaining a network of contacts with potential donors and partners.
• Proven experience in working with international partners as well as proven record of successful resource mobilization. 
• Good oral/written communication skills. 

Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic Insight
• Developing Others
• Change Management
• Managing Risk

Core Competencies:

• Building Relationship
• Foster Accountability Culture
• Learning Orientation
• Communicating with Influence

Functional Competencies:

• Conceptual Thinking
• Job Knowledge and information sharing
• Drive for Results
• Continuous Improvement Orientation

Tenure of Appointment:

• The appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of one (1) year, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract may be renewed for a similar period subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance and agreed deliverables. 

Gender Mainstreaming:

• Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Languages:

• Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) is mandatory and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

Remuneration

• The salary attached to the position is an annual lump-sum of US$   126,440.93  (P5 Step 5) inclusive of all allowances for internationally recruited staff, and US$ 108,357.41 inclusive of all allowances for locally recruited staff of the African Union.