Pharmacy Supervisor at Medecins Sans Frontieres

Job Summary

• In our context, this position is the EUUs Pharmacy Supervisor.
• Its main role is to link the medical team from EUUs to the pharmacy team and provide the necessary support EUUs expect from the pharmacy.
• Hence, promote a collaborative work environment while maintaining high efficiency of pharmacy operations and ensure rational use as well as GPPs in the EUUs.

Responsibilities
Stock management and ordering:

• Analyze EUU stock management tool results and discuss the CAPAs
• Participate in GPP exercise and follow-up the action plan and CAPAs
• Monitor stock levels, consumption trends, expiry dates; generate and circulate shortfall and overstock reports to line manager weekly.
• Plan and coordinate pharmaceutical supply to EUUs, ensuring continuity of supply and appropriate distribution according to demand.

Drug supply and patient care:

• Enforce the implementation replenishment and return SOPs.
• Ensure timely provisioning of ordered medical items to EUUs. Reference made to the ordering chronogram.
• Ensure that ordering chronograms is updated, known and posted in all EUUs.
• Collaborate with medical staff to adjust internal medical orders and stock plans in response to changing treatment protocols or formulary decisions.
• Monitor EUUs to prevent ruptures and expiries; implement preventive actions such as redistribution or proactive replenishment.
• Quantitative rational use auditing and report to the line manager.
• Ensure Good Dispensing Practices (GDPs)

Cold chain management:

• Maintain validated cold chain processes across all transfers, with documented temperature logs and contingency plans for equipment failure.
• Ensure that necessary instructions (simplified) are known and posted in the EUUs.
• Ensure that monitoring tools are present and correctly used.
• Share monthly report (log tag readings) to the line manager

Controlled medications management:

• Implement, and enforce robust control processes for all controlled medications (e.g., narcotics, psychotropics), aligned with MSF policies, national regulations.
• Maintain an accurate, auditable supply chain from initial receipt to dispensing, with secure storage, access controls, and restricted handling to authorized personnel only.
• Conduct regular inventories of controlled substances, perform reconciliation with dispensing records, and investigate discrepancies promptly with escalation per policy.
• Implement rotation and disposal procedures for expired or damaged controlled medications according to regulatory requirements, SOP in place and MSF guidelines
• Train pharmacy and medical staff on regulations, monitoring, safe handling, and patient counseling related to controlled substances; promote a culture of compliance and ethics.

Documentation, reporting, and data-driven planning:

• Monitor usage patterns, detect anomalies, and provide actionable insights to line manager for decision-making.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly analytic reports on stock status, expiry risk, and service levels; present findings to his/her line manager.
• Ensure data integrity and accuracy, timely reporting of stockouts, expiries, and quality defects, to the line manager.

Human resources, team development, and supervision:

• In collaboration with the line manager, determine staffing needs to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant pharmaceutical services.
• Ensure that roles and responsibilities for the pharmacy team are well known and understandable by every team member; implement succession planning and ensure appropriate supervision levels to ensure that pharmacy is operating well and responding to project expectations.
• Oversee change management, workload balancing, and ergonomic/work-related safety for staff; monitor overtime and staff leave.
• Facilitate regular team meetings, coaching, and performance feedback; establish development plans to close competency gaps.