Pharmaceutical Policy Specialist Consultant

Overview

The Reaching Impact, Saturation, and Epidemic Control (RISE) project is a multi-year global project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) working with countries to achieve a shared vision of attaining and maintaining epidemic control, with stronger local partners capable of managing and achieving results through sustainable, self-reliant, and resilient health systems. RISE will support the National Department of Health (NDoH) in improving the quality of the national immunization program and service delivery. Furthermore, RISE will support the NDoH Expanded Program for Immunization (EPI) unit in strengthening its capacity-building activities for pandemic preparedness. To implement these activities, RISE is engaging a Pharmaceutical Policy Specialist to work with its partners in South Africa.

This role is a donor-funded position and is available on a consultancy basis from January to September 2025.

Responsibilities

1. Inception meeting - 1 Day - January 2025 - Inception Report
2. Develop a plan to convert the NDoH EPI training material on the NDoH knowledge hub into online courses - 2 Days - January 2025 - Approved Plan
3. Gather and identify existing NDoH EPI training material on the NDoH knowledge hub - 2 Days - January 2025 - List of NDoH EPI training material
4. Review and update the NDoH EPI training material - 5 Days - February 2025 - Updated training material
5. Convert NDoH EPI training material into online courses - 30 Days - February-June 2025 - Final online courses for training
6. Support the development of a plan for Ideal Vaccination Centers - 5 Days - January 2025 - Approved Plan
7. Develop/update facility quality assurance standards (QAS) for vaccination centres - 5 Days - February 2025 - Approved Facility QAS including a checklist
8. Conduct pre-assessments and develop quality improvement (QI) plans at vaccination centers - 10 Days - February 2025 - QI plans
9. Provide TA for QI adhering to the QAS - 30 Days - March-August 2025 - QI reports
10. Deploy real-time digital solutions for post-vaccination events - 10 Days - March 2025 - Deployment Report
11. Pilot Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) System & SMS - 20 Days - April-June 2025 - Pilot Report
12. Draft and finalize report including recommendations - 10 Days - September 2025 - Final Report

Required Qualifications

• Pharmacy university degree with postgraduate degree in Public Health
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible and directly relevant experience
• Proven experience providing technical support to the NDoH and other relevant stakeholders
• A deep understanding of the South African EPI program including vaccine safety
• Experience collaborating and communicating with national, regional, and global stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry
• Experience supporting capacity building approaches at both national and provincial levels
• Demonstrated analytical, organizational and decision-making skills
• Excellent policy document writing skills
• Oral and written fluency in English and any additional South African official language
• Previous experience with USAID local capacity strengthening in South Africa
• Ability to travel nationally (20% travel)

Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins University affiliate, is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.

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