Pharmacist Manager

Location

Khartoum/AlJazerah (At the moment Port Sudan and later Khartoum/AlJazerah upon security approval)

Travel

Blue Nile, Sennar, North Darfur/CHAD and other operation locations

Job Family and Level

Technical Family T6

Context

Relief International (RI) is an international non-profit organization that partners with communities impacted by conflict, climate change and disaster to save lives, build greater resilience and promote long-term health and wellbeing.

Our team of more than 4500 staff and local volunteers work in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, providing Health and Nutrition, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), Education and Livelihoods programming that creates the foundation for community resilience.

We do this by working with local actors to develop safe and inclusive local programming that is evidence based, conflict sensitive, climate smart, and reaches those in need.

Relief International (RI) works with communities affected by conflict, climate change, and disaster to save lives, build resilience, and promote long-term well-being. In Sudan, RI implements multi-sectoral programs including Health, Nutrition, WASH, Protection, and Livelihoods.

Sudan faces a compounding food security crisis, with rising conflict, inflation, and climate shocks. RI’s Food Security and Livelihoods portfolio responds through market-based programming, emergency food assistance, agricultural recovery, and resilience building.

Job Profile

The Pharmacist Manager- Programs, will provide overall technical leadership and oversight of pharmaceutical management systems across Relief International’s Sudan pharmaceutical programs operations. The role ensures compliance with RI’s global Medical Supply List (MSL), WHO/FMoH regulations, donor requirements, and international humanitarian standards. The position ensures quality assurance, rational use of medicines, adherence to international and national guidelines, and promoting best pharmaceutical practices for high impact clinical outcomes. Working closely with the Supply Chain Department, the role will ensure effective coordination of medical procurement, storage, and distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to ensure uninterrupted availability of essential medicines in line with program objectives. The role provides technical support to Local and international Medical Procurement, capacity strengthening of national staff, while engaging with donors, cluster mechanisms, on pharmaceutical-related matters.

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Your key responsibilities will include:

1. Strategic Leadership & Technical Oversight

• Provide overall technical leadership and oversight on pharmaceutical and medical commodity management systems within the Sudan Country program.
• Lead the development and implementation of a mission-wide Pharmaceutical Management Strategy including quality assurance, stock optimization, and rational use of medicines.
• Ensure alignment of RI Sudan’s pharmaceutical procurement with RI global policies, donor regulations, and WHO/FMoH standards.
• Provide technical support to field teams on stock management, rational drug use, and antimicrobial stewardship.
• Provide technical oversight on all pharmaceutical services, including international medical procurement, storage, distribution, and dispensing and rational use of medicines at Health facilities
• Conduct supportive supervision visits to support health facilities regular audits and spot checks in central and peripheral health facilities.
• Strengthen and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for pharmaceutical management, including pharmacovigilance and cold-chain monitoring.
• Monitor quality and expiry management of medicines, ensuring pharmacological integrity across all facilities.
• Strengthen monitoring and reporting systems for drug consumption, pipeline status, and distribution tracking.
• Work closely with the program teams and Program Technical Coordinator to achieve program objectives and targets effectively and efficiently
• Serve as RI’s pharmaceutical focal point in Sudan on matters related to drug supply, pipeline management, and coordination.

  2. Medical Pharmaceutical Procurements and Stock management

  • Providing technical support to the Oversee forecasting, quantification, and procurement of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for all projects
  • Provide technical to the National Pharmacist during development of international and national medical BOQs, PRs, and specifications submitted to RI Supply Chain and Operations department.
  • Provide technical support needed for budgeting and forecasting of medical supplies, product specifications, certificate checks and qualification, technical CBA analysis, quality checks, and batch tracking of pharmaceuticals.
  • Work closely with the Health and Nutrition program teams to forecast pharmaceutical needs, prepare procurement plans, and monitor order pipelines.
  • Ensure accurate inventory management, stock reporting, and prevention of stock-outs, overstocks, and wastage.
  • Conduct regular inventory assessments, debunking, and stock reconciliations at central and field levels.
  • Strengthen Pharmaceutical Information Management Systems (PIMS) to monitor pharmaceutical consumptions, stock levels, expiry dates, and ensure First-Expiry-First-Out (FEFO) practices are strictly applied.
  • Work closely with the supply chain team, to ensure compliance with Good Distribution Practices (GDP) and Good Storage Practices (GSP) at central, regional, and field levels.

    3. Supervision, Mentorship & Capacity Building.

    • Build the technical capacity of National pharmacist, Pharmacy officers, health facility dispensers, through structured training and on-the-job mentoring and professional development plans and during supervision visits.
    • Conduct regular field visits to assess pharmaceutical practices and provide corrective action plans.
    • Strengthen knowledge and practices in rational prescribing, safe dispensing, and infection prevention and control (IPC).
    • Provide direct line management to the National Pharmacist and technical supervision to all pharmacy staff.
    • Lead training on rational use of medicines, clinical prescription audits, pharmacovigilance, and antimicrobial stewardship.
    • Train and mentor Pharmacy officers on stock management at HFs, monthly forecasting of HF needs
    • Develop and disseminate job aids and SOPs to standardize practices.
    • Organize workshops and on-the-job coaching for pharmaceutical staff in collaboration with technical coordinators.

      Quality Assurance & Compliance

      • Establish and oversee systems for pharmacovigilance, restricted drug management, and cold-chain compliance.
      • Ensure adherence to Good Pharmacy Practices, national EML, and donor requirements.
      • Ensure that all pharmaceutical activities comply with RI’s Code of Conduct, safeguarding, and Do No Harm principles.
      • Lead internal audits of pharmacy management and support donor/funder audit processes.
        1. Reporting & Program Strategic Input
           • Produce regular reports on pharmaceutical consumption, pipeline, and stock management for internal use and donor reporting.
           • Contribute to donor proposals, log frames, and budgets by defining pharmaceutical needs and cost estimates.
           • Provide technical input for health proposals, ensuring pharmaceutical components are evidence-based, cost-effective, and aligned with international standards.
           • Contribute to donor reporting with accurate pharmaceutical and stock management data.

             6. Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL)

             • Work closely with the MEAL department to define and track pharmaceutical indicatorswithin project log frames, ITTs, and donor reporting frameworks.
             • Ensure accurate, timely, and complete reporting of pharmaceutical consumption, stock status, and pipeline management for donor and cluster reporting.
             • Support MEAL teams in designing data collection tools for monitoring pharmaceutical services and supply chain efficiency.
             • Analyze pharmacy-related data and contribute to lessons learned exercises, after-action reviews, and program evaluations.
             • Integrate accountability mechanisms into pharmacy services, including ensuring availability of essential medicines and responding to community feedback on drug availability and quality.
             • Document and disseminate best practices, innovations, and learning from RI Sudan’s pharmaceutical management to inform organizational knowledge and global technical guidance.

               4. Safeguarding, Gender, and Inclusion

               • Ensure safeguarding policies are fully integrated and operationalized in all UN-funded activities.
               • Promote gender-sensitive and inclusive programming, ensuring interventions meet the needs of marginalized groups, including women, children, and persons with disabilities.
               • Monitor implementation environments for risks to beneficiaries and staff and take appropriate actions where safeguarding issues arise.
               • Train field staff and partners on safeguarding and ensure compliance reporting pathways are well understood and functional.

                 Qualification and Requirement

                 Essential Criteria

                 • Advanced degree in Pharmacy (BPharm, PharmD, or equivalent); Master’s in Clinical Pharmacy, Public Health, or Pharmaceutical Management desirable.
                 • Minimum 5 years’ experience in pharmaceutical supply chain management in humanitarian or low-resource settings, with at least 2–3 years in a senior technical/managerial role.
                 • Demonstrated expertise in procurement planning, LMIS, quality assurance, and essential drug management.
                 • Strong knowledge of WHO prequalification standards, Good Distribution Practices (GDP), and Good Storage Practices (GSP), CE checks, G
                 • Familiarity with major donor requirements (ECHO, BHA, UNFPA, UNICEF, Global Fund).
                 • Excellent analytical, communication, and report-writing skills in English; Arabic is an asset.
                 • Demonstrated capacity in team leadership, coordination with multi-disciplinary teams, and remote supervision.
                 • Demonstrated ability to develop and implement pharmaceutical guidelines, SOPs, and training curricula.
                 • Strong analytical, communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement skills.
                 • Fluency in English (both spoken and written).

                   Desirable Criteria

                   • Previous experience working in Sudan or a comparable humanitarian operating environment
                   • Proficiency in Arabic.
                   • Familiarity with digital tools for Pharmaceutical management, remote monitoring, and data collection in insecure contexts.

                     RI Values

                     Relief International upholds the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence and affirms its commitment to engaging with the most vulnerable communities.

                     We value:

                     • Inclusiveness
                     • Transparency and accountability
                     • Agility and innovation
                     • Collaboration
                     • Sustainability