Distribution & Transportation Manager

ABOUT VILLAGEREACH 

VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone. We are driven by a vision of a world where each person has the health care needed to thrive. VillageReach’s goal is to reduce inequities in access to quality primary health care for 350 million people by 2030. We work with governments, the private sector, partners and communities to build responsive primary health care systems that deliver health products, information and services to the most under-reached. As a locally driven and globally connected organization, VillageReach has offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and the United States.   

SUMMARY

The Distribution and Transportation Manager will provide strategic technical leadership and oversight for all technical assistance related to distribution and transportation for health commodities under the USAID KIPS activity. Under VillageReach, this position with report to the Senior Director of Global Programs for overall accountability, but within the consortium, this person will report to the Supply Chain Director for day-to-day execution of the work and may support or supervise other staff or consultant work performance and output. They will work closely with the Department of Health Products & Technologies (DHPT), Department of Digital Health, Informatics, Policy and Research, Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS) and Imperial Managed Solutions (IMS) and other relevant departments of the Ministry of Health.  

Role Description 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned at any time. 

Technical Assistance (100%) 

• Lead or support engagement of key stakeholders and partners in the design, implementation and adaptation of solutions and innovations related to health commodity distribution and transportation and related route planning, strategy and optimization. 

• Support the integration of distribution and transportation solutions, innovations and measurement across health programs and product streams. 

• Support and build capacity of supply chain technical staff and consultants in distribution and transportation best practices deployed for the activity's implementation.  

• Work with the Ministry of Health virtual academy to develop online modules for distribution and transportation.   

• Lead activity-based costing of the distribution and transportation systems in the Kenyan health supply chain space. 

• Work with the Supply Chain Information Systems Manager and Workforce Development Manager to develop the distribution and transportation modules of the Supply Chain Information Systems (SCIS) and Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) maturity models respectively.  

• Work with the Warehousing and Inventory Manager to streamline quantification and supply planning bottlenecks in the last mile supply chain segment. 

• Work with the Regional Integration Manager to identify and address demand-side barriers through innovative, context-appropriate solutions to enhance commodity availability and patient access. 

• Represent the activity and its distribution and transportation work in stakeholder/partner engagements and coordination forums. 

Competencies:

VillageReach has ten (10) Organizational Competencies that describe how we work together and get things done they are grouped into three strategic areas: Achieving Great Results, Setting Direction and, Bringing Others With you. For a full description, please download our Organizational Competency document.

Achieving Great Results:

1.      Risk Taking and Innovation

·        Key Behaviors: Comfort with ambiguity, curiosity, adaptability, unconstrained and undeterred creativity, resourcefulness.

2.      Business Judgement

·        Key Behaviors: Getting to root causes, understanding environment, navigating complexity and ambiguity, entrepreneurial energy.

3.      Building Strong Teams

·       Key Behaviors: Trust in Subject Matter Experts (SME’s); radical candor to resolve conflict, hold each other accountable as colleagues, focused on results, commitment to mission.

Setting Direction:

4.      Compelling Communication

·        Key Behaviors: Clear and evidence-based communication, audience adaptability, curious listener. 

5.      Resilient Self Leadership

·        Key Behaviors: Self-aware, plan how one shows up, emotionally intelligent, use one’s own agency and takes accountability.

6.      Stewardship and Personal Alignment

·        Key Behaviors: Take ownership, display ethical conduct, effective at resource management, alignment of personal objectives with organizational goals and mission, focus on continuous improvement and sustainability.

Bringing Others with You:

7.      Influencing Leadership

·        Key Behaviors: Cultivate trust, influences to make change, navigate the matrix structure.

8.      Radical Partnership

·        Key Behaviors: Share information and credit, address conflict, increase impact through collaboration, political and contextual awareness.

9.      Cultivates a Growth Mindset

·        Key Behaviors: Seek out diverse input, demonstrate flexibility in thinking and curiosity, embrace challenges, demonstrate persistence, seek learning opportunities.

10.   Cultural Intelligence and Inclusion

·        Key Behaviors: Continuous learning and ally-ship across cultural lines, challenge prejudice and bias, modeled in one’s own behavior.

Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Supervisory Responsibilities:  

This position may or may not have supervisory responsibilities.   

Education & Experience:  

• Bachelor’s or graduate degree or equivalent in pharmacy, supply chain management, public health, business or related field. 

• Minimum 9 years’ work experience working in health supply chains within public or private sector. 

• Demonstrated leadership qualities, depth and breadth of technical, management expertise for complex programs. 

• Demonstrated experience interacting with health supply chain agencies in Kenya such as Kenya Medical Supplies Agency, Directorate of Health Products & Technologies, Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies and others. 

• Excellent planning and prioritization skills as well as creative problem-solving and analytical skills; 

• Experience working within Kenya's health supply chain distribution and transportation private sector will be an added advantage. 

• Knowledge and experience in developing content for online/virtual learning.  

• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of supply chain systems and data flow at the community level (last mile). 

Other Qualifications: 

• Established cultural competency in partnering with racial, cultural and linguistically diverse groups. 

• Demonstrated understanding of challenges with working in rural, underserved and low-income context; experience living in and/or working in a low-income country a plus. 

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable in a fast-paced technical environment. 

• Fluency in English and Swahili with professional proficiency in writing and speaking.  

• Collaboration skills to develop and manage relationships with clients (TA providers) and key stakeholders. 

Environment and Physical Demands: 

The Distribution and Transportation Manager would be based in Nairobi in the KIPS project office. These may have no private offices, employees work in a shared, open environment with task and conference rooms accessible to employees for privacy and meetings. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. The staff member will be expected to be in the project office during normal office hours, except when traveling.   

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: 

VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most under-reached and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce. 

APPLICATION INFORMATION:  

This is an immediate hire and therefore resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 21st November 2024. To apply, please submit your resume and a cover letter to our online portal: http://www.villagereach.org/join-us/.  In your cover letter, please address (1) Why you are interested in this position, (2) What is one reason you think you’d be a good fit for this position and, (3) What is one strength you would bring to this position? 

Hiring Process: 

The hiring process will include the following steps: 

1. Review submitted applications 
2. Conduct 20-30 minute screening interviews for shortlisted candidates 
3. Conduct skills and value-based interviews for 3-5 candidates. 
4. Request that top candidates submit a practical assessment (designed to take no more than two hours to complete). Sometimes the assignment will occur before the interview. 
5. Conduct final interview if necessary  
6. Request references  
7. Make offer   
8. Conduct background check 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, but candidates who proceed to step 2 will be notified if they are not chosen for step 3. 

Safeguarding: 

VillageReach is committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults, and beneficiaries with whom it engages. We expect everyone working with us to share this commitment through our code of conduct. All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which may include criminal records. VillageReach participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, in line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures. 

Benefits

Compensation & Benefits: 

VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. The range for this position is $55,300 to $73,700. We hire people into the established range based on one’s experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history. Please refer to our compensation overview on our website for more information and for more information on employee benefits.