SUPPLY CHAIN REFERENT – E CELL

Médecins Sans Frontières, founded in 1971, is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from health care. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of medical professionals, logistics, administrative and various other professions, all guided by our medical ethics and our principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.

MSF WaCA, created in 2019, is the first MSF headquarters in Africa, and responds to the desire to reinvent the MSF movement after 50 years of humanitarian actions in the world, for more access to care, more reactivity and proactivity for greater medical coverage of affected populations in the world.

Why join us?

You are preparing to become a member of the MSF family, with over 50 years of emergency medical action that earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

We are an inclusive organization that considers social and professional well-being a right for all and provides an environment that considers the diversity of each member.

MSF WaCA claims an African anchorage that considers the local expertise with which it contributes to the implementation of its activities and makes each member, a key actor of the new dynamics of the humanitarian action in the world.

We Are Looking for: SUPPLY CHAIN REFERENT – E CELL

Department: Operations

Direct Manager: Emergency cell Program Manager

Functional Manager: Head of Supply Chain

Working %: 100%

Position Based in: Abidjan, HQ

Mobility: All WaCA’s Interventions Zones

Type of Contract: Fixed-Term Contract under Ivorian law; Renewable

Position to be filled: As Soon As Possible

Mission

The Emergency Cell Supply Chain Referent is a key player in the preparation, response and follow-up of MSF WaCA's emergency interventions. Positioned at the junction of operations and supply chain, he/she designs and oversees supply chain strategies tailored to emergency contexts (epidemics, conflicts, natural disasters, population displacements, etc.).

He/she acts as the guarantor of supply chain performance, responsiveness and compliance in unstable and rapidly evolving environments. The referent strengthens the operational integration of the emergency supply chain with other pillars (operations, medical, logistics, finance, HR), while ensuring smooth coordination between field missions, headquarters departments and internal/external partners.

He/she ensures stakeholder satisfaction by implementing service-oriented practices.

Objectives

The objective of the Emergency Cell Supply Chain Referent is to provide strategic, technical and operational support to the emergency cell and to missions responding to crisis situations. This includes the development, coordination and implementation of emergency-specific supply chain strategies, in alignment with the organization’s overall medical-operational and supply chain vision. The Referent acts as the main supply chain focal point within the Emergency Cell, ensuring the quality, efficiency and compliance of supply chain activities in humanitarian responses. This role also contributes to strengthening the capacities of supply chain teams and supporting the professionalization of emergency response.

Main responsibilities

Strategic Support and Emergency Coordination

·       Contribute to the definition of intervention strategies with Emergency Cell. This includes participating in the development and revision of project annual plans and budgets, by advising field and operations teams on how to translate identified supply needs into mission objectives, priorities and required resources.

·       Translate operational needs into supply chain schemes (flows, sourcing, warehousing, reverse logistics, etc.).

·       Ensure the development of supply chain timelines adapted to emergency interventions.

·       Identify supply chain risks related to the context and propose mitigation strategies.

·       Proactively propose prepositioning mechanisms such as EPREP stocks and contingency stock strategies.

·       Represent the Supply Chain department as well as the Emergency Cell in internal and external discussions, in order to share information, lessons learned, and best practices, and to actively collaborate at the intersectional level on global supply chain issues, particularly those concerning MSF WaCA.

·       Collaborate with missions and the Operations Department to support the development and oversight of mission supply chain guidelines, including supply chain strategies, service level agreements, warehousing strategies, procurement strategies, and more. Identify gaps or weaknesses in project proposals and highlight potential risks.

·       Ensure the management and monitoring of the Emergency Stock in coordination with the relevant teams (logistics, medical, supply chain, operations) and ensure its alignment with operational needs. This includes regular analysis of the relevance, composition and responsiveness of the emergency stock to guarantee a timely and appropriate response in case of crisis.

Technical support to missions and interventions

·       Support field teams in the development and implementation of emergency supply chain strategies.

·       Participate in or lead exploratory, start-up, or supply chain reorganization missions.

·       Provide technical advice on procedures, tools, planning, sourcing, warehousing and stock management, transport, importation, and distribution.

·       Collaborate with other supply chain colleagues at headquarters to ensure alignment with each mission’s supply chain plans.

·       Contribute to supply chain feasibility analyses for the opening of new missions.

·       Provide functional and technical supervision of the Supply Chain teams in the missions under their responsibility. This includes supporting, advising and guiding field supply chain managers in the implementation of strategies, procedures, and best practices, while ensuring operational consistency.

Operations monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement

·       Set up mechanisms to monitor supply chain performance.

·       Analyze supply chain data and provide recommendations as well as follow-up on their implementation.

·       Conduct field visits as needed to support missions, provide recommendations and ensure regular follow-up to promote continuous and progressive improvement.

·       Draft post-intervention analysis and capitalization reports based on collected information.

·       Propose adjustments to tools, procedures, and reference documents.

·       Be responsible for the follow-up of the Supply Chain emergency pool, including its organization, planning definition and adjustment based on operational priorities, as well as monitoring member engagement. Act as the functional manager of the pool when members are not deployed, by facilitating team coordination, skill development and activity planning.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration and Synergies

·       Work closely with the Medical Department, including Pharmacy, as well as Logistics, Finance, and HR departments.

·       Support the definition of emergency supply chain budget priorities & ensure the follow-up of their team..

·       Act as the main supply chain focal point for mission teams & escalate needs to the relevant departments.

·     Ensure the harmonization of emergency supply chain practices with internal policies.

Education

·       Academic degree in business management, international logistics, supply chain management or related field

Competencies

·       Autonomy, professional rigor and ability to manage his stress

·       Excellent strategic vision and analytical thinking

·       Excellent command of supply chain processes: planning, procurement, transport, warehousing, stock management and distribution

·       Proven Team Leadership skills and ability to work as part of a team

·       Proven ability to results and solutions oriented

·       Excellent experience in capacity building, facilitation, and training

·       Excellent ability on teamwork, collaboration and communicate efficiently with others

·       Strong organizational skills, flexibility and cultural awareness

·       Ability to manage significant workload and delegate some tasks

·       Experience in managing supply chain operations in emergency contexts

Soft Skills

·       Leadership, ability to influence and strong synthesis skills

·       Creative thinking abilities

·       Organizational skills, rigor and proactivity

·       Stress resistance and high flexibility

·       Strong sense of initiative and strategic analysis skills

·       Service-oriented mindset & solution-driven approach • Team spirit

Professional experience required

·       Minimum of 2 years of professional demonstrated experience in Supply Chain Management emergency situation in humanitarian supply chain

·       An experience in opening a humanitarian mission is an asset.

Languages Skills

·       Working proficiency in English and French (Expert knowledge)

Computer Skills

·       Proficiency and excellent knowledge in computers and Microsoft office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, …)

·       Knowledge on Supply information systems is considered as an asset

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MSF offers equal recruitment and development opportunities without any form of discrimination based on gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geographical origin, physical disability or any other discriminatory ground.

Female candidates who meet the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

N.B.: This job description provides a framework for the main responsibilities and primary activities of the position. It is not exhaustive. Therefore, the responsibilities and activities of the position may differ from those described in this job description due to organizational and operational needs.

Deadline: 02nd September 2025 18:00 GMT
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be shortlisted on a regular basis and we may offer the positions before the closing date.