Belgium: Operational Pharmacist (m/f)
Country: Belgium
Closing date: 14 Oct 2013
CONTEXT
The Medical Department frameworkThe role of the MED is to provide technical support and strategic guidance on medical issues to the Operation Department (OPS). This also implies open-mindedness to innovative approaches.The Medical Department (MED) is composed of polyvalent medical staff working in operational cells under the responsibility of the Operation Medical coordinator and composed of health advisors working in technical units under the responsibility of the Technical Strategic coordinator. The water, hygiene and sanitation unit (WHS) , the Operational Research Unit and the medical expatriates pool managers are integrated in the department.
The health advisors are covering the following fields: epidemiology, nutrition, pharmacy, vaccination, hospital management, hygiene, sterilization, nursing care, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, mental health, laboratory, medical logistics, operational research, WHS, sexual reproductive health, health promotion, medical anthropology, biomedical, surgery, anesthesiology, gynecology-obstetrics, emergency care and medical trainingThe pharmacy unit in OCBAccess to essential medicines is one of the major concerns for MSF Medical and Operational department. Through their expertise, pharmacists are responsible for the management of drugs, therapeutic foods and related medical devices in MSF missions/projects. The activities covered go from the sourcing of the product up to the dispensing practices, promoting standard WHO practices all along the life cycle a pharmaceutical product. In the HQ, the section pharmacist is delegated from the Medical Director to assure the quality of the medicines supplied and used by MSF projects and to support polyvalent medical staff, and other medical or logistic personnel on pharmaceutical issues. The section pharmacist is the focal point for all questions related to pharmaceuticals and is liaising with external organization on his domain.
JOB PROFILE
OBJECTIVES OF THE POST
The overall objective is to work in close cooperation with the Section Pharmacist and with the pharmacy management responsible in the implementation of pharmaceutical activities prioritized in the Strategic Plan for MSF’s pharmacist network, that are impacting on or allowing the monitoring of quality, availability, management and use of medicines.
The Operational pharmacist is the referent for dispensing and rational drug use, S /he is hierarchically accountable to the Medical Coordinator of Operations; S/he is the interlocutor with MSF Supply for technical issues linked to medical orders.
MAIN ACTIVITIES
To give a support to Medical Polyvalent and Mission in elaboration of needs for pharmaceuticals and order planning, processing and follow-up
? elaboration of Standard Medicines List per mission and rationalisation of existing ones? support in yearly quantifications (annual forecasting) of medicines needs according to consumptions and epidemiological data (medicines/medical supplies and equipment/medical kits/therapeutic food) per mission? gathering quantification of needs in pharmaceuticals and analyse key drug consumptions with MSF Supply and the technical referents? to be interlocutor with MSF Supply for technical issues linked to medical orders
To advise and to support capacity building of Medical polyvalent staff and other medical or logistic personnel in order to improve rational use of pharmaceuticals in OCB missions
? to support the planning and implementation of pharmaceutical activities in the field (Pharma Logframe)
? to promote and diffuse in the Ops. dpt. knowledge on pharmaceutical care and Rational Drug Use
? to advise polyvalent medical staff, and other medical or logistic personnel on technical pharmaceutical issues
? to strengthen adequate access to information on drugs and their use
To coach fields staff according to the priorities established from the technical referents and the Cells
? to coach field pharmacist position when needed
? to provide punctual coaching for improvement of certain pharmaceuticals activities in the field
? to brief/debrief pharmacists going to the field
? to participate in the development of new trainings and briefing tools and to participate as a trainer in courses both at local/regional and intersectional level
? to monitor and support implementation of pharmaceutical activities (Pharmacy Log frame)
To increase accountability of MSF towards pharmaceuticals
? to capitalise cold chain breakdowns in the field
? to be the focal point for data collection on use of pharmaceuticals for critical analysis, for identifying problems and addressing solutions, in collaboration with the Section Pharmacist and Pharmacy Management focal point
? to strengthen data collection and use for advocacy within MSF on relevance of pharmaceutical topics and as concrete input into MSF’s technical working groups
? to capitalise/maintain an overview over pharmaceutical aspects and particularities of the OCB missions (Country Pharmacy Profiles)
To support teams in the field and ensure that procured drugs are properly used in the field
? to provide technical support on pharmaceutical issues (drug use & interactions, side effects, drug substitution, adherence to technical specifications..)
? to promote the rational use of drugs (standard drug lists, analysis of prescriptions, analysis of consumption and link to rational use of drugs, matching consumptions with Medical and Operations policy: coherence and compatibility..) content of good pharmaceutical practices to include better the last part in the supply chain: dispensing and other aspects of pharmaceutical clinical practice and patient care
? promote pharmaco vigilance
? referent for extemporaneous formulations
? to ensure proper technical advice on the use of affected items in case of cold chain breakdown (Dr. Cold Chain)
CANDIDATE PROFILE
• Degree in Pharmacy (or equivalent diploma according to the country of origin of the pharmacist)
• Experience in medicines management and use
• Pharmacist with field experience in developing countries (MSF experience is an asset)
• Fluency in English and French
• Good communication skills, notably the capacity to act as an adviser and a trainer
• Willingness to visit and support projects at a short notice
CONDITIONS
• Determined contract (replacement maternity leave), full time, based in Brussels
• Hospital Insurance (DKV) - Pension plan - Canteen - reimbursement for public transportation costs
• Available to start from December 16th, 2013 until May 15th,
How to apply:
CV + motivation letter to be sent before October 15, 2013 to Caroline Maes, 94 Rue Dupré, 1090 Brussels or to caroline.maes@brussels.msf.org - with ref "pharma reliefweb"
