Pharmacy Technician at the International Rescue Committee (IRC)


The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Pharmacy Technician

Requisition ID: req31863
Location: Gwoza, Borno
Sector: Health
Employment Type: Full-Time
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Open to Expatriates: NO

Job Overview / Summary

  • The Global Supply Chain Department supports the organization’s work by providing reliable and scalable application development and Operations for the IRC’s offices in the US and around the world, in the aspect of procurement, assets, inventory, and management of the IRC’s GSC policies
  • Under the direct supervision of the Health Manager and indirectly Supply chain officer, with technical referent to Senior Pharmacy Manager, the pharmacy technician will be based in Gwoza and will be responsible for:
  • Overseeing, managing, and auditing medication inventory systems day-to-day pharma warehouse and facility distribution activities to ensure inventories are stocked to meet the needs of patient care while minimizing costs, outdated and to promote efficiency, manage high cost/low use inventory stocking processes to reduce cost and coordinate inventory across all sites of utilization.

Major Responsibilities
Policies, Procedures and Coordination:

  • Understand, implement and/or maintain standard IRC inventory management policies and procedures
  • Ensures that all pharmaceuticals purchased through Supply Chain must be received by Supply Chain in the warehouse in coordination with program staff before being delivered or collected by the requesting program
  • Ensures that all pharmaceuticals stored in the IRC warehouse must be released by authorized IRC personnel
  • Ensures that all cold chain items must be always kept under proper storage conditions and will therefore be prepared at the last minute just before dispatch
  • Ensures that quarantined products must be stored in a separate locked area which can be subdivided into different zones for the different kinds of quarantined products (which must be labeled accordingly)

Key Tasks:

  • Maintain the adequacy of storage conditions
  • Help with physical inventories
  • Help in order preparations and packing to the different health structures (packing, transport…)
  • Report discrepancies
  • Monitor security of IRC’s storage and supplies
  • Manage and document the receipt, handling, storage, release, and reporting of goods through the IRC warehouse(s).
  • Advise supervisor of potential inventory shortage.
  • Manage casual laborers in the warehouse.
  • Ensure the maintenance of warehouse building(s), fittings, and equipment.
  • Implement and ensure clear safety procedures.
  • Implement and ensure clear loading/unloading procedures, and correct stocking and turnover (FIFO) procedures.
  • Maintain the Warehouse activity book recording all outgoing and incoming receipts and activities.

Receipt and Storage of Goods:

  • Check the number of packages against the cargo manifest, check packaging and cases, and inform the Senior Pharma manager/SC Manager of any problems (missing or damaged goods, etc.).
  • Ensure quality inspection is done by the requesting sector both physically and in the system before posting the product receipt.
  • Give the cargo manifest, packing list / Waybill, and certificate of the items received to the Senior Pharma Manager, to centralize the filing of these documents.
  • Update the stock record cards and Bin cards regularly.
  • Ensure that all items are well organized and correctly stored, well protected, fully identified, and easily accessible (cleanliness, security, access, etc.).

Inventory Management & Preparation of Outgoing Items:

  • Carry out stock rotation by FIFO /FEFO to ensure no product expires on the stock or becomes obsolete.
  • Verify the picking list presented by the program before packing for distribution to field sites
  • Ensure goods, and equipment are signed for received on the request form (office expendables) or waybill (all other items).
  • Ensure that the shipping areas (by destination) are clearly identified; store goods on shelves or palettes (as necessary), in a clean, tidy, and easily accessible manner.
  • Pack (appropriately for the mode of transport chosen), weigh and label freight (destination, number of shipping units, waybill number, weight, and mode of transport), and assign a shipping number to each package, in accordance with the instructions of the Health Manager/Senior Pharma Manager or their delegation.
  • Update the WH register, and bin cards immediately after the stock has been moved to their inventory locations

Stock Management and Administration:

April 2024
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930