Vaccine Supply Chain Specialist — Key Responsibilities & Required Skills

🎯 Role Definition

The Vaccine Supply Chain Specialist is responsible for planning, executing, monitoring and continuously improving vaccine procurement, cold chain management, inventory control, and distribution operations to ensure vaccines are available, potent and delivered on-time to immunization points of care. This role partners with immunization program leads, logistics service providers, manufacturers, regulatory bodies and donors to reduce stockouts and wastage while meeting regulatory and donor compliance requirements.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Logistics Coordinator in public health or pharmaceutical distribution
Supply Chain Analyst supporting immunization programs
Cold Chain Technician or Warehouse Supervisor

Advancement To:

Senior Vaccine Supply Chain Manager
Head of Immunization Logistics / Supply Chain Director
Global Vaccine Distribution Manager / Head of Cold Chain

Lateral Moves:

Public Health Program Manager (Immunization)
Pharmaceutical Logistics Consultant
Cold Chain Implementation Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, implement and maintain end-to-end vaccine forecasting and quantification processes using historical consumption, population targets, buffer stock policy and expected campaign schedules to produce accurate quarterly and annual vaccine requirements for procurement and distribution planning.
Develop and manage vaccine procurement plans and supplier relationships, including coordinating tendering, purchase orders, contract compliance and lead times with manufacturers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to secure timely vaccine supply.
Oversee cold chain integrity across storage, handling and transport by establishing temperature control protocols, qualifying cold chain equipment (CCEs), validating refrigerated/freezer storage, and managing temperature monitoring systems and data loggers to prevent potency loss.
Coordinate vaccine distribution planning and routing for national and subnational deliveries, optimizing transportation modes (air, sea, road) and delivery schedules to ensure on-time delivery while minimizing cost and risk of temperature excursions.
Manage vaccine inventory across central warehouses, regional hubs and health facilities by implementing and maintaining inventory control systems (WMS, SAP/ERP), setting reorder points, safety stock levels and managing first-expire-first-out (FEFO) practices.
Lead investigations and corrective actions for vaccine temperature excursions, cold chain breaches and product damage, including root cause analysis, quarantine procedures, reporting to regulatory authorities and updating SOPs to prevent recurrence.
Monitor vaccine stock status and program performance via KPIs and dashboards (stockouts, days of stock, wastage rates, coverage vs. allocation) and prepare weekly and monthly reports for program managers, donors and regulatory stakeholders.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce vaccine wastage and stockouts by implementing targeted interventions such as redistribution, buffer stock optimization, VVM (vaccine vial monitor) training, and microplanning support for immunization campaigns.
Ensure compliance with national and international regulations and guidance including WHO Good Distribution Practices (GDP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) where applicable, local import/export regulations, cold chain standards and donor funding conditions.
Lead cross-functional coordination for vaccine introductions and campaigns, interfacing with immunization program teams, cold chain engineers, monitoring & evaluation, procurement and finance to ensure synchronized planning and resource allocation.
Provide technical guidance and capacity building to health facility staff and logistics partners on vaccine handling, storage, temperature monitoring, stock management and reporting through training programs and on-site mentoring.
Coordinate logistics for emergency vaccine deployments, including rapid needs assessment, expedited procurement and distribution planning for outbreak response or supplemental immunization activities (SIAs).
Manage customs clearance, importation and regulatory documentation for international vaccine shipments, ensuring appropriate licenses, cold chain documentation and coordinated handoffs with national regulatory authorities.
Implement and maintain vaccine traceability and serialization practices when required, working with regulatory authorities and suppliers to support product tracking and recall readiness.
Support digital transformation of vaccine supply chains by implementing or improving systems such as electronic Logistics Management Information Systems (eLMIS), warehouse management systems, handheld data collectors and GIS-enabled route planning.
Prepare and manage budgets and resource plans for vaccine logistics operations, tracking costs by activity (storage, transport, cold chain maintenance) and reporting expenditures against donor grants and national budgets.
Lead vendor and 3PL performance management including establishing SLAs, KPI monitoring, contract performance reviews and corrective action plans to improve service quality and compliance.
Conduct supply chain risk assessments and contingency planning, identifying vulnerabilities (single-source suppliers, cold chain gaps, transport bottlenecks) and developing mitigation strategies including alternative sourcing and surge capacity arrangements.
Design and deliver supply chain modelling and scenario analysis to support decision-making for vaccine introduction, scale-up, or transition between suppliers, taking into account lead times, cold chain constraints and budget implications.
Engage with stakeholders (Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, donors, manufacturers, transporters) to align supply chain strategy, support joint planning, secure funding and communicate supply status and risks in a timely manner.
Maintain accurate and auditable records for vaccine receipt, storage, distribution and disposal to satisfy regulatory inspections, donor audits and pharmacovigilance requirements.
Support pharmacovigilance coordination for vaccine-related product quality incidents and collaborate on product recall logistics and public health messaging as required.
Lead or contribute to procurement and supply chain assessments, baseline studies and implementation research to identify barriers and recommend evidence-based improvements to vaccine distribution systems.
Champion sustainability and cold chain energy-efficiency programs, including implementation of solar-powered refrigerators, temperature-controlled packing improvements and lifecycle planning for cold chain equipment.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Provide subject-matter-expert input to grant proposals, donor reports and program evaluations focusing on logistics feasibility and costed implementation plans.
Support IT teams during eLMIS/WMS deployments with user acceptance testing, data migration and training content development.
Represent the supply chain team at technical working groups, inter-agency coordination meetings and national immunization task forces.
Mentor junior supply chain staff and interns, providing career development feedback and coaching on logistics best practices.
Contribute to SOP development and standardization for vaccine handling across multi-site operations.
Facilitate periodic cold chain equipment inventories, maintenance scheduling and spare parts planning.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Vaccine forecasting and quantification using consumption-based models, target population calculations and campaign planning methodologies.
Cold chain management and temperature-controlled logistics, including experience with data loggers, temperature monitoring platforms and excursion response protocols.
Inventory management and warehouse operations expertise (WMS, SAP MM, Oracle SCM or similar), including FEFO/ FIFO, cycle counts and stock reconciliation.
Experience with eLMIS, LMIS reporting tools or national logistics management information systems used for immunization supply chains.
Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel (advanced formulas, pivot tables, Power Query) and experience building dashboards in Power BI, Tableau or similar BI tools.
Familiarity with procurement processes, tender management, supplier contracting and international procurement (INCOTERMS, lead times, customs documentation).
Knowledge of regulatory frameworks and standards (WHO GDP, GMP, national drug authority requirements, cold chain policy).
Logistics planning and route optimization including experience with transport management systems (TMS) and GIS-enabled planning tools.
Data analysis and performance monitoring skills for KPI development, report generation and interpretation of stock and coverage metrics.
Experience managing third-party logistics providers (3PLs), SLAs, KPI-based performance management and logistics contracting.
Basic understanding of vaccine product characteristics (storage temperatures, shelf-life, reconstitution, VVM interpretation).
Project management skills with experience running cross-functional change projects, using Agile or waterfall methodologies.
Experience in emergency logistics and rapid deployment for outbreak response or surge immunization campaigns.
Familiarity with cold chain equipment qualification, maintenance protocols and energy-efficient solutions (solar refrigerators, passive cold boxes).
Experience with quality management systems, audit readiness and handling non-conformances related to temperature excursions or product integrity.

Soft Skills

Strong stakeholder management and diplomacy—able to coordinate across government, donors, NGOs and private suppliers.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for reporting to technical and non-technical audiences.
Analytical problem-solving mindset with a focus on practical, data-driven solutions.
Attention to detail and strong organizational skills to manage complex logistics operations and documentation.
Adaptability and resilience in high-pressure environments such as campaign rollouts or emergency responses.
Team leadership and mentorship capability to build capacity within supply chain teams.
Cultural sensitivity and ability to work effectively in diverse geographic and resource-constrained settings.
Time management and prioritization skills to balance routine operations with urgent escalations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Public Health, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Management, Life Sciences, Engineering, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Public Health (MPH), Supply Chain Management, Logistics & Transport, MBA or similar advanced degree with specialization in healthcare or systems management.
Professional certification (APICS/CPIM, CSCP, PMP, WHO vaccine logistics certificate, GCLP/GDP training certificates).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management / Logistics
Public Health / Epidemiology
Pharmacy / Pharmaceutical Sciences
Industrial Engineering / Operations Research
Business Administration / Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8+ years of progressive supply chain experience, with at least 2 years focused on vaccine, cold chain or pharmaceutical product handling.

Preferred:

5+ years in vaccine or pharmaceutical supply chain roles supporting immunization programs, ministries of health, UNICEF/WHO/donor-funded projects or commercial vaccine distributors.
Demonstrated experience with national immunization programs, campaign logistics, or international vaccine procurement and distribution.
Practical experience implementing or supporting eLMIS/WMS deployments, cold chain equipment rollouts and logistics performance improvement initiatives.