Senior/Special Advisor

Senior/Special AdvisorPharmaceutical Industry Development and CommercializationOrganizationArmauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI)SectorPharmaceutical Industry Development SectorReporting lineDirector General (executive oversight) and Deputy Director General for Pharmaceutical Industry Development (day-to-day technical supervision)Duty stationAHRI, Addis Ababa, with field and on-site assignments at partner, manufacturer, and innovator facilities as requiredEmployment termOne-year fixed-term contract, renewable subject to satisfactory performance, funding availability, and institutional needNumber requiredOne (1)Gross monthly salaryETB 99,215.00BenefitsNo additional allowance or benefit packageWork allocationPharmaceutical manufacturing industry development related advisory work and project-based banana-fiber sanitary-pad scale-up supportAbout AHRIThe Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), established in 1970 and re-established under Council of Ministers Regulation No. 530/2023, is a federal biomedical and health research institute under the Ministry of Health. AHRI conducts biomedical and clinical research, develops national research capacity, advances bioequivalence and bioavailability services, and supports the development and local production of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, diagnostics, medical devices, and other health technologies.Purpose of the PositionThe Senior/Special Advisor will provide high-level strategic, technical, and implementation advice to AHRI's Director General and the Deputy Director General for Pharmaceutical Industry Development. The incumbent will help translate policy and research priorities into investable, regulatory-compliant, market-oriented programs that strengthen Ethiopia's pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem and improve access to quality-assured health products.Role character: This is a senior integrator role. The incumbent defines requirements, mobilizes and supervises appropriate experts, connects scientific and regulatory work with business realities, and remains accountable for agreed advisory outputs.Major Duties and Responsibilities

Workstream I - Pharmaceutical Industry Development and Strategic Advisory (approximately 75%)

A. Strategy, Policy and Executive Advisory

1. Advise the Director General and Deputy Director General on pharmaceutical-industry strategy, policy implementation, institutional priorities, investment decisions, and emerging technical or market risks.
2. Translate national policies, AHRI mandates, and sector priorities into practical roadmaps, annual workplans, implementation frameworks, and decision briefs with clear milestones, responsibilities, budgets, and performance indicators.
3. Undertake sector diagnostics and gap analyses covering products, technologies, infrastructure, workforce, regulation, finance, supply chains, and market access; recommend feasible corrective actions.
4. Prepare or quality-assure concept notes, feasibility studies, investment proposals, cabinet or executive briefs, technical specifications, terms of reference, partnership instruments, and other high-level documents.
5. Provide timely, evidence-informed advice on cross-cutting matters assigned by the DG or DDG and represent AHRI in senior technical forums when delegated.

B. Manufacturing, APIs, Excipients and Technology Transfer

1. Guide the prioritization, feasibility assessment, and phased development of locally manufactured active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), pharmaceutical-grade excipients, and other strategic inputs, including locally sourced starch-based excipient candidates.
2. Advise on product and technology selection using public-health need, market demand, import dependence, technical feasibility, regulatory pathway, investment requirement, environmental impact, and regional export potential.
3. Support the design and implementation of laboratory-to-pilot-to-commercial scale-up pathways, including process selection, equipment specifications, facility layout, utilities, material flow, validation, commissioning, and technology-transfer plans.
4. Review and guide manufacturing processes, standard operating procedures, process controls, specifications, validation packages, and quality-by-design approaches for reliable and cost-effective production.
5. Facilitate technology licensing, joint ventures, public-private partnerships, contract manufacturing, and collaboration with domestic and international technology holders, manufacturers, universities, investors, and development partners.
6. Advise on local raw-material and supplier development, qualification of critical inputs, supply-chain resilience, cost optimization, lean manufacturing, waste reduction, and environmentally responsible production.

C. GMP, Quality Systems and Regulatory Readiness

1. Provide technical guidance on current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), pharmaceutical quality systems, risk management, data integrity, qualification, validation, documentation, and inspection readiness.
2. Support manufacturers and AHRI programs to identify compliance gaps, develop prioritized remediation plans, and coordinate appropriate technical assistance in collaboration with relevant regulators and partners.
3. Promote alignment with applicable Ethiopian requirements and recognized international standards and good practices, while ensuring that regulatory responsibilities remain with the legally mandated authorities.
4. Guide the preparation and quality review of technical dossiers, development reports, product specifications, stability strategies, and evidence packages required for product development, registration, and commercialization.

D. Drug Discovery, Product Development and BE/BA

1. Advise on building an integrated drug-discovery and product-development pipeline, including candidate prioritization, formulation development, preclinical translation, analytical development, clinical interfaces, intellectual-property considerations, and commercialization pathways.
2. Support the strategic and operational strengthening of AHRI's bioequivalence/bioavailability (BE/BA) Centre and future contract research organization functions, including service portfolio design, quality systems, regulatory readiness, partnerships, market positioning, and sustainability.
3. Facilitate linkages among research groups, manufacturers, regulators, procurement agencies, universities, clinical and bioanalytical teams, and technology partners so that promising research outputs can progress toward usable products.

E. Market Development, Import Substitution and Export

1. Generate and interpret market intelligence on demand, imports, domestic capacity, price competitiveness, procurement trends, supply risks, and regional opportunities to guide investment and product-selection decisions.
2. Develop evidence-based import-substitution and export-development strategies, including product prioritization, market-entry requirements, competitiveness analysis, and phased implementation options.
3. Advise on market access, uptake of quality-assured locally manufactured products, institutional purchasing opportunities, investor engagement, business models, incentives, and financing options.
4. Prepare investment-ready business cases and financial analyses, including capital and operating-cost estimates, unit economics, cash-flow requirements, break-even analysis, and sensitivity or risk scenarios, in collaboration with relevant specialists.

F. Program Leadership, Partnerships and Capacity Building

1. Build and maintain effective working relationships with government institutions, manufacturers, professional associations, investors, academia, development partners, technology providers, and other stakeholders.
2. Design performance dashboards and monitoring frameworks; track milestones, dependencies, budgets, risks, and corrective actions; and submit concise monthly, quarterly, and ad hoc reports to AHRI leadership.
3. Mentor AHRI staff and counterparts, organize targeted training and knowledge-transfer activities, and develop reusable tools, templates, and guidance documents that strengthen institutional capability.
4. Identify resource-mobilization opportunities and support technically sound proposals, partnership negotiations, and implementation arrangements.

Workstream II - Banana-Fiber Disposable Sanitary Pad Scale-Up (approximately 25%)

As a dedicated secondary assignment under the GCE-AHRI/SHINE initiative, the Advisor will support the transition of a locally developed banana/enset-fiber disposable sanitary pad from performance evaluation toward regulatory readiness, scalable production, and market commercialization. The Advisor will coordinate closely with AHRI, the innovator, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), and other approved partners.

1. Technical and facility assessment: Assess the innovator's current facility, equipment, staff capability, process maturity, retrofitting potential, utilities, material flow, and critical scale-up gaps.
2. Machinery and production planning: Develop or review equipment specifications, vendor options, procurement and commissioning roadmaps, line layout, preventive-maintenance requirements, and cost-benefit comparisons for new, refurbished, imported, or locally assembled solutions.
3. Process scale-up and raw materials: Convert the validated formulation and process into reproducible commercial-scale SOPs; define specifications and acceptance criteria for banana/enset fiber and auxiliary materials; and support supplier qualification and process optimization.
4. Quality, testing and regulatory support: Establish a practical quality-control framework; guide product testing, stability and safety evidence, regulatory-dossier preparation, certification, labeling, instructions for use, and substantiation of environmental claims.
5. Commercialization and finance: Support an investor-ready business plan, detailed project report, capacity and cost model, unit economics, cash-flow and break-even analysis, financing options, market segmentation, pricing, distribution, branding, and phased go-to-market strategy.
6. Coordination and sustainability: Serve as the technical bridge among AHRI, EDI, the innovator, specialist vendors, testing laboratories, and other stakeholders; support milestone reviews, risk resolution, knowledge transfer, staff training, and an exit or handover plan.

Indicative First-Year Deliverables

1. First 90-day diagnostic and advisory plan: A prioritized assessment of the pharmaceutical-industry portfolio, key risks, quick wins, stakeholder map, and sequenced advisory workplan agreed with the DG and DDG.
2. Pharmaceutical manufacturing industry development related advisory package: High-quality strategy and policy briefs, feasibility or investment notes, product-prioritization analyses, and practical GMP/QMS, BE/BA, technology-transfer, market-development, import-substitution, or export-readiness plans for agreed priorities.
3. Sanitary-pad scale-up package: A facility and process assessment, machinery/procurement roadmap, quality and regulatory pathway, commercial and financial plan, phased implementation schedule, and knowledge-transfer approach developed with the responsible parties.
4. Reporting and institutionalization: Concise monthly updates, quarterly executive reports, documented tools and templates, staff mentoring, and an end-of-year results and recommendations report.