Technical Assistant – Cost Recovery Scheme Management

Background

The NMSA manages the procurement, warehousing, and distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for public health facilities in Sierra Leone. As part of its mandate, it operates a cost-recovery scheme to ensure the availability of essential medicines when Free Health Care (FHC) commodities are out of stock.

An internal audit (July 2024–June 2025) identified significant challenges: poor revenue collection (over 90% of sales uncollected), credit risk concentration, missing invoices, inconsistent pricing, and inadequate staffing with poor segregation of duties. To address these, NMSA seeks a Technical Assistant (TA) to streamline, strengthen, and institutionalize cost recovery operations.

Objective

To establish and operationalize a robust cost recovery scheme within NMSA, ensuring efficient sales, transparent documentation, effective credit control, standardized pricing, and sustainable revenue collection systems.

Scope of Work

A. System Design and Process Improvement

1. Review current cost recovery processes against audit findings to ensure compliance.
2. Develop and implement SOPs for sales, invoicing, receivables management, and reconciliation.
3. Establish a centralized documentation and filing system (physical and digital) for all cost recovery transactions.

B. Credit Control and Revenue Collection

1. Introduce credit assessment and approval procedures, including Know Your Customer (KYC) and credit limits.
2. Develop and enforce payment plans for existing debtors.
3. Propose collateral or guarantee mechanisms for high-value credit.
4. Establish receivables monitoring tools and reporting templates.

C. Pricing and Product Management

1. Develop a formal pricing policy that includes transparent approval processes and procedures.
2. Standardize price lists and conduct regular reviews to ensure they reflect current market conditions and procurement costs.
3. Integrate pricing controls into mSupply.

D. Organizational Structure and Staffing

1. Establish a dedicated Cost Recovery Unit with clear roles for sales, inventory control, mSupply administration, and customer service.
2. Define segregation of duties and oversight mechanisms.

E. Capacity Building

1. Train staff on SOPs, pricing policy, credit control, and documentation standards.
2. Provide coaching to Cost Recovery Unit members to manage day-to-day operations effectively.

F. Monitoring and Reporting

1. Develop KPIs for cost recovery performance (e.g., collection rate, days sales outstanding, invoice completeness).
2. Set up monthly reporting to NMSA management and partners.
3. Recommend periodic internal audits and quality assurance checks.

4. Deliverables

1. Inception Report & Workplan – priorities, methods, and timeline.
2. SOPs and Tools – for sales, invoicing, credit control, pricing, and documentation.
3. Pricing Policy and Standard Price List – approved and operational.
4. Debt Recovery Plan – with payment agreements for all significant outstanding debts.
5. Organizational Structure for the Cost Recovery Unit – with Staffing Plan.
6. Training & Capacity Building Report – materials, sessions held, participant feedback.
7. Final Report & Sustainability Plan – summary of improvements, KPI baseline, risk mitigation, and next steps.

5. Qualifications

1. Postgraduate degree in finance, supply chain, business administration, or related field.
2. At least 10 years of experience in public health commodity financing or cost recovery systems.
3. Proven track record in receivables management, credit control, and operational process design.
4. Experience in developing and implementing SOPs, pricing policies, and credit risk frameworks.
5. Familiarity with mSupply or other LMIS tools.

The consultant will be required to submit.

• Two-page (2) Technical proposal demonstrating how the task will be completed within the time frame
• Excel Financial proposal for the assigned task
• A comprehensive CV detailing experiences with explicit reference to similar Jobs done in the past
• Two referees are available for contact via phone and email.