Vaccine Manufacturing Specialist – (Africa CDC)

Organization Information

Reports to: Local manufacturing Coordinator
Directorate/Department: Local Manufacturing of Health Commodities
Division: Vaccines and Biologicals Manufacturing
Number of Direct Reports: 0
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Job Grade: P4
Number of Positions: 1
Contract Type: Appointment for Limited Duration (ALD)

Purpose of Job

The Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) was established by the African Union in 2021, under the Africa Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) to deliver on the goal of enabling the Africa vaccine manufacturing industry to increase its capacity to meet local demand from its current level of 1% to 60% by 2040. In 2024, PAVM evolved into PHAHM (Platform for Harmonized African Health products Manufacturing) to include pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and other health products.

Africa CDC has developed a continental strategy to support vaccines and other health products manufacturing and identified eight enablers of manufacturing including R&D, Regulatory Strengthening, Technology Transfer, Work Force Development, Financing, and Market Shaping. Significant progress has been seen in the African vaccine manufacturing ecosystem over the past five years with more than 25 vaccine manufacturing projects ongoing on the continent.

Africa CDC is seeking to recruit a Vaccine Manufacturing Specialist to support in strengthening its support to the African vaccine manufacturers.

Main Functions

This job involves the following main functions that are generally applicable for this category:

• Provide strategic and technical leadership to support vaccine and biologics manufacturing ecosystem in Africa, including technology transfer, manufacturing readiness, regulatory alignment, commercialization, and market entry.
• Support African vaccine manufacturers across the vaccine product lifecycle, including product prioritization, technology transfer implementation, manufacturing scale-up, regulatory pathways, and operational readiness.
• Support implementation of Africa CDC/PHAHM initiatives related to vaccine manufacturing.
• Facilitate coordination and alignment among manufacturers, National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs), procurement agencies, partners, and Member States to accelerate product approval and access.
• Support development of strategic partnerships and commercialization pathways to strengthen the sustainability and competitiveness of African manufacturers.

Specific Responsibilities

• Conduct and/or coordinate manufacturing readiness assessments and gap analysis.
• Develop a roadmap to support vaccine manufacturers to reach commercialization.
• Provide technical and strategic support to manufacturers on vaccine manufacturing operations, regulatory preparedness, commercialization planning, and market entry pathways.
• Support product prioritization exercises considering public health priorities, manufacturing feasibility, technology platforms, market demand, procurement opportunities, and sustainability considerations.
• Engage and coordinate with NRAs, WHO, procurement agencies, manufacturers, donors, and partners to support accelerated access to locally manufactured vaccines and biologics.
• Support capacity-building initiatives, technical trainings, and ecosystem strengthening activities for African manufacturers and stakeholders.
  Coordinate development of technical reports, strategic documents, briefing notes, presentations, and implementation updates for senior leadership and stakeholders.
• Represent Africa CDC/PHAHM at regional and international technical meetings, conferences, and strategic engagements related to vaccine manufacturing.
• Contribute to resource mobilization, partnership development, and strategic initiatives supporting vaccine manufacturing in Africa.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Master’s degree in Pharmaceuticals, Biomedical Sciences, or related field, and 10 years of relevant experience across areas of vaccine manufacturing, vaccine market analysis, technology transfers, regulatory frameworks, or any other relevant topic

OR 

• Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceuticals, Biomedical Sciences, or related field, and 12 years of relevant experience across areas of vaccine manufacturing, vaccine market analysis, technology transfers, regulatory frameworks, or any other relevant topic

Required Skills

• Demonstrated experience in vaccine and/or biologics manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of vaccine manufacturing ecosystems, including manufacturing operations, regulatory systems, commercialization pathways, procurement mechanisms, and immunization programmes.
• Demonstrated experience working with National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs), regulatory submissions, market authorization pathways, and regulatory alignment processes.
• Experience in business development, commercial negotiations, licensing agreements, market analysis, or commercialization strategies within the vaccine or pharmaceutical sector.
• Strong understanding of vaccine technologies and/or manufacturing platforms.
• Experience conducting manufacturing readiness assessments, technical gap analyses, and implementation planning for vaccine manufacturing facilities.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multi-stakeholder partnerships involving manufacturers, governments, donors, procurement agencies, and international organizations.
• Strong technical writing, presentation, and communication skills for both technical and high-level audiences.
• Experience working in African vaccine manufacturing and public health environments is highly desirable.

Leadership Competencies

• Managing Risk
• Change Management
• Developing Others
• Strategic Insight

Core Competencies

• Building Relationship
• Fosters Accountability Culture
• Learning Orientation
• Communicating with Influence

Functional Competencies

• Conceptual Thinking
• Job Knowledge and Information Sharing
• Drive for Results
• Continuous Improvement Orientation

Footer

TENURE OF APPOINTMENT:

The Appointment will be for a period of Eleven (11) Months, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract may be renewed subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance, and agreed deliverables.

GENDER MAINSTREAMING:

Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

REMUNERATION:

The salary attached to the position for the eleven month period is US$  101,705.53  (P4 Step 5) inclusive of all allowances for internationally recruited staff, and US$ 85,128.97 inclusive of all allowances for locally recruited staff of the African Union..

Applications must be submitted no later than June 4, 2026 11h59 p.m. EAT.

-Only candidates who meet all job requirements and are selected for interviews will be contacted.

-Consideration will be given only to those candidates who have submitted a fully completed online application with a curriculum vitae (CV), an African passport, and the required academic qualifications, such as diplomas, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees and any relevant certificate in line with the area of expertise.

-Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

-Candidates from less represented countries within the African Union are strongly encouraged to apply for positions that fit their profiles.

These countries include: Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe., Seychelles, Somalia and Tunisia.