Veterinary Pharmaceutical Logistics Consultancy
Document Purpose
This document provides a Terms of Reference to outline the requirements for an individual consultant or consultancy team to undertake a global review of pharmaceutical and medical supply systems across SPANA's network of senior partners and the expertise required to carry out this assessment from planning to result presentation.
1. Background
SPANA UK is a global charity dedicated to the welfare of working animals, operating through partnerships with organisations around the world. These partnerships are long-term collaborations, many of which are linked to the delivery of veterinary services, including the procurement and provision of medication and other pharmaceutical supplies. In line with clinical governance principles SPANA UK is now undertaking a strategic learning-focused review of the supply, storage, usage and record keeping of pharmaceutical and medical
supplies across its global network of senior partners to understand existing strengths, innovations and challenges within current practices, and to inform the continued development of globally aligned, locally applicable standards within SPANA’s Quality Framework for pharmaceutical management. In line with our ‘do no harm’ principles we ensure the most effective contribution to continued improvement in the health and welfare of working animals, whilst mitigating against human and environmental negative impacts.
We are seeking an experienced consultant(s) to support our animal health and welfare team with this comprehensive review. We expect the review to identify key strengths, gaps, challenges, and priority opportunities for strengthening current systems. This review will
focus on activities undertaken in our core senior partner countries of Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Mali, Morocco and Mauritania but it is expected that recommendations made will be incorporated into all our partner facing work.
2. Objectives
The review should consider but not be limited to the following:
1. Provide an overview of the current systems in place for:
a. Pharmaceutical supply chains
b. Record keeping including stock management systems, inventories and
prescribing practises.
c. Storage, including cold chain and controlled drugs.
2. Understanding of expected usage and consumption of pharmaceutical supplies and how these differ at project and country level.
3. Patterns of utilisation (including over or under use) and contributing factors.
4. Identify regional and national gaps in pharmaceutical supply availability.
5. Relevant national and international guidelines, polices and standards and the extent to which current practises align with these frameworks.
6. Disposal mechanisms for empty and expired/part used pharmaceutical supplies, including considerations of donations to national mechanisms where relevant.
7. Any concerns with respect to human, animal or environment health and safety.
8. Identifying how/if partners are interacting with the Essential Veterinary Medicines List
9. Identify and draw on relevant examples of practice from other organisations (e.g. NGO’s pharmaceutical companies.
10. Share examples from across our partnerships of innovative methods to meet challenges arising from pharmaceutical supply and management e.g. addressing cold chain concerns and vaccination strategies.
Guiding principles:
The review should be conducted in line with the following principles:
• Partnership and mutual accountability across SPANA and partner organisations
• Recognition of local expertise and context-specific knowledge
• Alignment with national regulations and internationally recognised standards
• Commitment to learning, continuous improvement, and knowledge sharing
• Adherence to One Health principles
• Observing ‘do no harm,’ in all activities
3. Scope of Work
• Geographical Scope: Focusing on the core senior partner countries outlined above,
with the potential to apply learnings across global partnerships in Africa, Asia, and
Latin America.
• Animal Species: working animals to include equids, camels, cattle and any other
identified.
• Thematic Areas:
o Animal health and welfare (AHW) need and service delivery
o Pharmaceutical supply chains and stock management
o One Health
o Policy and legal frameworks
o Stakeholder mapping
4. Methodology
As part of the proposal, we expect the consultant to provide details of their methodology,
which would be expected to include:
• Approach: a mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches including key
informant interviews, desk-based reviews and data analysis. Please note that we do
not anticipate the need for in-country assessments but instead expect the consultant
to make use of online interview techniques.
• Stakeholders to Engage: to include but not limited to SPANA UK teams as
previously listed, SPANA senior partner country directors, core veterinary and
operational staff and other relevant stakeholders ensuring inclusive representation of
perspectives across different roles and geographies
5. Deliverables
6. Timeline
We expect this consultancy to take approx. 30 days with a completion date anticipated no
later than end of July 2026. A detailed timetable will be agreed with the successful
consultant.
7. Required Expertise and Organisational Experience
The selected consultant should demonstrate the following expertise and experience:
• A registered veterinary surgeon or veterinary nurse with extensive experience of working in the majority world context.
• A strong track record in applying clinical governance and audit principles.
• Proven ability to engage with a wide demographic of stakeholders to obtain and subsequently analyse both qualitative and quantitative data.
• Extensive experience in stock / inventory management, medical record keeping and associated data requirements.
• A clear commitment to ethical standards, including informed consent, confidentiality, and respect for, the rights and dignity of participants.
• The capacity to produce high-quality, well-structured evaluation reports and effectively present findings to diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to conduct research and reporting in English and ideally French.
8. Budget and Resources
The proposal should include a proposed consultancy fee.
Payments will be linked to agreed deliverables and milestones, which will be finalised at contracting stage. SPANA reserves the right to withhold payment if deliverables do not meet agreed quality standards.
9. Submitting your proposal:
Interested consultants are invited to submit a technical and financial proposal.
Proposals should include:
• CV/s
• Proposed methodology and approach
• Project Plan and proposed timeline
• Financial proposal with detailed cost breakdown and forecasted expenses
• One or more examples of similar evaluations (preferred)
• Two references to support application.
Proposals must be submitted electronically to globalprogrammes@spana.org by 23:59 (GMT) 1st of May 2026. No late submissions will be accepted.
Shortlisted consultants will be requested to attend an online interview/presentation, expected to be held within 2 weeks of closure.
For questions, please contact globalprogrammes@spana.org