Medical Supply Lead

Mercy Ships is an international charity that brings hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor through state-of-the-art hospital ships. Since 1978, our volunteer crew—made up of medical professionals and skilled workers from over 60 nations—has delivered free surgeries and medical care to over 2.8 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa, transforming lives one patient and one port at a time. Join our global team of over 3,000 volunteers and help us change lives daily.

About this role

The Medical Supply Lead will play a vital role in strengthening the supply chain’s field-based reliability, resilience, responsiveness, and relationships in direct support and service of Mercy Ships’ surgical programs and operations. Serving onboard a Mercy Ships vessel, the position will be responsible for leading the team that receives, manages, and distributes medical supplies. The role will report to the shipboard Supply Manager and will supervise the Medical Inventory Specialist, Supply Officer, and Supply Assistants. As the team leader, the position will be responsible for building trust, relationships, and excellence in the customer-facing supply chain. As a subject matter expert (SME) in supply operations, the individual will collaborate closely with global and regional supply chain teams in the United States and Netherlands, communicating inventory discrepancies, challenges, and opportunities for improvement in the downstream supply chain.

What you will contribute

• Responsible for developing the operational and spiritual health of the Medical Supply team, fostering morale and cultivating opportunities for team members to grow while working within the community of faith in a diverse working environment.
• Lead, supervise, and coach team members to empower growth, upskilling, and development opportunities in support of delivering objectives and a positive work experience.
• Provide guidance and recommendations to the EMEA Supply Chain Director for enhancing and updating knowledge management documents, including SOPs, best practices, field service manuals, and training materials.
• Responsible for ensuring supply personnel perform efficient and accurate supply put aways, inventory control, order picking/dispensing, and restocking procedures.
• Enhance material and information flows by coaching staff, continuously improving storeroom layout, and applying Lean methodology to remove bottlenecks, increase stock count efficiency, and achieve inventory accuracy targets.
• Execute and improve standardized work instructions (SWIs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to provide uninterrupted supply availability to vessel operations and surgical programs.
• Leverage inventory data and analysis (including 80/20 analysis) to strategically manage inventory control parameters (min/max, par levels), ensuring optimized stock levels, reduced overstock, and the mitigation of shortages.
• Responsible for escalating customer supply challenges to the shipboard Supply Manager, serving as the critical communication link between hospital departments and GSC partners to ensure issues are resolved efficiently.
• Proactively identify and communicate inventory inaccuracies, errors in shipment receipts and packaging, and other risk facts to GSC partners to mitigate shortages and continuously improve performance.
• Develop knowledge and expertise of specialized commodity nomenclature, supply usage requirements, and programmatic schedules to align supply chain execution with the requirements of the ward, operating room, and ancillary departments.
• Oversee the integrity of dispensing data used to signal medical usage/demand and the accuracy of on-hand inventory data used to inform inventory health and future purchases.
• Accountable for the efficiency and accuracy of operations that guarantee service and inventory availability, including inbound operations, inventory control, and output order fulfillment operations.
• Oversee inventory management by enforcing procedures and best practices to minimize waste and ensure the timely and compliant disposal or return of expired, excess, or obsolete stock.
• Achieve and sustain inventory accuracy targets by enforcing compliance with regular cycle counts and inventory control protocols.
• Enable user-friendly and efficient order fulfillment by ensuring all department supply orders and restock points are fulfilled accurately and on time with accuracy by supporting flexible delivery options and efficiently handling supply returns or exchanges.

For This Role, You Will Need

• Excellent people management skills, capable of training and developing a collaborative and multi-cultural workforce.
• Capable of building strong relationships, trust, and confidence with customer departments and supply chain partners. Excellent computer skills using Microsoft Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook.
• Demonstrated understanding and familiarity of disciplined supply chain systems, processes, and ways of working.
• Capable of leveraging data, analytics, and applied analysis to drive performance enhancements to supply chain KPIs.
• Strong attention to detail and organization skills, capable of compiling, tracking, and synthesizing large sets of data in Excel.
• Adept at leveraging collaboration and strong communication skills to lead and resolve complex challenges in multicultural settings.
• Efficient in inventory management, waste reduction, risk management, and improving supply chain service levels.
• Familiar with data visualization and business intelligence software such as Power BI, Tableau, or Qlik.
• Proficient with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP, or Oracle Cloud.
• Professional working proficiency (Level B or higher) in French is an advantage.
• Must be able to lift and carry objects up to 20 kg (44 lbs.) and ascend/descend flights of stairs frequently.
• Ability to work in chilled and frozen storerooms, as well as occasional hot temperatures outside or off the vessel.
• Ability to work standard hours (08:00 – 17:00), Monday through Friday.
• Minimum four years of progressive, hands-on experience in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Warehousing, or Logistics.
• Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or a closely related Business discipline.
• Required fluency (Level C or equivalent) in written and verbal English to effectively communicate and manage documentation.
• Successful completion of On Boarding (Gateway) program for commitments of 12 months or longer.
• Experience supervising or leading teams within an operational environment is highly desirable.
• Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt, or other recognized professional logistics certification.
• Prior logistics experience in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) with NGOs or international development organizations specializing in public health, global surgery, or humanitarian aid and emergency response.
• Experience managing medical commodities such as surgical consumables, implants, medical devices, or similar complex inventory within healthcare or pharmaceutical industries.
• Previous volunteering or other work experience with Mercy Ships is an asset.

The experience of a lifetime is calling.

More than 1,200 volunteers from over 60 nations serve with Mercy Ships each year.

At Mercy Ships, we are proud to be recognized around the world for the life-changing surgeries and training we deliver. We could not achieve this without our dedicated community of talented volunteers.

Imagine finishing your shift and stepping onto deck as the sun sets—knowing that today you’ve helped transform the lives of those who need it most. Apply now to start a journey that will reshape the lives of those you serve — and your own.