Principal Procurement Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

African Development Bank (AfDB) - Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). The Bank's development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Principal Procurement Officer

Reference: ADB/17/296
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50062750

The Complex

• The Vice-Presidency, Human Resources and Corporate Services Complex ensures the delivery of efficient, people-centered, client-oriented, corporate services to ensure overall institutional effectiveness in all aspects of the Bank’s corporate services.
• The Complex leads efforts to ensure the competitiveness of the Bank as the employer of choice and is responsible for providing leadership in the formulation and implementation of Bank’s strategies on people, IT, general services and institutional procurements, language services, business continuity, and health and safety strategies.

The Hiring Department

• The primary roles of the General Services and Procurement Department are to manage the Bank’s assets, oversee all corporate procurement of goods, services, works and real estate, coordinate all staff travel and transport of Bank’s goods and staff, catering services and other logistics arrangements and the mail services and keep staff informed about services offered.
• To this end, the General Services and Procurement Department formulates and applies rules for procurement, storage, and maintenance of furniture, office equipment and supply; design, prepare and implement programmes for the construction or acquisition and maintenance of buildings and premises; formulate and ensure the proper and effective application of administration policies within the Bank in such areas as communications, transport, travels, security, protection and safety of the Bank’s staff and property; and perform related duties.
• The department is responsible for managing the Bank’s fixed assets (valued at over UA 100,000,000).
• The General Services and Procurement Department comprises 3 divisions supervised by the Director General Services and Procurement. These divisions are: (i). Operations and Maintenance Division (CHGS.1); (ii). Corporate Procurement Division (CHGS.2); and (iii). Support Services Division (CHGS.3).

The Position

• The overall purpose of the Principal Procurement Officer will be to plan, develop and manage all procurement and contracts for goods, services, real estate and works, including procurement of diverse services and commodities as well as supervise and manage procurement activities carried out within the teams’ portfolio.
• The job holder will execute, review and approve the procurement of goods and services as per the Delegation of Authority and develop procurement strategy and carry out procurement initiatives to ensure procurement activity evolves to meet the Bank’s requirements.
• Also, the incumbent will conduct market research to keep abreast of market developments and maintain supplier relationship management.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Division Manager, the Principal Procurement Officer will:
A) Implement procurement and contracting strategies for the achievement and improvement of the overall procurement process (particularly in the areas of client satisfaction, workable procurement plans, price estimates and terms of reference).

• Coordinate the work of a functional group in charge of a specific procurement portfolio (e.g. Works & Facility Management, Support Services, or IT and Communication).
• Decide on acquisition of complex procurement cases exceeding UA 10,000 up to UA 150,000.  Execute and provide advice on procurement issues exceeding UA 150,000.
• Design innovative solutions for complex solicitations for large and/or high visibility contracts such as framework agreements and Long Term Agreements.
• Assess client needs, reviewing work programme and identifying potential vendors as well as determining the appropriate procurement methods and strategies.
• Interpret data from a variety of internal and external sources to conduct accurate supply market and supplier financial analyses, and cost/price analyses.
• Advice requisitioning units and recipient entities on the full range of procurement issues, providing support and guidance at all stage of the procurement cycle.

B) Procure and manage the acquisition of real estate, works, goods and services according to the set procurement rules and regulations of the Bank by analyzing and executing all procurement cases related to purchase requisitions in the ERP (SAP) system of the Bank, and liaise with the technical departments, if necessary, to purvey the appropriate terms of reference or technical specifications that may be required for inclusion in the Request for Quotation or Request for  Proposal or Invitation To Bid.

• Identify reliable sources of supply by determining appropriate procurement methods, preparing solicitations (Request for Quotation, Request for Proposal, Request for Expression of Interest, and Invitation to Bid).
• Develop realistic time frames for the procurement needs of clients, setting the process in motion, and working closely and directly with user divisions to execute and conclude procurement actions.
• Prepare solicitations, distributing and ensuring publicity on the local newspapers and approved websites.
• Implement and monitor bid schedules as well as responding to queries from vendors and customers on procurement matters.
• Lead and constitute evaluation committees in order to analyze offers received from bidders, prepare and submit recommendations to the Bank’s authorizing officers or Purchasing Committee; and advise the team leader on all procurement issues.
• Manage and conduct all aspects of bid/proposal with regard to conducting pre-bid meetings, bids openings, and post- bid debriefing, as well as advising the aggrieved bidders for dispute resolution.
• Participate in negotiations with End Users and contractors, sign procurement orders up to the authorized limit, and, in cases where the amount exceeds authorized signature authority, prepare submissions to the authorizing officers for review and subsequent approval by the authorized official.
• Analyze the offers received from bidders, constituting technical evaluation committees, preparing and submitting recommendations received from the technical evaluation committees to the Bank's purchasing committee for appropriate approvals or recommendations.
• Provide technical input to the planning, development and implementation of strategies for the procurement of real estate, works, goods and services for the Bank Group, this involves, combined assessment of user requirements with modelling the trends over a period of analyze the performance of suppliers.
• Lead and oversee corporate procurement activities in the Bank’s Field Offices and organize the acquisition plans for each procurement process by priority order.
• Liaise with Legal Department on the interpretation of Bank’s rules and regulations in case of ambiguity.
• Exercise final and decisive authority for procurements within the incumbent’s authority level, as may be amended from time to time in the Delegation of Authority Matrix.
• Recommend amendments and extensions of contracts, and advises concerned parties on contractual rights and obligations.
• Resolve complex procurement issues such as: disputes involving large amounts, interpreting rules and guidelines for situations not provided in existing manuals.

C) Preparing standard bidding documents, communications letters, reports, statistics and forecasts as may be required for decision making:

• As the Team Leader of his/her functional group and within the specific procurement portfolio, initiate and oversee the preparation of the Annual Procurement Plan, supervise its implementation.
• Conduct market research for benchmarking against the current processes and practices and implement innovative solutions to address identified weaknesses.
• Assess claims to ensure their validity and justification and monitor their resolution. 
• Develop standard procurement documentation according to Bank’s rules and regulations.
• Drive and report the status of procurement projects with direction from Management; escalate issues when necessary.
• Prepare Guidance Notes on Institutional Procurement Issues.
• Conduct performance reviews with suppliers and notifying and developing suppliers.
• Carry out data analysis, and develop concept notes, implementation plans, including client presentations, and assist with all necessary tasks for project approval.
• Develop strong relations with internal and external clients, other units, and development partners on operational matters and policy dialogue.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's degree or its equivalent in Administration, Business, Economics, Law, Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Engineering and any related qualification; Qualification in Procurement and/or Supply Chain Management, specialized training in Procurement or Supply Chain Management will be an added advantage.
• Have a minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience in Procurement or Supply Chain Management, with supervisory experience in leading a team.
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Employ awareness of business trends to make effective decisions.
• Demonstrate professional knowledge and skills, anticipate and manage risks, apply the fundamentals to ensure reduced risk to business deliverables of the Bank.
• Demonstrate the required technical knowledge for the position.
• Break down complex information into component parts.
• Understand, interpret and apply the Bank’s rules and procedures and public procurement principles.
• Analyze information to develop a conceptual understanding of the meaning of a range of information.
• Proficient in the use of standard MS Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) Practical knowledge of SAP systems will be an advantage.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French preferably with a good working knowledge of the other language.

Application Closing Date
14th July, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online