Principal Procurement Operations Officer - North & South Regions 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 Operations Officer - North, and South Regions

Reference: ADB/17/353
Location: Africa
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50000834

The Complex

• The Senior Vice-Presidency (SNVP) is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve its strategic objective and drive performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results.
• The SNVP will provide effective leadership and exceptional coordination to ensure implementation and monitoring of key corporate decisions as well as the identification of necessary corrective measures and actions.
• The SNVP will lead Senior Management discussions, decision-making processes and the implementation of key Board and Management decisions.

The Hiring Department

• The SVP supervises the Fiduciary and Inspection Department (SNFI), which acts as the custodian of the procurement (including procurement for private and public partnership) and financial management (FM) profession, and has the following responsibilities for its functions:
  • Developing and interpreting policy, strategy and related guidance notes and manuals;
  • Preparing annual post review reports on the Bank’s FM and procurement operations for the Board;
  • Developing training strategy for internal and external clients;
  • And dialoguing with external and global partners with a view to building partnerships and fostering harmonization;
  • Providing the secretariat for the Procurement Review Committee (PRC); and
  • Inspecting and reporting on the performance of procurement and FM activities undertaken by the regions.
• The Principal Procurement Operations Officer is responsible to ensure that the project procurement activities financed by the Bank are compliant with the Bank’s procurement policy.
• This is done by advising on procurement arrangements and reviewing procurement decisions within the project/program operations cycle from the identification to completion stages.
• The incumbent also contributes to the preparation of the Bank’s Country Strategy Paper, and to building procurement capacity of Borrowers which includes training of Borrower staff, advising on project related procurement matters, and assessing and strengthening the Borrower’s procurement systems.
• The Principal Procurement Operations Officer reports administratively to the Regional Operations Manager for Implementation Support (ROM-IS) and functionally to the Division Manager - Procurement (SNFI)/ Regional Procurement Coordinator (RPC).

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager Procurement, the Principal Procurement Operations Officer will:

• Advise/assist the various Sector Divisions involved in the supervision of Borrowers project implementation activities as required by the relevant Presidential Instructions.
• Advise Borrowers, Suppliers, Consultants, Contractors and other Entrepreneurs on all aspects related to the procurement of goods and services under Bank Group funded projects.
• Participate in Preparation and Appraisal missions for projects with complex procurement components with a view to assisting Borrowers and Sector Divisions Staff to define the most appropriate modalities for procurement.
• Prepare the procurement chapter in the Project Appraisal Report.
• During the project/program preparation cycle missions, assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the procurement capacity at the Executing Agencies and Project Implementation Unit as well as provide advisory technical support to the project/program team on matters of procurement as an input to a new project.
• Undertake assessment of Country Procurement Systems of Regional Member Countries.
• Participate in the project/program Launching Mission to assist the project/program team in developing capacity building of the Executing Agency in the area of procurement.
• Review, provide comments and participate in working group meetings of lending and non-lending activities reports.
• Receive, review and approve all tender related documents requiring the Bank’s “No Objection”, “Approval” or “Action” under the Procurement Policy of the Bank; monitor practical aspects by assisting the Projects’ Task Managers to supervise the procurement activities carried out by Borrowers throughout the project cycle.
• Maintain an on-going system of monitoring the compliance with the Bank’s Procurement Policy by the Borrowers and actions taken by project management to implement internal and external audit recommendations and report on the status of implementation.
• Facilitate and undertake training seminars /workshops for Borrowers and Bank Staff as well as certification of Bank’s procurement staff.
• Ensure that procurement information and data entering in SAP by sector experts are effective, correct and accurate.
• Undertake Annual Post Procurement Review Report on on-going projects with a view to advising Management on lessons learnt.
• Provide or generate reports (monthly or quarterly or as requested).
• Execution of audit findings as directed - initiating the necessary corrective actions to address all audit findings in Procurement function and prevent any repeat thereof.
• Championing the Complex / Regional mandate and purpose - providing a direct and indirect operational support that will contribute to the regional output and mandate in assigned Country.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master's degree or its equivalent in Public/Business Administration, Law, Engineering, Procurement, Economics or related fields.
• Have a minimum of six (6) years of relevant professional experience in providing procurement support and advice to the preparation and implementation of programs and projects financed by the Bank or any other similar institution in developing countries, having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Proven familiarity with and solid experience in the practice of procurement of goods and works and the acquisition of consultancy services under donor funding conditions, it would be desirable to have knowledge of Bank Procurement policy.
• Experience in supervising and effectively managing implementation of developments projects and programs.
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage.
• Ability to be flexible, open-minded with integrity, client and results oriented for achieving both Bank’s and Borrowers’ objectives.
• Effective consulting and advisory skills that enable Sector Staff and Borrowers to build their confidence and skills to deal with procurement issues.
• Good networking skills and judgment are required while working within teams and when building professional relationships with procurement specialists and sector specialists working in the Region.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language, it will be an added advantage to have fluency in Arabic for the North Region, and fluency in Portuguese for the South Region.
• Competence with standard MS Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), preferably combined with knowledge and experience of SAP operations.

Application Closing Date
1st September, 2017.

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