Senior Procurement / Contracts Assistant, Corporate Procurement - CHGS2 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/532
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: GS8
Position N°: 50053453

The Complex

• The Vice-Presidency, Human Resources and Corporate Services (CHVP) 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 (CHGS) 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 CHGS department formulates and applies rules for procurement, storage, and maintenance of furniture, office equipment and supply; design, prepare and implement programs 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 CHGS 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 objective of Senior Procurement Contracts Assistant will be to, process purchase requisitions related to procurement of goods, services and works as well as Process and issue bids and requests for proposals (tender documents).
• The job holder will Originate procurement and contracting documents, internal and external correspondence related to procurement and contracting and Administer contracts; liaise with User Departments and with suppliers to monitor performance, ensure compliance, and resolve any eventual disputes.
• The incumbent will Provide support to the planning activities of the procurement function and preparing relevant statistics and Participate in bid/proposal evaluation process.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of The Principal Procurement Officer, the Senior Procurement / Contracts Assistant will:

• Process Purchase Requisitions related to procurement of goods, services and works.
• Receive and review requisitions for clarity, adequacy of specifications, completeness, obtain additional information considered necessary and liaise with the User Departments and, if necessary, confirm that the requisite budgetary resources exist.
• Group the requests into homogenous product categories and identify the supply sources, using the list of approved suppliers, and determine the most appropriate procurement method.
• When necessary, propose alternative solutions.
• Process and issue bids and requests for proposals (tender documents).
• Originate tender documents for approval and signature.
• Assist User Departments in elaborating Terms of Reference / Specifications.
• Launch tenders based on a short list of suppliers and through advertisement in newspapers.
• Contact suppliers and dispatch the bid documents.
• Lead the execution of file procurement process, including pre-bidding conference, issue of amendments to bid documents, response to clarifications, etc.
• Provide secretarial services for the bids opening sessions.
• Participate in bid/proposal evaluation process.
• Verify consistency of quotations with the technical specifications specified in the tender document.
• Prepare comparative tables of quotations submitted by suppliers.
• In the case of request for proposals, propose the technical evaluation committee.
• As a member of the Technical Evaluation Committee, analyze proposals received and prepare evaluation reports for the Technical Evaluation Committee’s approval.
• Prepare recommendations for the final selection of the supplier and recommend award.
• Prepare note to Purchasing Committee, where necessary.
• Originate procurement and contracting documents, internal and external correspondence related to procurement and contracting, such as:
• Purchase Orders and Contracts
• Request for clarifications regarding Terms of Reference / Specifications
• Amendments to tender documents and/or contracts
• Notification of award and regret letters
• Response to complaints
• Documents related to performance evaluation of suppliers
• Documents related to procurement reviews and audits.
• Administer contracts; liaise with User Departments and with suppliers to monitor performance, to ensure compliance and to resolve any eventual disputes.
• Prepare regular progress reports on procurement and/or contracting activities and answer questions concerning procurement and contracting.
• Schedule and attend meetings with user departments to discuss procedural or policy issues and resolve procurement problems; assemble and process documents for and take minutes at informal meetings.
• Provide support to the planning activities of the procurement function and preparing relevant statistics

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Holds at least a Bachelor Degree in Economics, Law, Marketing, Commerce, Procurement or Information Technology, or other related fields.
• Minimum Six (6) years of relevant work experience.
• A diploma in Procurement and Supply Chain Management or professional training in procurement or contract management.
• Demonstrate professional/technical knowledge and skills for the position.
• Understand, interpret and apply the Bank’s rules and procedures and public procurement principles.
• Demonstrate careful attention to detail or essential elements and accuracy of information before making a decision or delivering the information.
• Ability to break down complex situations, examine it from various angles, develop practical and realistic recommendations / solutions.
• Ability to understand how clients perceive and assess quality of services provided and answer internal or external clients’ requests quickly.
• Act with integrity and maintain confidentiality at all times.
• 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.