Procurement Officer at Bridge International Academies

As our Procurement Officer, you are an important member of the team that sources and obtains strong pricing across the various areas that we need items for – chiefly our academies, as well as for HQ functions. You uphold the highest standard of conduct.

This is a key position within the company’s Supply Chain team with important linkages to many other department.

What You Will Do:

• Develop and implement policies, procedures, tools and guidelines to ensure effective and efficient procurement processes in the company and to assure seamless procurement services
• Seek, evaluate and recommend reliable vendors or suppliers to provide quality goods or services at reasonable prices
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with suppliers, contractors and other partners within the procurement services chain to create partnerships that add value
• Negotiate prices, lead times and other contractual terms with suppliers in Nigeria and other parts of the world as may be required
• Review and embed with user departments the technical specifications for all materials required for school operations, equipment or construction requirements
• Closely oversee the acquisition of materials needed for production of learning and training requirements, general supplies for offices and facilities, equipment, and construction contracts while ensuring visibility of the process at each stage.
• Work with department managers and other staff to forecast demand of procurement services and to ascertain that goods are received as ordered and payments processed only for certified confirmations of deliveries or service.
• Budget, report and analyse procurement costs to ensure high visibility and control of procurement related expenses.

What You Should Have

• Degree/professional qualifications in purchasing and supplies management
• Expert level of knowledge in procurement including, but not limited to sourcing, pricing, contracts, relationship management and due diligence on suppliers and contractors
• Ability to quickly learn and improve systems; technical competence in MS Office
• Experience working with an ERP (Experience working with Dynamics NAV will be an added advantage)

You Are Also:

• Proactive – You don’t always need supervision and you are a self-starter. Your personal drive to succeed and deliver keeps you working when you may not have a supervisor with you.
• A detailed doer - You have a track record of getting things done.  You’re organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done.  You can multi-task dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company. 

• A networking mastermind - You excel at meeting new people and turning them into advocates. You communicate in a clear, conscientious, and effective way in both written and oral speech. You can influence strangers in the course of a single conversation. Allies and colleagues will go to bat for your ideas. 
• A creative problem-solver - Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, Bridge works in volatile, low-resource communities and runs on fees averaging around $7 a month per pupil. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand.  
• A customer advocate - Our customers – these families living on less than $2 a day per person – never leave your mind.  You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future).  You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like.  Every decision you make considers their customer benefit, experience, and value.
• A malleable learner - You believe you can always do better.  You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others.  You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.