Senior Procurement Officer US Non-profit Careers – Mercy Corps
Job Title: Senior Procurement Officer
Organization: Mercy Corps
Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda
Reports to: Operations Manager, Kampala
About US:
Mercy Corps is an International NGO that exists to alleviate poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Mercy Corps has been fully registered in Uganda as an operational NGO. Currently Mercy Corps has an office in Kampala and is implementing Food Security programs which comprise of Water and Sanitation, Livelihood and Agriculture and Conflict Mitigation Management Program in North and North Eastern Uganda. We implement programs in the northern districts of Pader, Kitgum, Agago, Lamwo, Kaabong, Abim and Kotido with funding from USAID, USDA, Walmart Foundation, SDC, DFID as well as other private donations.
Job Summary: The Senior Procurement Officer will have full oversight and responsibility for the procurement aspects of Mercy Corps. Working closely with Program, Administration, Finance and Logistics the Senior Procurement Officer is instrumental in supporting program activities through his/her services.
The Senior Procurement Officer provides general supervision and coordination for all procurement functions not just in Kampala but in field office level too. The Senior Procurement Officer proactively and informatively communicates and coordinates the procurement functions and activities within Kampala keeping in view that most procurement is carried out on behalf of field offices.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Team Management
- Develop the capacity of the procurement team.
- Facilitate the procurement aspects of program planning.
- Work with all Mercy Corps staff to ensure smooth introduction and adoption of procurement policies and regulations.
- Assist team members in understanding their roles and responsibilities in terms of interaction with procurement.
- Be responsible for full and proper implementation of Mercy Corps systems of procurement management, compliance and control as described in Mercy Corps Field Procurement manual (FP3).
- Work with Finance and with the Internal Risk department to mitigate fraud, conflict of interest and legal ramifications of Mercy Corps activities.
- Conduct regular staff meetings for procurement as well as cross-departmental. Circulate minutes of meetings.
Procurement and Logistics
- Prepare procurement reports on a regular basis. Ensure the integrity and high quality of data used in reports.
- Has overall responsibility for procurement to ensure that the procurement department supports the programs efficiently, compliantly and in a timely fashion.
- Directly manage all High Value tenders, above USD 150,000.
- Directly in charge of preparing amendment of all service contracts above the value of 20,000USD
- Accountable for the Contracts Tracker to be updated at all times
- Process all MPP and MEP related documents including all coordination with Mercy Corps HQ team members
- Demonstrate full understanding of Mercy Corps procurement policies, procedures and templates.
- Provide procurement training and development to all procurement team members on these policies.
- Provide procurement training for non-procurement staff, including but not limited to Program, Finance and Operations staff.
- Enforce adherence to procurement thresholds and approval procedures.
- Enforce adherence to Time-to-Award timelines. Ensure procurement department completes transactions within those timeframes.
- Ensure that Mercy Corps’ procurement activities are legal and moral.
- Lead regular procurement planning exercises with all program teams in all field office locations. Procurement planning must be a joint exercise including the procurement and program staff in each office location.
- Ensure all programs have procurement plans for the period of minimum 2 month and is updated at a minimum of monthly basis.
- Provide assistance on timely completion of purchase requests and other documentation.
- Establish master service agreements (MSA) for commonly used items. Ensure such agreements are re-tendered on time.
- Oversee the gathering and quality of quotations and bids from the market for purchases as per Mercy Corps standards and formats.
- Ensure Quotation Analysis Committees are assembled and functioning according the MC regulations. Regularly provide refresher trainings on roles and responsibilities of QA members.
- Coordinate with the Finance Department to ensure that payments to vendors are made on-time and without unnecessary strain on the financial systems of Mercy Corps.
- Conduct bi-weekly meetings with Finance team to ensure no payments are pending and any misunderstanding or discrepancy is cleared in a timely fashion.
- Interact with contractors, if and when needed.
- Preparation of monthly procurement reports on achievements and deliverables.
- Provide regular input and update to Heads of Office and field Operations Leads regarding procurement activities.
- Assist in the maintenance of thorough procurement files as outlined in the MC procurement policy.
- Ensure that the procurement filing system is in place and in accordance with the procurement filing procedures as outlined in the Procurement Manual
- Ensure vendor database is up-to-date.
- Ensure timely coordination with the Warehouse on delivery of items including completion of Goods Received Notes, storage of items and transfer of items to field sites.
- Ensure assets identified during the course of procurement and the Logistics personnel notified in advance.
- Maintain file on market prices for regularly-procured items.
- Carry out procurement system audits in field offices and bring clarity to field staff on shortcomings.
- Identify gaps of staffing, staff capacity, procurement system, segregation of duties, cross-departmental coordination and information sharing and notify Kampala Operations Manager accordingly.
- 20% travel to field locations is expected.
- Other duties as assigned by supervisor.
Finance & Compliance Management
- Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to Mercy Corps Field Procurement Manual, Field Finance Manual, Conflict of Interest Policy and all Mercy Corps Uganda policies
Security
- Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country
- Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
Organizational Learning
- As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Beneficiaries
- Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
- The applicant for the Mercy Corps Senior Procurement Officer job must hold a Bachelor’s Degree in relevant field, such as Procurement and Supply Chain Management, or Business Administration
- Three years of relevant experience
- Sound understanding of procurement, administration, and logistics management systems
- Analytical thinking
- Proven record of capacity building and team coordination
- Experience working in INGOs or businesses in support functions may be advantage
- Good organizational and management skills and the ability to anticipate project needs
- Proven ability to work cooperatively with others in a team environment, and be able to work with a diverse group of national and international staff
- Ability to manage team performance and keep staff on target
- Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) is required.
- Fluent in both written and spoken English
- The successful Senior Procurement Officer will be good at problem solving and have the ability to work out methods to deliver successful and timely procurement support to all running programs and on compliance with Mercy Corps and donor regulations.
- An impeccable professional standard and procurement ethics and the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential.
- S/he will maintain strong cooperative relationships with other departments and interact effectively with all personnel during daily routine work as well as in a training capacity.
- Meets deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities.
- S/he will be able to work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work environment and be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites.
- The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.
How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested candidates should apply online at the link below.
Deadline: 4th March 2020
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