Procurement Officer at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture Feed the Future Hinga Wunguke Activity: (Deadline 12 March 2024)

USAID/Rwanda Hinga Wunguke Activity

Procurement Officer

CNFA

CNFA is a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to stimulating economic growth in the agricultural sector and improving livelihoods by cultivating entrepreneurship. CNFA specializes in fostering private sector investments in training, innovative technologies and marketing as a means to increase the overall competitiveness of agricultural value chains and rural development, to increase people’s incomes, to develop skills in the rural workforce, and to facilitate exports.

Program Description USAID Feed the Future Hinga Wunguke Activity

The purpose of the USAID Feed the Future Hinga Wunguke Activity (Hinga Wunguke) is to support increased agriculture productivity and income, access to finance and markets, and access and consumption of nutritious food products in Rwanda, while increasing the resilience of the agriculture and food systems to the changing climate. To achieve this goal, the Activity will sustainably increase agricultural productivity, increase access to finance for farmers and agribusinesses, improve producers’ nutrition and market outcomes, and strengthen the enabling environment to foster market-driven outcomes in agriculture.

To achieve program objectives Hinga Wunguke will deploy a Co-Investment Fund (CIF) to leverage private sector investment and formalize partnerships with market actors to inclusively strengthen food market systems in target districts. CIF partnerships will result in formalized grant awards between Hinga Wunguke and the award recipient. The CIF will apply a Market Systems Development (MSD) approach and be demand-driven, competitive, and performance-based to facilitate a wide range of transformative investments in the agricultural sector of Rwanda.

Position Description

Reporting to the Procurement and Operations Manager, the Procurement Officer will support all Hinga Wunguke procurements, with concentration on the procurement of in-kind goods and services under CIF grant awards and for contractors under the Catalytic Service Provider Fund. This will include drafting RFPs and RFQs aligned with technical team specifications, conducting bid analyses and evaluations, drafting procurement memos and contracts, and coordinating with the finance team to issue payments. This position will require strong coordination with Component Team members and the CIF team to ensure technical specifications are met.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main duties of the Procurement Officer include, but are not limited to:

• Develop key documentation for procurement of a) in-kind goods and services under approved Co-Investment Fund grants and b) technical contracts under the Catalytic Service Provider Fund. This will include:
  • Developing solicitations (RFPs, RFQs) per technical specifications
  • Conducting Administrative Reviews of bids received
  • Coordinating and documenting Technical Evaluation Committees for procurements
  • Developing Procurement Memos for review and approval per Hinga Wunguke Procurement Manual Policy
  • Conducting due diligence prior to award
  • Drafting purchase orders, contracts, and consulting agreements for review and approval
  • Reviewing submitted deliverables by contractors and coordinating with Component Teams to confirm approval
  • Coordinating with the Hinga Wunguke Accounting team to process payments and ensure required supporting documentation is in order
  • Coordinate with and address feedback on documentation from the Operations and Procurement Manager and Procurement & Operations team members;
• Support the Component Teams and Partnership and Investment team in contracting of private-sector service providers under the Catalytic Service Provider Fund (CSPF).
• Ensure procurement files are maintained in an orderly and up-to-date system, per USAID and CNFA requirements.
• Support the Partnership and Investment Team in the administration of CIF grants from solicitation to closeout, including CIF/grant solicitation development, application review and selection, due diligence, award negotiation, monitoring, and reporting.
• Coordinate with Kigali-based component teams, administrative management units, and provincial offices to ensure smooth procurement of CIF in-kind grant contributions and operational implementation of contracts under the CSPF.
• Provide ad hoc procurement support related to other ongoing Hinga Wunguke priorities.
• Support staff training on how to operationalize program strategies through CIF grant partnerships and CSPF Contracts in line with policies outlined in the CIF Manual and Procurement Manual.
• Monitor, track and sort procurement related documentation basis in line with Hinga Wunguke filing systems, including updating the applicant tracker.
• Coordinate closely with the Partnership and Investment Manager and CIF Officer to update and maintain grant related procurement trackers.
• Collaborate with the Finance team to ensure proper financial management and reporting in line with USAID regulations.
• Use Hinga Wunguke CIF Manual, Procurement manual and CNFA templates as tools to ensure compliance.
• Assist in implementing internal compliance procedures and controls to mitigate risks and ensure accountability.
• Support external audits and evaluations, providing necessary documentation and information as required.
• Other tasks at the request of the Operations and Procurement Manager or their designer.

Qualifications

The required qualifications of the Procurement Officer include, but are not limited to:

• University degree in procurement, accounting, business administration, finance, public administration, agricultural economics or a related field. Professional certificate such as CIPS or similar is an advantage.
• Experience leading procurement processes with minimum supervision in compliance with organization policies.
• Demonstrated administrative and operational experience with NGOs (non-governmental organizations).
• Two years of USAID or donor-funded procurement administration experience preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze financial performance, negotiate budgets, compile financial vouchers, and review expense reports.
• Proven experience in managing multiple and competing tasks while maintaining quality of deliverables within deadlines.
• Organized team player, with pro-active and flexible work style.
• Strong computer skills especially in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and experience in using financial management software.
• Advanced verbal and written communication skills in English are required: Fluent Kinyarwanda required; French skills are considered an asset.
• Must be flexible, reliable, responsive, resourceful, and have strong attention to detail.

Place of Performance

The location of duty performance is Kigali, with occasional field work in the Hinga Wunguke Zone of Influence.

Application Instructions

All interested and qualified candidates can send their application (motivation letter, updated CV, certificates and references) documents through email: [email protected]  not later than March 12, 2024 at 6:00 PM.  Please quote the job title in the subject and title your CV file with YOUR NAME, POSITION APPLIED.  Only candidates selected for interview will be contacted.