Procurement Officer at Smart Africa Secretariat: (Deadline 18 December 2022)

Procurement Officer at Smart Africa Secretariat: (Deadline 18 December 2022)

Terms of Reference

Recruitment

PROCUREMENT OFFICER

• Position: PROCUREMENT OFFICER
• Duration: Two (2) years
• Location: Kigali, Rwanda
• Deadline: December 18th, 2022 at 11:00 PM Kigali (GMT+2) time

 About Smart Africa

The Smart Africa Alliance is a partnership among African countries adhering to the Smart Africa Manifesto (herein after referred to as “the Manifesto”), the African Union (AU Commission, AUDA, specialized institutions and Regional Economic Communities), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Private Sector, Academic and Research Institutions.

The Smart Africa Alliance (or Smart Africa) is a bold and innovative commitment from African Heads of State and Government to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent, ushering Africa into a knowledge economy through the usage of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).

On 30th-31st January 2014, the Smart Africa Manifesto was endorsed by all Heads of State and Government of the African Union at the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa. This development places the Manifesto at the heart of the ICT agenda in Africa beyond just the 7 original signatories at the Summit to all African countries. The Smart Africa Alliance has since grown to include 32 African countries that represent over 1 billion people.

The Smart Africa Manifesto aims to put ICT at the center of the continental and national socio-economic development of Member States. This means increasing access to ICT solutions, improving accountability, efficiency, and openness through ICT, promoting the introduction of advanced technologies in telecommunication, strengthening the private sector, leveraging ICT to promote sustainable development.

The Smart Africa Alliance as an organization is the framework for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Manifesto, designed to make it actionable. The Smart Africa Alliance is not a profit-oriented organization.

Background of the Institutional Support for Digital Payments and e-Commerce Policies for Cross-border Trade (IDECT)

The Institutional Support for Digital Payments and e-Commerce Policies for Cross-border Trade (IDECT) Project is funded by the African Development Fund.

The Project’s main development objective is to strengthen the enabling environment for digital trade across Africa by developing robust/ harmonized e-payment ecosystem policies. The specific objectives are:

1. Develop a gender responsive policy framework to facilitate cross-border trade through harmonized e-Payment systems;
2. Promote dialogue across e-payments stakeholders to increase public-private participation/projects that enhance e-payment ecosystem, and
3. Support targeted countries to develop action plans to enable e-Payments for the facilitation of inclusive digital trade.

Smart Africa Secretariat is the Executing Agency for the IDECT Project.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Procurement Officer will be part of the Procurement Unit under the Finance and Administration Department. She/He will report to the Head of Corporate Services.  The main responsibility of the Procurement Officer will be to ensure the timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and transparency of procurement processes. More specifically, the duties of the Procurement Officer will include the following:

• Ensure that all procurement requests are timely processed in compliance with applicable Smart Africa and Donor procedures.
• Prepare the project procurement plan in collaboration with the Project Manager.
• Provide guidance with the program team in preparation of purchase requisitions, specifications, terms of reference, requests for proposals, requests for quotations, etc.
• Advise the program team on applicable procurement methods and procedures.
• Ensure all required approvals are timely obtained at relevant steps in the procurement process.
• Support the entire procurement process, including solicitation of quotations/ development of request for proposals, opening of bids, procurement evaluations, contract terms negotiation, contract management, etc.
• Support the technical evaluation and the financial evaluation processes; prepare procurement evaluation reports including observations and recommendations for the selection of best bidders.
• Ensure that budget confirmations are obtained before commitments to vendors;
• Prepare contracts and purchase orders and follow up on the timely delivery of the goods or services
• Identify internal and external issues in the procurement process and contract management and assist to resolve or as needed escalate to the Supervisor or Management for swift resolution
• Review invoices from vendors and service providers and work with the Project team/requestors to ensure the conformity of the delivery goods and services in accordance with specifications, terms of reference, contract/ purchase order, etc.
• Provide logistics and administrative support
• Maintain an organized filing of supporting documents for procurement processes
• Keep track and report on the weekly status of purchase requisitions, open tenders, contracts/ purchase orders.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Supervisors.

Key qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree is required in Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Management, Business Administration, Economics, Law, Marketing or related field.
• Professional Training Certification in Procurement (g. CIPS or equivalent) will be an asset.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of proven experience in procurement.
• Prior experience in procurement with international organizations, international development partners, bilateral/multilateral donor funded projects, etc. in the field of procurement is an asset.

Attributes and skills:

• Ability to collaborate with the team and deliver as part of a team.
• Ability to maintain positive and constructive working relationships with the colleagues
• Effective and constructive working relations with the team.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work well in a multicultural environment.
• Willingness to improve and learn new skills related to the job.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Well organized with attention to detail.
• Uphold procurement values of integrity, fairness, and transparency
• Ability to maintain positive and constructive working relationships with vendors
• Good planning and organizational skills
• Proficiency in MS Excel and Word.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required, both oral and written;
• Fluency in French will be an asset.

Duration of the assignment

The appointment will be two (2) years.

Duty Station

The position will be based in Kigali, Rwanda.

Reporting requirements

The Procurement Officer will report directly to the Head of Corporate Services.

Application Instructions and Deadline

Applicants should send the following documents to the following email address: [email protected], with mention of “Procurement Officer” in the subject line:

• A detailed CV with 3 contacts of professional referees.
• A one-page cover letter with a motivation statement in relation to the responsibilities and requirements for this position.
• Copies of academic degree, professional training certificates, and other relevant training certificates

The deadline for submitting applications is December 18th, 2022 at 11:00 PM Kigali (GMT+2) time.

Only selected candidates for interview will be contacted.