Principal Procurement Operations Officer at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)

African Development Bank Group (AfDB) - Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries). The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Principal Procurement Operations Officer

Location: Pretoria, South Africa
Employment Type: Full-time

The Complex

• The Senior Vice-Presidency (SNVP) is responsible for supporting the President in the day-to-day management of the Bank Group to achieve its strategic objective and drive performance culture that will align all processes and systems to deliver high impact results.
• The SNVP will provide effective leadership and exceptional coordination to ensure implementation and monitoring of key corporate decisions as well as the identification of necessary corrective measures and actions.
• The SNVP will lead Senior Management discussions, decision-making processes and the implementation of keyboard and Management decisions.

The Hiring Department

• The SNVP supervises the Fiduciary Services and Inspection Department (SNFI), which acts as the custodian of the procurement (including procurement for private and public partnership) and financial management (FM) profession, and has the following responsibilities: (i) developing and interpreting policy, strategy and related guidance notes and manuals; (ii) preparing annual post review reports on the Bank’s FM and procurement operations for the Board; (iii) developing training strategy for internal and external clients; (iv) dialoguing with external and global partners with a view to building partnerships and fostering harmonization; (v) acting as the secretariat for the Procurement Review Committee (PRC); and (vi) inspecting and reporting on the performance of procurement and FM activities undertaken by the regions.

The Position

• The Principal Procurement Operations Officer is responsible to ensuring that the project procurement activities financed by the Bank are compliant with the Bank’s procurement policy. 
• This is done by advising on procurement arrangements and reviewing procurement decisions within the project/program operations cycle from the identification to completion stages.
• The incumbent also contributes to the preparation of the Bank’s Country Strategy Paper, and to building procurement capacity of Borrowers which includes training of Borrower staff, advising on project related procurement matters, and assessing and strengthening the Borrowers’ procurement systems.
• The Principal Procurement Operations Officer reports administratively to the Country Manager, South Africa Country Office and functionally to the Division Manager - Procurement (SNFI.3).

Key Functions
Under the direct technical supervision of the Regional Procurement Coordinator, the Principal Procurement Operations Officer will in his/her duty station:

• Advise various Sector Divisions involved in the design and supervision of Borrowers project implementation activities on procurement matters as required by the relevant Presidential Instructions.
• Advise Borrowers, Suppliers, entrepreneurs, Consultants and Contractors on all aspects related to the procurement of goods, works and services under Bank Group funded projects.
• Participate in the Preparation and Appraisal missions for projects with complex procurement components with a view to assisting Borrowers and Sector Divisions Staff to define the most appropriate modalities for procurement.
• Prepare the procurement chapter and relevant annex in the Project Appraisal Report.
• During the project/program preparation missions, assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of the procurement capacity at the Executing Agencies as well as provide advisory technical support to the project/program team on procurement matters.
• Participate in the project/program Launching Mission to assist the project/program team in developing capacity building of the Executing Agency in procurement.
• Review, provide comments and participate in working group meetings of lending and non-lending activities reports.
• Receive, review and clear all tender related documents requiring the Bank’s “No Objection”, “Approval” or “Action” under the Procurement Policy of the Bank, in accordance with the Delegation of Authority Matrix; monitor practical aspects by assisting the Projects’ Task Managers to supervise the procurement activities carried out by Borrowers throughout the project cycle.
• Contribute to the assessment of countries procurement systems and prepare relevant reports using MAPS indicators for approval by the Manager and Director of SNFI;
• assist regional member countries (RMCs) with their procurement reforms and mobilize the required financial resources.
• Undertake Assessment of Executing Agencies (EA) procurement capacity for each project
• Maintain an on-going system of monitoring the compliance with the Bank’s Procurement Policy by the Borrowers and actions taken by project management to implement internal and external audit recommendations and reporting on the status of implementation.
• Facilitate and undertake training seminars /workshops for Borrowers and Bank Staff as well as certification of Bank’s procurement staff.
• Ensure that procurement information and data entering in SAP by sector experts are effective, correct and accurate.
• Undertaking Annual Post Procurement Review Report on on-going projects with a view to advising management on lessons learnt.
• Contribute to the efficient use of Information Management Systems for processing procurement requests and generating accurate procurement data for SNFI reports.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Hold at least a Master's Degree in Engineering, Public / Business Administration, Law, Procurement, Economics, or related fields.
• A minimum of six (6) years of relevant professional experience in providing procurement support and advice to the preparation and implementation of programs and projects financed by the Bank or any other similar institution in developing countries.
• Proven familiarity with and solid experience in the practice of procurement of goods and works and the acquisition of consultancy services under donor-funded development projects/programs; it would be desirable to have knowledge of Bank Procurement policy.
• Experience in supervising and effectively managing implementation of developments projects and programs.
• Having private sector experience (e.g., PPP operations etc.) will be an added advantage.
• Ability to be flexible, open-minded with integrity, client and results oriented for achieving both Bank’s and Borrowers’ objectives.
• Effective consulting and advisory skills that enable Sector Staff and Borrowers to build their confidence and skills to deal with procurement issues.
• Good networking skills and judgment are required while working within teams and when building professional relationships with procurement specialists and sector specialists working in the Region.
• Ability to communicate effectively (Written and Oral) in English, with a working knowledge of the French language.
• Competence with standard MS Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), preferably combined with knowledge and experience of SAP operations.

Application Closing Date
9th June, 2024.