Head of Procurement
JOB REFERENCE OPERATIONS – 10/2017
About AGRA
Founded in 2006, the Alliance for a
Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is an African-led African-based organization
that seeks to catalyze Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on
putting smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by
transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a
business that thrives.
As the sector that employs the majority of Africa’s people, nearly all of them
small-scale farmers, AGRA recognizes that developing smallholder agriculture
into a productive, efficient, and sustainable system is essential to ensuring
food security, lifting millions out of poverty, and driving equitable growth
across the continent.
To support this transformation from
an operations perspective, AGRA is seeking to recruit an experienced and
exceptional individual to the position of Head of Procurement.
Responsibilities
·
Lead in the procurement strategy
development and execution for AGRA
·
Lead all global procurement efforts
to efficiently and effectively enable spend owners to maximize the value they
receive from suppliers to meet their objectives
·
Work with each unit to lead
centralized direct and indirect sourcing and procurement efforts. This will
include working with the internal stakeholder from initial need identification
to final goods or service delivery to meet stakeholder needs
·
Support demand management (via
stakeholder management) and then drive supply analysis/strategy, supplier identification,
sourcing execution (i.e., “tendering”), contract negotiation, delivery planning
and monitoring, purchase execution, and then ongoing performance management and
improvement
·
Drive and support development,
implementation and continuous improvement of best-practice based policies and
processes
·
Lead and provide adequate information
to drive optimal selection and management of procurement systems
·
Develop, coach, mentor and manage
procurement staff in sourcing, contracting, transactional purchasing, supplier
management, and miscellaneous internal procurement support activities
·
Manage budgets for categories under
management – and for procurement itself
·
Develop benchmarks and scorecards to
be used for continuous improvement of the procurement processes in the
institution
·
Coordinate preparation of the annual
procurement plans; ensure that the plan is followed, including regular meetings
with Division and Departmental heads to update the plan.
·
Regularly update the procurement
procedures and guidance in the manuals and submit any changes for review to the
Procurement Committee, Management Committee and the COO for final approval by
the President.
·
Plan, organize and lead the bid
solicitation process by working with relevant program/units in drafting and
issuing RFQ, RFP, establishing a Technical Evaluation Panel (TEP), developing
bid evaluation criteria and guiding clients on processes involved.
·
Analyse procurement requirements and
select the most appropriate methods based on interpretation and assessment of established
policies, practices, and experience.
·
Support bid evaluation committees,
ensure the integrity of the competitive process, facilitate bidder debriefings,
and exercise appropriate judgment and tact while ensuring to protect
confidential information.
·
Manage initiatives such as surveys,
cost benefit analysis, trainings or open days that seek to improve knowledge of
procurement processes, policies and procedures with the overall aim of
improving experience for both internal and external clients.
·
Acts as the key contact for any
internal and external procurement audits. Take responsibility for keeping a
running list of previous audit recommendations and the status of their
implementation.
·
Acts as the secretary of AGRA’s
procurement committee; take minutes, keep records & communicate PC’s
decision to programs/units.
·
Conduct all negotiations or recommend
a negotiating team where applicable and negotiate contractual agreements with
suppliers to ensure that service, added value, lowest total cost while ensuring
quality is not compromised. Support programs/department in contract
negotiation.
·
Develop and manage supplier
relationships to deliver breakthrough performance in cost, service and quality.
·
Monitor contract management by user
departments to ensure implementation of contracts in accordance with the terms
and conditions of the contracts and report any significant departures from the
terms and conditions of the contract to the technical Director.
Qualifications
·
Master’s degree in Supply Chain
Management, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, International
Development, Finance, Public Administration or any related discipline, from a
reputable institution
·
Bachelor’s degree in supply chain
management, economics, finance, operations, or a related area from a reputable
institution
·
At least 12 years of supply
management experience, with 5 years of experience at a senior management level.
·
Certifications required e.g CPSM from
the Institute for Supply Management or a near equivalent from firms such as the
American Purchasing Society, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply,
International Purchasing and Supply Chain Management Institute, The
International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management and others.
·
Team player with strong leadership
skills
·
Solid operational management and
general business skills
·
Working knowledge of finance and/or
accounting in terms of budgeting, cost management, financial accounting,
treasury, risk management, etc.
·
Excellent communication, listening
skills that allows you to get the “voice of the internal customer” and to
understand the company culture and how to best communicate procurement’s value
to it
·
In-depth knowledge of sourcing and
procurement principles and best practices
·
Strong negotiation skills to use for
large commercial deals
·
Experience with modern sourcing and
procurement systems
·
Familiarity with relevant legislative
and regulatory requirements, as well as understanding of standard contractual
terms and conditions to mitigate legal risk
·
Strategic mindset and problem-solving
skills
·
Change management skills and
self-awareness to take varying approaches with a dynamic set of stakeholders
(e.g., expert model vs. facilitative model)
Analytical mindset, but also creativity to seek, encourage and find non-traditional approaches that have historically “boxed-in” procurement
Analytical mindset, but also creativity to seek, encourage and find non-traditional approaches that have historically “boxed-in” procurement
Resource Mobilization Officer
JOB REFERENCE SS 06/2017
About AGRA
Founded in 2006, the Alliance for a
Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is an African-led African-based organization
that seeks to catalyze Agriculture Transformation in Africa. AGRA is focused on
putting smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by
transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a
business that thrives.
As the sector that employs the
majority of Africa’s people, nearly all of them small-scale farmers, AGRA
recognizes that developing smallholder agriculture into a productive,
efficient, and sustainable system is essential to ensuring food security, lifting
millions out of poverty, and driving equitable growth across the continent.
To support this transformation, AGRA
is seeking to recruit an experienced and exceptional individual to the position
of Resource Mobilization Officer.
Responsibilities:
·
Resource mobilization strategy and
systems development
·
Developing and maintaining a current
understanding of AGRA’s programs and grantees across the organization in all of
the countries in which operations are conducted. Anchoring on AGRA’s
institutional resource mobilization strategy, assist in the design,
implementation and coordination of an institution-wide, comprehensive donor
relations and stewardship system that fosters positive and mutually rewarding
relations between AGRA and its donors
·
Contribute to and review AGRA’s
strategy documents and knowledge management products to help best position the
institution for resource mobilization.
·
Under the guidance of the Head of
Resource Mobilization unit, take initiatives to expand AGRA’s current donor
base, through effective stewardship and new funding opportunities as may be
developed to grow donor support for AGRA
·
Working with other Resource
Mobilization Officers, develop concept notes, proposals and budgets which drive
the achievement of AGRA’s strategic plan and align with both AGRA and donor
priorities.
·
Prospecting bilateral, multilateral,
philanthropic, and private sector partners and translating partnership
opportunity into both funds and leverage in furtherance of program and resource
targets.
·
Provide other support as required in
the implementation of the Resource Mobilization Strategy.
·
Establish and maintain strong
relations with a portfolio of donors as a foundation for resource mobilization
efforts. Includes gathering intelligence and analyzing key trends in individual
donor policies and plans vis-à-vis AGRA;
·
Organize briefings, meetings, visits
and events with current and prospective donors, coordinate programmatic and
logistical arrangements, draft reports and set action plans for follow-up;
·
Respond to internal and prepare
response to external queries regarding donor contributions;
·
Support teams to ensure compliance on
donor and AGRA requirements, including ensuring timely and quality reporting
·
Leadership support and external engagement
Qualifications
·
Master’s degree in International
Development, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Public Finance, Public
Administration, Rural Development, Social Sciences, or any other relevant
field;
·
High level experience of at least 7
years in international development with demonstrable success in resource
mobilization for large multilateral or bilateral agencies or international
organizations;
·
Ability to work with donors as well
as manage and build strategic donor relations; sound understanding of the donor
financing landscape and processes;
·
Ability to work on performance-based
targets for fundraising;
·
Fluency in English; Knowledge of
French will be an advantage;
·
Results-oriented, accountable,
proactive and able to work on behalf of AGRA with a wide range of stakeholders;
·
Ability to work effectively within
multi-disciplinary teams;
·
Strong quantitative and analytical
skills;
·
Excellent written communication
skills;
·
Results-oriented and accountable;
·
Optimistic and persuasive that
African farmers and consumers will benefit from improved, well-adapted
agricultural technologies and reforms across the input and output value chains;
Ability to communicate effectively to individuals and groups of people;
Ability to communicate effectively to individuals and groups of people;
·
Results and detail orientated with a
very hands-on approach;
·
Intelligent, motivated self-starter
with strong interpersonal skills and work ethic.
·
An attractive remuneration package
commensurate with the responsibilities of the position will be negotiated with
the successful candidate.
How to Apply
If you believe you are the right
candidate for this position, kindly submit your application with a detailed CV
(including your e-mail address and telephone contacts to recruit@agra.org noting to quote the job reference number.
To be considered, applications must
be received on or before August 25, 2017.
