Procurement Officer
Procurement Officer
About Mercy Corps.
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within now, and for the future.
Program/Departement Summary:
Since 2012 the Mercy Corps Syria program provides emergency, life-saving programming to displaced and besieged populations across the country through three operational hubs. Mercy Corps’ continues to position itself as the implementing partner of choice for Emergency relief programming, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, Shelter and Livelihood programming. Furthermore, Mercy Corps operates with a wide network of local implementing partners to advise, support, and coach targeted Syrian civil society organizations to better and more efficiently serve conflict-affected communities.
The Procurement Department is committed to implementing and maintaining the highest standards of efficiency and integrity in the purchase of goods and services. The overriding objective for all Mercy Corps procurement activity is the prompt and effective provision of materials and services to Mercy Corps’ beneficiary populations in compliance with donor specifications.
General Position Summary:
The Procurement Officer is responsible for enabling excellence in all major procurement functions. The Procurement Officer will have a focus on assisting the Coordinator and the Procurement Team on processing the large procurements needed by the different programs.
The Procurement Officer will be in charge of a demanding schedule of medium and large procurements. The success of the programs will depend on a strong relationship between Mercy Corps procurement, program and finance teams. The Procurement Officer will be also in charge of building strong internal relations based on trust, integrity, competency, and extreme cooperation. The Procurement Officer will work closely with the senior-level procurement staff to facilitate transparent flows of information, as well as to ensure accountability of on-time delivery of goods and services and proper planning from programs.
ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
Managing Small and Micro Procurements:
- Lead and facilitate the procurement process for micro (value between 250 and 1,500 USD) and small (value between 1,500 and 20K USD) purchase requests by fully understanding and analyzing the requirement(s), identifying potential suppliers, communicating with suppliers and completing their registration on the Procurement System (ProSource), following up with programs and all other stakeholders to complete solicitation and awarding processes properly in the Procurement System (ProSource) as per the Field Procurement Policies and Procedures (FP3) and other relevant SOPs.
- Work with all Mercy Corps staff to ensure smooth introduction and adoption of procurement systems.
- Do all needed market surveys to optimize the performance and the deliverables of the Procurement team.
- Identify potential new suppliers in market for major goods and services that are not covered under Master Agreements.
- Follow up with suppliers to ensure all deliverables, quality standards and deadlines are met, and update program focal points accordingly.
- Ensure proper archiving and documentation of all paperwork, approvals, communication, decisions… etc. in the workflow.
- Facilitate and co-facilitate refreshers and/or training sessions as needed to ensure proper understanding of the Field Procurement Policies and Procedures (FP3) by other departments, and the different types of transactions on the Procurement System (ProSource).
- Work closely with Program and Finance teams to deliver successful and on-time outcomes while demonstrating excellent stewardship of donor funds and compliance with MC and donor regulations.
- Ensure that all Mercy Corps procurement contracts and business transactions/relationships are transparent and in compliance with Jordanian law and Mercy Corps/donor policies and raise any flags to the Procurement Manager if necessary.
Tenders Management and Co-Facilitation:
- Work with all Mercy Corps staff to ensure smooth introduction and adoption of procurement systems related to standard tenders (value between 20K and 150K USD).
- Assist MC team and programs in understanding their roles and responsibilities in terms of interaction with Procurement and other stakeholders throughout the tendering process and define the tasks they need to perform on the Procurement System (ProSource) and during committee meetings, ensuring that the process goes in line with Field Procurement Policies and Procedures FP3.
- Be responsible for and assure full and proper implementation of Mercy Corps systems of management, compliance and control as described in Mercy Corps field Procurement Policies and procedures FP3 for all programs’ procurement functions.
- Work with Finance, Compliance and Procurement team members to mitigate fraud, conflict of interest and legal ramifications of Mercy Corps activities.
- Co-facilitate standard tenders (value between 20K and 150K USD) processes, with the assistance of other Procurement Officer(s) and/or Procurement Assistant(s) if needed, by ensuring proper advertising for tenders and proper archiving for all documents, registering interested bidders in the system, attending all tender committee meetings, properly-documenting the meetings’ outcomes and decisions, communicating with bidders on behalf of the committee and facilitating the whole supplier selection process.
- Work closely with the Senior Procurement team members to ensure compliance and timeliness of the tendering and contracting processes.
- Lead the due diligence process for standard tenders and conduct visits to suppliers as part of this process.
- Manage ‘on-time’ tracking system for tenders and reporting function within Mercy Corps.
- Work closely with Program and Finance teams to deliver successful and on-time outcomes while demonstrating excellent stewardship of donor funds and compliance with MC and donor regulations.
- Ensure timely and accurate processing and documentation (hard and soft copy) of all tenders,and manage the whole workflow on the Procurement System (ProSource) as described in the Field Procurement Policies and Procedures (FP3) and the relevant SOPs.
- Ensure that all Mercy Corps procurement contracts and business transactions/relationships are transparent and in compliance with Jordanian law and Mercy Corps/donor policies and raise any flags to the Procurement Manager if necessary.
- Do all needed market surveys to optimize the performance and the deliverables of the tenders division within the Procurement team.
- Co-facilitate the prequalification process for all types of goods/services as needed by the programs/departments of the Organization, under the supervision of the Procurement Coordinator.
Personal Leadership:
- Consistently demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances. Develop strong and productive working relationships – specifically with finance and program teams.
- Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
- Demonstrate an awareness of his/her strengths and development needs.
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 towards 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.
- Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: None
ACCOUNTABILITY:
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Procurement Coordinator.
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Procurement Coordinator, Procurement/Logistics staff, Program Managers and staff, Finance Team, IT Department (Vendor Data Admins).
COLLABORATES WITH: Procurement Coordinator, Procurement Officers and all MC logistics and operations team as required.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
- Degree in a relevant business field, industrial engineering or logistics and supply chain is desired.
- 2-3 years of field experience of managing small to medium procurements with humanitarian NGOs.
- Demonstrated attention to detail, following procedures, meeting deadlines and problem-solving independently and cooperatively.
- Knowledge of Mercy Corps systems and procedures is desired.
- Experience in using SAP Ariba system is a plus
- 2-year proven experience in dealing with small and medium procurements including open tenders.
- Excellent negotiation, follow up and representation skills.
- Effective verbal and written communication, organizational, prioritization and Microsoft Office applications.
- Excellent oral and written English skills are required.
- Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team.
SUCCESS FACTORS
The successful Procurement Officer will be good at problem solving and self motivation, and has the ability to deliver successful programs while demonstrating excellent stewardship of donor funds and compliance with MC and donor regulations. The Procurement Officer will maintain strong cooperative relationships with other departments and interact effectively with international and national personnel, while demonstrating the ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. S/he will be able to live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive on evolving and changing environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.
COMPETENCIES
- Planning and Prioritization Skills
- Analytical Thinking
- Collaboration/ Team Work
- Focus on Quality
- Follow-up
MECRY CORPS DIVERSITY STATEMENT
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening, and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
SAFEGUARDING & ETHICS
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times.