Senior Procurement Specialist
Job #: req11345
Organization: World Bank
Sector: Procurement
Grade: GG
Term Duration: 3 years 0 months
Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment
Location: Pretoria,South Africa
Required Language(s): English
Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 4/5/2021 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC
Description
The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.
Background / General description:
The Governance Global Practice (GGP) comprises a variety of different professional disciplines working on public institutions, including procurement, public sector management, governance and anti-corruption, and financial management.
The GGP interventions range from diagnostics, technical assistance and advisory services, knowledge management and sharing, creating peer learning platforms, lending and reform project implementation, and monitoring and reporting. An important part of its responsibilities is to deliver operational support to other Practices, including through inputs for policy-based operations, hands-on implementation advice and direct fiduciary due diligence of investment financing.
The Governance Procurement Department convenes a leading group of practitioners focused on advancing cutting-edge practices and innovations in the fields of procurement, anti-corruption and open government.
The Africa East/South unit of the Governance Procurement Department seeks to recruit/appoint a highly organized, energized and experienced professional, capable of operating effectively in the AECS1 Country Management Unit (CMU) which includes South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia, as well as in the AECE1 CMU for Zimbabwe.
The selected Senior Accredited Procurement Specialist will be based in Pretoria, South Africa, and work on projects and activities covering the full range of procurement fiduciary, service and knowledge functions. S/he will also provide leadership in moving the procurement reform and innovation agenda.
Duties and Accountabilities:
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Works independently under the guidance and supervision of the relevant CMU Procurement Hub Coordinator (PHC) and under the overall management of the Accredited Practice Manager (APM).
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Provides technical fiduciary advice on procurement activities and engages in policy dialogue on procurement with client countries.
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Provides task teams with guidance and advice on the Bank's procurement guidelines/regulations, policies and practices as applied to Bank lending operations throughout all phases of the project cycle.
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Supports client countries in achieving value for money (VFM) in public procurement to enhance service delivery and development outcomes.
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Understands relevant procurement markets using analytical tools and approaches to define more effective procurement.
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Leads and participates in groundbreaking or precedent-setting missions, and plays a key role in developing innovative, practical approaches to procurement while simultaneously dealing with difficult policy and operational issues
at the regional, country and/or sector levels.
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Handles procurement cases subject to APM and Operations Policy Review Committee (OPRC) reviews and verifies that they are properly prepared and presented for clearance.
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Plays an invaluable role in implementing the procurement framework of the Bank and use of STEP.
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Prepares and/or comments on draft operational directives and policy papers; produces major/complex reports.
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Develops relationships with government senior officials to advance policy dialogue in procurement.
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Transforms policy dialogue into concrete proposals that enhance and strengthen countries' national procurement systems.
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Plays a significant role within the function in guiding/mentoring other stakeholders.
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Develops and executes training modules on complex sector related procurement topics.
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Makes significant contributions in evaluating and developing improvements to borrower's procurement legislation, regulations and practices, including influencing the design, reform and establishment of national and sub-national public procurement systems, strengthening of institutional capacity within borrower entities and monitoring and reporting on the progress of procurement reforms.
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Guides the preparation and ensures wide dissemination of the team's knowledge, tools and other products including innovations and lessons learned.
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Facilitates and organizes key client/borrower counterparts, international experts, etc., to debate and exchange ideas on key procurement issues, policies and practices.
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Assists PHCs and APM and performs duties as delegated.
The work implies frequent interaction with the following stakeholders:
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Senior and Executive Management in duty station. Some interactions with HQ based management is also possible.
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Top government officials at ministerial level and equivalent contacts in other international organizations, partner entities, etc.
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Procurement specialists within the World Bank and government units.
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Counterparts in the Bank across VPUs, Global Practices and other units involved in meeting the Bank's business objectives.
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Other external constituencies and expert groups.
Selection Criteria
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Master's degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. business administration, engineering, commerce, law, procurement, public policy, etc.) is required.
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Minimum of 8 years of direct relevant experience in procurement inside or outside the Bank. International experience is desirable.
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Knowledge of the concepts, principles and practices governing international procurement, with the ability to translate concepts into operational work, including but not limited to VFM, sustainable procurement, strategic sourcing, market analysis, contract management, etc.
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Ability to deal sensitively in a country-specific and multi-cultural environment and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues.
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Strong communication skills and persuasiveness in presenting, negotiating and resolving highly complex issues, both orally and in writing.
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Client-driven and a sense of personal responsibility for achieving a high level of technical quality and timeliness in delivering the work program of the APM office.
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Ability to solve complex problems involving multiple stakeholders and constraints.
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Analytical skills to recognize patterns, extract conclusions and strategies out of information coming from multiple sources and in a variety of forms.
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Results-oriented with high level of integrity to act as a trusted, strategic advisor, partnering with clients to deliver results.
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Demonstrated ability to effectively mentor/guide groups of staff and design training/skills enhancement initiatives to ensure effective transfer of knowledge/skills.
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Knowledge on institutions and procurement reforms in Borrower's countries and good practices around the world.
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Knowledge of risk management and control mechanisms for compliance and quality.
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Understanding of the World Bank's products and project cycle is desirable.
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Understanding of political economy, public policy, public systems and public management in procurement or other sectors.
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Knowledge and understanding of project management tools & methodologies; ability to manage procurement under complex, multi-functional, cross-regional projects/programs including managing relationships with stakeholders & counterparties.
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Excellent command of English.
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Availability to travel frequently.
The World Bank Group Core Competencies: https://bit.ly/2kbIA7O
Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.
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