Bangladesh: Procurement Delegate

Since January 2017, IFRC has been supporting BDRCS in responding to the needs of people fleeing from Myanmar’s Rakhine State into Bangladesh. The initial response started after an upsurge of violence in the northern areas of Rakhine during October 2016 prompted local Muslim populations to cross the border into Bangladesh in large numbers. As the initial Population Movement Emergency Appeal operation took shape, on 25 August 2017, a new influx started as thousands fled a new wave violence in northern areas of Rakhine. Since 25 August, more than 604,000 persons have arrived, most of them women and children. According to the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), the latest influx has resulted in an increase of Persons from Rakhine (PfR) to a total of 816,000. There are four categories of PfR: 1) registered individuals with refugee status living in camps managed by UNHCR since 1992; 2) older undocumented PfR since 1993; 3) new undocumented PfR since October 2016; and 4) newer PfR who started crossing into Bangladesh on 25 August 2017. Most of them are concentrated in Cox’s Bazar District, spread across a variety of settlements: registered refugee camps, makeshift settlements, spontaneous settlements and with the host community. Thousands continue to cross every day, making the crisis one of the largest and most complex in the region in decades. In response to the massive upsurge in humanitarian needs, IFRC issued a Revised Emergency Appeal for CHF 12.76 million on 14 September and deployed various components of its Global Response Tools1, with specialists and units covering a wide range of sectors. The scale of needs has since increased exponentially and on 10 October IFRC categorized the situation as ‘Red’ level crisis according to the IFRC Emergency Response Framework, making it an organization-wide priority for the IFRC Secretariat at all levels. Linked to this, a further scale-up of the IFRC response was done on 23 October with issuance of another Emergency Appeal Revision which increased the ask to CHF 33.5 million. The operation aims to meet the humanitarian needs of 200,000 persons through timely and effective emergency relief alongside medium and longer-term interventions to support the safety, dignity and resilience of PfR and host communities.

The logistics function within the IFRC provides an extensive range of services to other functional sectors and groups within the organisation, as well as support to its constituent Federation National Societies. In the Bangladesh Population Movement Operation, these services include international and domestic supply chain management, transportation, warehousing, and fleet management as well as procurement.Job Purpose

Take overall responsibility for supervising and conducting all Procurement processes operated for the Bangladesh Population Movement Office (PMO) in support of the RCRC Movement response to the influx of Rohingya people from Rakhine State, Myanmar, including user and supplier relationship management. The role will work closely with the PMO Logistics Team for delivery of logistics services with responsibility for procurement activities e.g. ensuring local sourcing, timely deliveries, quality of goods and services, local market research. This role is expected to play an active role in training and support other IFRC and National Society staff in relevant procurement activities and support the logistics team to ensure alignment in cross-function activity. As such, this role will require procurement experience as well as excellent communication and organizational skills.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

1. To plan and implement the overall operational procurement strategy for the PMO in full compliance with IFRC procurement procedures and best practices to enable a high quality, efficient and cost-effective procurement process that meets the requests of the services users in close cooperation with the Regional Logistics Unit based in Kuala lumpur.
2. To ensure that the PMO operational procurement supports and delivers all operational procurement objectives in close cooperation with the Operational Logistics, Procurement and supply Chain Management department (OLPSCM)based in Kuala Lumpur.
3. To prepare and present procurement files to local Committee of Contracts, and submit required documents to/through KL OLPSCM for technical approvals/GVA CoC approval.
4. To have full accountability in compliance and delivering best value for money in close coordination with Strategic Sourcing team function and drive technical rigour within procurement files and to provide consultation to PMO management to ensure compliance.
5. Ensure that quality control/checks are conducted for all items, materials, or tools procured and delivered by suppliers, that they all meet specifications stated in contracts, are fit for the intended purpose, and have appropriate inspection certificates, when required.
6. Establish KPIs for the operational procurement function and report KPIs to the Management team on an ongoing basis and to facilitate implementation of procurement policies and procedures and to ensure global procurement guidelines and policies are fully understood, communicated and locally applied.
7. To manage the PMO operational procurement team including the development of technical skills of procurement team.
8. Provide technical expertise and advice across the in-country network to enable the delivery of the right quality and cost efficient procurement service provision that meets the requirements of the Federation, partners and customers
9. To maintain a comprehensive supplier database and procurement database of all goods and services procured at a country level and are audit-ready at all times.
10. Liaise with suppliers, service providers and other relevant stakeholders regarding delivery of supplies or services to the benefit of the Movement and keeping all parties informed of any changes in a timely manner.
11. To provide support and training to National society (NS) procurement staff and volunteers to improve the quality of procurement services with Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, promote adherence to best practice principles and compliance with necessary regulation, legislation and IFRC procedures
12. To prepare timely monthly reports detailing specifics according to the needs and distributing them to the OLPSCM Unit in Kuala Lumpur.
13. Ensure adequate skilled resources are available to successfully and timely manage the procurement workload.

Position Requirements

1. University degree in logistics, procurement, administration, finance or equivalent field experience
2. Professional Qualifications / Membership of Professional Body in Procurement, Accounting or Audit (preferred)
3. Basic Delegates Training Course or equivalent knowledge (preferred) Experience
4. Extensive experience of Procurement operations, in a humanitarian environment, ideally with the Red Cross Movement.
5. Substantial experience of supporting multiple programmes relevant in a developing country context
6. Experience in building organisational partnerships and organisational capacity
7. Representing an organisation within external fora Knowledge/ technical skills
8. Experience in managing and training staff/volunteers Knowledge, skills and languages
9. Sound understanding of the principles of sound Procurement practice, ideally familiarity with the IFRC Procurement Rules.
10. Good understanding of commercial terms of contract, international trade, and supply chain flows.
11. Excellent negotiation skills, ability to function on own initiative, exercising appropriate skills in diplomacy and sensitivity.
12. Understanding of how the Movement organises its emergency response / surge operations. (preferred)
13. Very strong administration skills.
14. Excellent communicator, and sensitive to the challenges of international teams working within extremely complex and difficult environments.
15. Highly skilled negotiator in difficult commercial conditions.

For more detail on position requirements and to apply, please visit the IFRC vacancies portal:
http://www.ifrc.org/en/who-we-are/working-with-us/current-vacancies/job-description/?id=5112

Please note this position closes on Friday 2 February 2018.