Senior Administrative & Procurement Officer Job at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) supports citizens’ rights to participate in free and fair elections. Our independent expertise strengthens electoral systems and builds local capacity to deliver sustainable solutions. Since 1987, IFES has worked in over 145 countries – from developing democracies, to mature democracies.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Position: Senior Administrative & Procurement Officer

Job Location: Nigeria
Date Prepared: March 27, 2023
Field Job Grade: 8
Manager: Director of Finance & Administration

Primary Function / Purpose

• The Senior Administrative & Procurement Officer provides procurement and administrative support by strategizing to find cost-effective deals and suppliers to the IFES-Nigeria field office. The duty is to discover the best ways to cut procurement costs.

Major Duties and Responsibilities
Procurement:

• Planning, developing, and managing all procurement and contractual aspects of IFES for services, supplies and commodities;
• Providing support and guidance at all stage of the procurement cycle;
•  Formulating strategies and designing innovative solutions to resolve issues/conflicts for complex procurement requests;
• Conducting market research to keep abreast of market developments, researching and analyzing statistical data and market reports on the word commodity situation, production patterns and availability of goods and services;
• Ensuring proper back up documentation for procurement of goods and services and develop and maintain a procurement filing system;
•  Working with IFES-HQ in communicating the need for HQ-led procurement, including but not limited to, sending MSRS/SOWS/DIQF and participating in bid evaluations.
• Applying IFES procurement policy to conduct and manage local procurement including requesting for quotations and managing/conducting all aspects of quotations evaluation, informal quotes, re-bidding local contracts, preparing Purchase Orders, Call Orders or other contractual mechanisms;
•  Maintaining the best cost savings mechanism wherever possible by identifying proper vendors, and negotiating where appropriate in accordance with IFES' procurement policy:
•  Assisting in organizing and logistics for workshops, conferences and seminars;
•  Working with the program team in the verification of items/services delivered against each purchase order/contract considering quality and quantity of material/services and providing program team with the appropriate delivery note(s):
• Reporting to management in case of any discrepancies in buying and delivery of material/services;
•  Conducting vendor verifications in collaboration with the program team before contracts are issued;
• Managing local vendors and IFES service providers-insurance, telephones, office lease, utilities, internet provider, office facilities, etc.;
•  Organizing and maintaining central filing system in both paper and electronic form;
• Maintaining a database of all IFES contacts, NGOs and other organizations;
•  Creating procurement tracker sheet and updating the tracker on regular basis for all IFES Nigeria procurements (Local & HQ);
• Conducting vendor and participant debarment checks and provide support documentation of debarment check to the program team members;
• Conducting hotel assessments for IFES activities and advise Management the most cost-effective hotel.

Administration:

•  Supervising and ensuring safety measures are incorporated into all IFES Nigeria activities;  Delivering administrative services in the most efficient manner to facilitate the functions of other sections;
• Supervising Admin and Procurement staff;
• In collaboration with the Finance Manager, managing IFES Nigeria staff leave and advise Management on the status of leave;
• Maintaining and updating the tracker for staff medical insurance, workers compensation and group life insurance;
• Assisting the Director of Finance and Administration in facilitating IFES Nigeria annual staff
• performance appraisal
• Assisting the Director of Finance and Administration in developing staff dispute resolution mechanisms and reconciliations;
• Assisting in maintaining and disseminating security and health updates to IFES Nigeria staff and related vendors as needed;
• Performing any other duty as assigned by the Director of Finance & Administration.

Position Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, Public Administration, commerce or a related field is required.

Skills and Qualifications:

•  Minimum of 6 years relevant experience with procurement and administration;
•  Prior experience in procurement is required, with preference for experience working in procurement for international NGOs or international organizations;
•  Prior experience in working on USAID-funded projects strongly preferred;
•  Prior experience working on other International Donor-funded projects which may include but not limited to the EU, FCDO, etc., is desired;
•  Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Excel required;
• Ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively;
• The ability to remain organized while handling multiple and problematic tasks;
• Ability to complete tasks with no supervision;
• Self-motivated with the ability to meet IFES Nigeria deadlines;
•  Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills are necessary;
•  Strong attention to detail;
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills;
• Ability to detect problems and produce acceptable solutions.
• Ability to maintain and keep secrecy on all administrative and personnel issues; Being willing, and adaptive;
•  Must value operating in a collaborative and cooperative environment;
• Ability to show initiative, good judgment, and resourcefulness;

Language Skills:

• Proficiency in English language required.

Travel:

• Travel within Nigeria is required.

Physical Requirements/Work Environment

• Standard office work environment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should forward their typed written Application, current resume, copies of certificates and three references to: ifesnigeria@ifes.org using the Job Position as the subject of the email.