JD Unique ID: 72803

Job Title: Procurement & Logistics Officer- Youth in Work Project

Company: Self Help Africa 

Location: Sokoto

Contract type: Fixed term contract, full-time (local recruitment) 

Period: 2 years (renewable)

Reports to: Senior Officer, Procurement & Logistics

Organisation overview: 

About Self Help Africa  

Self Help Africa (SHA) is an international development organisation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and dedicated to the vision of ‘Sustainable livelihoods and healthy lives for all in a changing climate’. We have over 50 years of experience working in Africa, including 25 years in Nigeria (formerly as United Purpose and Concern Universal).

In 2021, Self Help Africa merged with United Purpose (UP), doubling our size. The organisation now works in 17 programme countries. 15 of these are in sub-Saharan Africa while subsidiary organisations, ‘Self Help Brazil’ and ‘Self Help Bangladesh’, have been created for our programmes in the two countries where we are working outside of Africa.

In early 2023, we launched a new five-year organisation strategy, which outlines our mission of alleviating hunger, poverty, social inequality and the impact of climate change through community-led, market-based and enterprise-focused approaches, so that people can have access to nutritious food, clean water, decent employment and incomes, while sustaining natural resources. 

Our wider organisation also includes social enterprise subsidiaries: Partner Africa – which provides ethical auditing and consultancy services, TruTrade – an innovative trading platform in East Africa, and CUMO – Malawi’s largest micro-finance provider. 

Our three core values are: 

To achieve our organisational mission, we work across numerous sectors, such as Agriculture, Climate & Environment, Energy, Enterprise, Nutrition, and Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH).

Project description 

SHA is partnering with the World Food Programme to implement the Strengthening Food Systems project to Promote Increased Value Chain Employment Opportunities for the Youth in Nigeria-Northwest (Sokoto and Zamfara). Strengthening Food Systems project aims to strengthen food systems that promote increased value chain employment opportunities for the youth; sustaining and improving on-farm and off-farm job opportunities for 25,000 young women and young men engaged in the different nodes of sorghum, millet, soya bean, groundnut, and horticulture value chains.

The project will focus on capacity building interventions for existing enterprises, using this as an avenue to create employment opportunities for youth and women in Sokoto and Zamfara States.

Job Purpose: 

SHA is looking for a Procurement & Logistics Officer to support the procurement and logistics procedures and processes of the FCDO WS4H programme based in the country office in Abuja.

The Procurement & Logistics Officer will support the procurement processes and procedures from the initiation of a purchase request to the final receipt and approval of goods/services, contributing to the timely and cost-effective delivery/implementation of the programme; provide logistics support to the programme teams and country office by facilitating events/training and workshops, organising travel and transport and vehicle and driver management, hotel booking etc in alignment to donor and SHA policies. The ideal candidate will also manage supplier relationships to ensure compliance with contracts and resolution of issue, liaising with internal departments to forecast needs and specifications and managing procurement plans. S/he is responsible for programme procurement processes ensuring that all applicable SHA and donors’ policies and guidelines are adhered to and all required documentation are in place.

Key Responsibilities: 

Procurement:

• Work with country programme team to prepare the annual Procurement Plan to maximize efficiency and coordination in the procurement of goods and services across projects.
• Support the drafting and negotiating of Purchase Orders, Purchase Order Agreements, Consultancy Agreements, Service Agreements, and subcontracts.
• Conduct market research for each type of procurement and maintain a data base of vendors and items commonly needed by the country office.
• Determine the most reasonable and expeditious process for procurement in compliance with SHA policies and procedures and donor regulations.
• Provide clarifications to all vendors when is required and ensuring confidentiality throughout procurement and vendor selection process.
• Facilitate the evaluation process in accordance to SHA procurement policy and procedures and ensure proper documentation of the selection of vendors.
• Manage procurement and supply chain activities such as tracking the shipment, reviewing completeness and accuracy of shipping/cargo, documentation, and confirming of the right quantity and quality of delivered consignments and notifying the concerned party for any delays or concerns.
• Ensure that the items procured through local and international procurement are quality assured.
• Liaise with relevant internal departments and programmes to ensure that order fulfilment is on time and in line with expectation.
• Deal with operational challenges around deliveries and payment and escalate to relevant departments.
• Verify quality and quantity of products according to the agreement and/or needs of the beneficiary, community, and/or Project ensuring proper documentation of the delivery.
• Process requisitions for procurement, review invoices and payment requests ensuring that all the required forms are appropriately filled before submission to finance.
• Ensure proper documentation, archiving of procurement files and upload to box drive and prepare procurement reports on monthly basis.
• Maintain auditable records for procurement, approved plan, and supporting documents.

Efficient Administration of Procurement Processes:

Travel, Logistics & Events Coordination:

• Oversee the management for all travel, and accommodation for visitors, consultants, and staff on official SHA business.  Ensure that travel is on schedule, cost effective.
• Ensure that meetings and conferences are effectively managed in the project offices ensuring value for money and transparency in all the processes.
• Employ the highest standards of openness, transparency and accountability to ensure good financial management in line with SHA’s zero-tolerance approach to fraud, bribery and corruption.

Safeguarding and compliance:

• Demonstrate commitment to safeguarding, protection, gender mainstreaming and inclusion of vulnerable population including people with disabilities.
• Comply with and ensure compliance by all staff and vendors with safeguarding policy and practices and all other relevant policies/ procedures.
• Provide support to established feedback, complaints and response mechanism across communities of implementation to ensure operational decisions are informed by local perspectives and priorities, and contribute to the protection of program participants at the community level.

Key Relationships: 

Internal: Global Procurement & Logistics Manager, Programmes, Operations, Finance & Compliance and Security teams.

External: Suppliers/Vendors, Consultants, Service Providers and other external stakeholders.

Knowledge, Experience and Other Requirements 

Education and other qualifications:

• University Degree in Business Administration, Operations, Supply chain management or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Master’s degree is a plus.
• 3 – 5 years’ work of experience in an Operations or Procurement/Logistics role, preferably in an INGO.
• Knowledge of Procurement processes and software systems required.

Experience and Skills:

• Experience in developing, maintaining and tracking procurement plans.
• Strong negotiations skills, suppliers’ management and proven ability to provide high level operational support to programmes teams.
• Ability to plan and organise a substantial workload that including complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities.
• Deep understanding of supply chain and inventory management systems.
• Excellent organisational skills and a track record of consistently prioritising delivering on time.
• Capability to work under pressure and adapt to dynamic environments.
• Attention to detail and a commitment to achieving operational efficiency and ensuring value for money.
• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity
• Commitment to SHA’s mission and values

Language Requirements:

Written and oral proficiency in English and relevant local language (Hausa preferred) will be an advantage.

Application Procedure:

The full job description can be downloaded here.

Fill and send the attached Self Help Africa application form and also send your cover letter and CV in a single document (of not more than 6 pages) to the following link.  

Email title must be the same as the position you are applying for and the location of the position. 

In the cover letter, please ensure to explain the following: 

The deadline for this application is 22nd January, 2025 at 5pm. You are advised to apply early, as applications will be treated on a rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

All candidates offered a job with Self Help Africa will be expected to sign our Safeguarding Policies and Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.  Specific roles may require Police/DBS vetting. 

Self Help Africa strives to be an equal opportunity employer.