Procurement Assistant at Sign of Hope (SoH)

Summary of the job title

• A Procurement Assistant is being recruited to support a Germany Government (GFFO) funded humanitarian response project that covers specific disaster hotspots in Northern Kenya Turkana County- This position will be based in Turkana North. He/she will work closely and in consultation with the field assistants, the FSL officer, the SoH Area Manager and the regional procurement officer.

His/her responsibilities will be guided by the following objectives

• Make sure that Sign of Hope gets real value for money spent on items by confirming the right quantity of the right quality product, at the right place and time, in right condition.
• Reduce the cost of operations by making sure there is minimum wastage of resources e.g. loss by insect infestation in the stores and on transits.
• Follow up to confirm that First in First out system is adhered to avoid wastage by expiry.
• Map the markets situation for goods to be purchased and distributed in the project area including the larger Northern Kenya.
• Maintain good working relationship with the existing suppliers for the benefit of Sign of hope and transparency in operations.
• Keep updated inventories at field level, recording all the assets details.

Key Duties / Responsibilities:

• Perform duties assigned, pertaining procurement. This includes any activity or office work delegated by the project manager; prepare reports of logistics as per the need.
• Keep the project manager frequently updated on progress of work assigned.
• Commit to monitor the projects assigned, carefully and conscientiously according to Sign of Hope specifications. Further commit to use any resource made available for logistical and procurement tasks, economically and appropriately.
• Make sure requisitions have minimum specifications for items requested and per the budget lines; make sure there are funds before forwarding to the project manager for onward approvals.
• When needed obtain quotations from suppliers and transporters in view of purchasing goods and services, or for transportation of the same and share with the project manager.
• Prepare Competitive Bid analysis (CBA) for deliberations and submit accordingly to the project manager for onward approvals, receive and inspect goods on collection or delivery from suppliers on four eye principle.
• Make sure stores are ready: fumigation/clean, before cargo arrives at the field locations
• Confirmation and acceptance of cargo considering requestor’s specifications, quantity, quality and packaging
• Sign delivery notes/waybills on receiving goods and make sure the consumption sheets are updated accordingly.
• File all documentation soft copies on Next cloud and hard copy filing of any given procurement transaction i.e. requisitions, obtained quotations, CBA, purchase orders, invoices, transporters contracts, Sign of Hope delivery notes in the Procurement file.
• Liaise with field personnel, partners, airliners, lorry transporter; repeatedly monitor that a scheduled trip arrangement is on track.
• Perform any other duty assigned by the project manager.

Minimum requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in procurement, logistics, Social science, agronomy, humanitarian action, or any related field with at least 2 years work experience
• Related Diploma with at least 3 years of relevant experience will also be considered
• Knowledge of SPHERE and other humanitarian programming standards
• Demonstrated success working effectively and respectfully with host communities, government, private sector, partners and other stakeholders in complex environments.
• High frustration tolerance/resilience and strong capability of working in a fragile context and fast-paced environment on highly dynamic topics
• Advanced knowledge of MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Excellent and persuasive oral and written communication skills, including report writing
• Good team player and experience in mentoring staff
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Excellent spoken and written English