Procurement Specialist at One Acre Fund

The Kenya Procurement team is responsible for all purchases that keep our program running for over 350,000 smallholder farmers. We are seeking a team lead to manage the Kenya Procurement team, implement standardized processes, execute with sustained quality improvements, and drive 3-5% of purchasing cost out of the system.

You will coordinate across teams at One Acre Fund-Kenya to maintain the consistent flow of purchasing information and ultimately deliver a world class purchasing department at the feet of our 750,000+ clients.

Responsibilities

• Team Management
  • Mentoring a 10+ person team consisting of purchasers, stores officers & QC officers
  • Coaching purchasers to identify high quality, high level suppliers and how to negotiate for best pricing and terms
  • Holding the team accountable to strong integrity and performance standards
  • Working with multinational staff and suppliers
  • Identifying opportunities to grow the team and working with manager on recruitment of strong local talent

• Defined Processes and Team Vision
  • Implementing procurement mechanisms and systems by incorporating procurement best practices and identifying strong, long-term supplier relationships
  • Mapping out current procurement practices on the Kenya team to identify and implement cost- and time-saving improvements.
  • Standardize practices to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and customer service
  • Set a 6-12 month vision for the procurement team to realize 3-5% cost savings across items, communicate realistic lead times to requestors, and deliver with 95% accuracy in quality and timeliness
  • Build excellent inventory , quality assurance systems to support procurement operations

• Manage day to day purchasing Execution  
  • Triaging requests as they come in to assess lead times and project possible delays and challenges
  • Running quarterly forecasting activities across teams to come up with a quarterly procurement plan
  • Maintaining accurate procurement data in the SAP system
  • Ensuring purchases are supported with sufficient documentation (PO’s, contracts etc.)
  • Running annual product tendering exercises to ensure we have preferred vendors for all frequently purchased products to minimize RFQ frequency and maximize savings.
  • Saving costs for the organization – every purchase order is an opportunity for negotiate for better prices and better payment terms for the organization. You don’t take no for an answer and you bring suppliers to understand the value of giving discounts to One Acre Fund.
  • Working closely with logistics teams to minimize delivered costs
  • Working closely with other internal teams to reduce overall spend
  • Maintaining and improving procurement process transparency

• Manage procurement support functions
  • Overseeing execution of strong inventory management practices in procurement stores – including data management, best practices etc. You make sure our monthly inventory counts are accurate or quickly resolved if anything is missing.
  • Developing best practices for mitigating risk to One Acre Fund through enhanced quality assurance mechanisms for procurement material

• Representing the Procurement team to Kenya Leadership
  • Communicating expertly and effectively with leadership to ensure they understand your team vision and what you’re doing to get there

• Liaising across client and stakeholder departments to ensure procurement is always supporting the broader country’s mission
  • Communicating back to the procurement team the broader organization and country team’s goals and how the procurement team supports those goals
  • Responding to feedback from leadership team and key stakeholders in a timely, consistently respectful fashion

CAREER GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You’ll have weekly check-ins with your manager, access to mentorship and training programs, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months, and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You’ll have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.

QUALIFICATIONS

We are seeking exceptional professionals with experience in supply chain, operations management or procurement. Experience in an entrepreneurial environment and/or a passion for our mission.

Candidates that meet the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Work experience in a demanding professional environment, preferably in positions where frequent cross-department communication was required
• At least 2 years of people or project management experience at work or outside of work
• Creativity and strong problem solving skills a must. You don’t take no for an answer and constantly look for alternative solutions to problems.
• Able to independently structure analyses related to procurement subject matter
• A passion for world class customer service
• Strong communication skills with suppliers, reports, peers and management
• Ability to work and make decisions independently
• Attention to detail – you can pick a needle out of a haystack
• A strong sense of accountability - you take ultimate responsibility for the success of your team if an order is late or the wrong quality, you take ownership to fix it and identify opportunities for improvement in the future
• Demonstrated experience in managing an execution-focused team is a plus
• Some experience in procurement, supply chain, logistics, consulting, or finance preferred
• Strong computer skills in at least Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint required, experience using SAP preferred
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university  
• Language: Fluent in English and Swahili required