Specialist II, Procurement (Consultant Services) – Open to Telecommuting At Catholic Relief Services

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary:

You will complete procurement activities and processes to acquire strategic and complex consultant services for HQ and country programs in support of the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. Your knowledge and experience will allow you to successfully provide advice and capacity building activities to your colleagues at Headquarters (HQ) and in CRS country programs as well as to coordinate the quality and efficiency of procurement activities to ensure stewardship, integrity, transparency, and accountability.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Complete fully compliant strategic and tactical procurements. Assess effectiveness and efficiency in procurement processes and recommend improvements, while ensuring compliance with CRS procurement principles, standards and policies, donor regulations, employment classification requirements, and local statutory requirements.
• Coordinate with various departments to develop and maintain up-to-date procurement plans with all quality and delivery requirements for consultant services. Provide pricing information to assist budget holders with budget preparation.
• Lead the sourcing process for high-risk, high-value, complex, and strategic procurements, and perform various activities to assist with ensuring the best value for money: market research, cost estimates, solicitation documents, bidding process facilitation, supplier identification and research, quality and availability of consultant services assessment, negotiation, contract/purchase order and other documents preparation.
• Communicate with other procurement staff and various program and operations units to coordinate and track consultant services delivery and receipt and keep everyone informed of the status. Collect information to confirm that consultant services delivered are aligned with contractual requirements, including quality, timely completion of deliverables, and contracted cost.
• Maintain correspondence and contact with stakeholders to follow up on the execution of contractual terms and conditions, and handle issues if needed. Monitor and report on consultant performance, noting current and/or potential issues and/or inefficiencies and assist with contract/purchase order modifications.
• Guide the evaluation and selection process for international and HQ consultants. Keep abreast of market conditions and worldwide events that could affect the provision of consultant services to CRS.
• Support in the development of strategic procurement initiatives and lead strategic procurement tendering processes.
• Ensure transparency within the procurement department through a complete, accurate and up-to-date document trail of all procurement processes and consultant files to assist with control and accountability. Prepare reports and facilitate document retrieval.
• Provide procurement advice and capacity building to both procurement and non-procurement staff at HQ and in country programs. Travel to various country program locations worldwide to review processes and procedures. Report out on identified gaps and provide suggestions for the development of procurement capacity for country programs.
• Provide support in the development and delivery of procurement trainings in order to close identified gaps.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration or other relevant degree.
• Minimum of 5 years work experience in non-profit or public procurement/purchasing management, with evidence of increasing complexity over time and experience in consultant procurement, preferably with an international organization.
• Firm understanding of various donor procurement regulations, particularly The Global Fund and USAID, etc.
• Experience as a subject matter expert in consulting, staff augmentation or extended workforces
• Knowledge of international and national procurement regulations and local market conditions.
• Knowledge of contract terms, as well as a proven ability to successfully complete purchase orders against specifications.

Required Languages – English required. Spanish or French is highly desirable. Arabic is a plus.

Travel – Be willing and able to travel up to 30%.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Good planning and coordination skills and ability to prioritize competing priorities effectively
• Good analytical skills with ability to make independent judgment and decisions
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented with focus on meeting customer needs
• Ethical conduct in accordance with recognized professional and organizational codes of ethics
• Good negotiation, communication, and relationship management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional certification a plus.
• Proficient in MS Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint). Experience with database management systems (e.g. MS Access) highly desirable.

Supervisory Responsibilities

None.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal

• Global Supply Chain Management
• Finance (International, Domestic, and Treasury)
• The Office of General Counsel
• HQ Departments and Country Program Operations and Programming Staff

External

• Suppliers
• Service Providers
• Consultants
• Donors

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Integrity
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation
• Builds Relationships
• Develops Talent
• Strategic Mindset
• Accountability & Stewardship

What we offer

CRS offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, life insurance, vision, generous retirement savings plan and the opportunity to work in a collaborative, mission-driven culture that is committed to improving the lives of the poor throughout the world.

*Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Note: All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside their home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical examination.

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people – especially children and vulnerable adults – to live free from abuse and harm.

EOE/M/F/D/V – CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer. (For all US and International positions)