Assistant Procurement Manager

Organizational context

Our client company operates in a business environment that is prone to rapid changes and difficulties, which are beyond its control such as shortage of skilled labour and professionals, rise in costs of raw materials, new technology adoption, environmental and social regulations, cutthroat competition and game blaming. Therefore, the company’s key drivers for advancement and diversification are Change and Innovation. As such, it is critical to have a team of dedicated and talented professionals who deliver to their maximum capabilities and efficiency and continuously strive for differentiation with innovative solutions.

Forming part of the construction industry, where the main areas of focus of the company are contracting and customer service, this job is faced with several business challenges, such as change in market trends and regulations and change in suppliers’ standard way of operating. Furthermore, design failures, unanticipated site and environmental conditions, and regulatory environments can all cause deviations from what has been agreed at the moment of signing the contract. His main task is not to strive for diminishing the uncertainties but to find the most cost-optimal way to bear them. Another major challenge is to constantly look for innovative and alternative approaches to ensure procurement ROI and benefits.

Therefore, to overcome these challenges, the Assistant Procurement Manager shall assist the Head of Procurement to perform regular worldwide (not limited to traditional suppliers) market analysis and look for possible and best value alternatives to negotiate with the suppliers. (See proposed grid below with weightage of the key considerations in the procurement process).

Main purpose of the job

The Assistant Procurement Manager shall assist the Head of Procurement for the purchase and material supply chain management of all required items and equipment of the company and shall oversee the entire procurement process and procedures including sourcing, supplier evaluation and technical and commercial evaluation. The job incumbent shall be called upon to use his/her negotiation skills to obtain the best quality materials at an affordable and competitive price. Moreover, he/she shall be involved in the tendering process, by reviewing tender documents, preparing price estimates, and performing risk assessments on raw materials. Also, the Assistant Procurement Manager shall use his/her leadership skills to manage, coach and supervise staff members working under his/her responsibility.

Key relationships – Internal

• Head of Procurement: Review of Procurement activities and planning as more fully defined in the document.
• Procurement Staff members: Teamwork & Coaching.
• Directors: Approval of Orders, Reporting, and any specific matters to be discussed.
• Auditors: Providing relevant information and ensuring adherence to Accounting Standards.
• Support service departments: Liaising for value support to enable smooth execution of daily operations and duties.
• General Managers & Project Management: Conducting meetings as and when required for project execution as well as winning best value for company.
• Key staff of Subsidiaries: Liaising for daily operations.

 Key relationships – External

• Suppliers/ Service Providers: Requesting proposals, negotiations for competitive, high quality, value for money materials, equipment and products within agreed timelines and targets from all possible sources worldwide.
• Auditors: Assisting them by providing relevant information and ensuring accuracy of data and availability of supporting documents and contracts for counter verification.
• Government Authorities: Responding to queries and discussing changes in regulations.

Key Results Areas/ Principal Accountabilities

Tendering Process

• Reviewing tender documents and summarizing and listing queries relative to material supply.
• Taking off bill of quantities (BOQ).
• Working on alternative proposals.
• Prepare price estimates, evaluate risks and make recommendations of profit margins and selling price.
• Prepare Negotiation pack at pre-tender stage with Suppliers / Service Providers.
• Responding to customer’s and Engineer’s queries.

Research Work & Strategy

• Conducting world-wide research and managing the sourcing process.
• Devising and using fruitful sourcing strategies.
• Conducting supplier’s appraisal including review of supplier financial status, reputation, production capacity, Product Compliance Certificates, Quality Assurance Certificates, Reference Projects, etc).

Agreements & Internal Tenders

• Drafting contract and framework agreements.
• Drafting scope of works for third party inspection.
• Drafting of Internal Tenders for General material requirement and evaluation.

Purchase Requests

• Collaborating with key persons to ensure clarity of the specifications and expectations of the company.
• Verifying purchase requisitions and attending to queries of Procurement Officers.
• Preparing / Reviewing Technical & Commercial analysis and recommendations of suppliers / Service Providers.
• Assist with the Examining and testing existing contracts.

Order Planning

• Review Tender Workings in conjunction with present context and prepare shortlist of prospective suppliers.
• Prepare procurement schedule in line with program of works and Procurement Planning from Operations Team.
• Work on alternatives where there are issues with unavailability of raw materials, delivery time and cost exceeding allowable.
• Preparing cash out forecast.
• Review costing and assist in preparing of Optimized Contract Allowable.
• Reviewing purchase requests versus contract allowable and challenging the purchase decision.
• Lowering rate of emergency purchases.
• Considering any change in project requirements with regards to variation of orders, site instructions, charge of drawings from customer or engineer at execution stage.
• Monitoring of orders – usage versus permissible wastage.

Negotiation

• Looking for suppliers, initiating business and organizational partnerships and confirming orders.
• Using key functional metrics to reduce expenses and improving effectiveness during negotiations.
• Negotiating with external vendors to secure advantageous terms.

Approvals

The job incumbent shall be responsible for approving the below in the absence of the Head of Procurement:

• Potential orders and price.
• Appointment of freight and forward agents.
• Purchase requisitions for all logistics requirements.
• Marine insurance cover.
• Purchase orders.

Task Monitoring

• Controlling spend and building a culture of long-term saving on procurement costs.
• Monitoring of all on-going orders and taking necessary actions to remedy and mitigate problems.
• Conducting critical path analysis.
• Attending meetings with internal customers to understand their needs and update their schedule.
• Perform site visits and surveys to ensure that delivery is in order or to understand irregularities (if any).
• Control of Non – Conforming products and Managing Claims / Replacements / Returns.
• Perform Supplier Evaluation.

Logistics

• Managing Logistics and Coordinating delivery of Materials.
• Ensure proper planning for the movement of materials, equipment, tools and/or parts supply in compliance with assigned project requirements.
• Proper monitoring and tracking of orders and reporting.
• Receiving, Inspecting & validating Purchases.

People Management

• Enforcing discipline and code of conduct to subordinates.
• Participating in selection of candidates for recruitment of staff.
• Conducting effective performance appraisal of subordinates in a transparent and fair manner.
• Ensuring that the responsibilities, authorities and accountability of all direct subordinates are defined and understood.
• Actively participating in the training and development of staff.

Support to effective project management

• Submitting any relevant data/information that may be required for monthly reporting by General Managers and Commercial Manager.

Key Managerial Competencies

• Rational Decision Making
• Analytical Skills
• Problem Solving
• Communication & Interpersonal Skills
• Strategic Thinking
• Influencing & Negotiating
• Innovative Thinking
• Proactive
• People Leadership
• Resource Management

Key Competencies (Technical)/ Scope of Technical Competencies

Tendering Process

• Interpretation of Tender documents.
• Extract BOQ incl. Bill Material Schedules.
• Price estimates.
• Preparing Pre-tender negotiation.
• Risk assessments of raw materials.
• Risks reduction.
• Logistics

Research Work

• Knowledge of Materials.
• Designing & implementing sourcing strategies.
• World-wide sourcing.
• Supplier evaluation.
• Assist with drafting Contract agreements.
• Assisting with drafting of Framework agreements

Agreements & Internal Tenders

• Contract agreements.
• Framework agreements.

Negotiations & Purchase Requests

• Winning suppliers’ trust.
• Getting the best quotes.
• Negotiation tactics.
• Price analysis.
• Networking and working with figures.

Order Planning in a fast-paced environment

• Stock predictability.
• Procurement schedule.
• Cash out forecasts.
• Contract allowable.
• Handling tight deadlines.
• Weighing up tenders from potential suppliers.

Order Monitoring

• Critical path analysis.

Person Specifications

Qualifications, Skills and Knowledge

The ideal job holder should have a degree in Building and Civil Engineering or Mechanical Engineering and possess:

• Excellent knowledge in Supply Chain Management.
• Good knowledge in Stock Management and Logistics.
• Good communication, managerial and analytical skills.
• Good computer literacy and well versed with new technology.
• Excellent written and spoken English and French.

Experience

The ideal job holder should possess:

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience within the construction industry, including 2 years in project Execution, 3 years in Procurement Sector.

Person’s Attributes

• Strong skills in areas of project management in terms of materials requirement and procurement, planning, organization and ability to manage people effectively.
• Strong knowledge of the construction industry and market conditions.
• Independent thinking whilst being participative.
• Leadership and motivation skills.
• Independent thinking whilst being participative.
• Up to date on applicable technologies.
• Innovative, proactive and trustworthy.
• High professional reliability and integrity.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to adapt to any challenging environment.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and rapport building.
• Flexible to work long hours as demanded by projects.
• Able to travel to meet vendors and suppliers, as necessary.