Director of Procurement Full-Time

The Director of Procurement reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer of EDM. However, the Executive Director for People and Corporate Services will coordinate the selection process for this position. She will also oversee the onboarding of the new director. The function of Procurement Director is very critical, and it constitutes a major foundation stone in establishing a clean and reputable organization. The new procurement function will cover all procurement in EDM. In effect, the function will cover procurement both in EDM’s entire operations, as well as all corporate procurement.

Like all other director positions in EDM, this function would normally be sourced nationally. However, and in recognition of the fact that we need to lay a reputable foundation which should only be subject to internationally acceptable expectations and norms, we are advertising position internationally. Parts of the remuneration of this position will therefore be denominated in international currency. This position will also be termed and the incumbent will be expected to have established a reputable functioning directorate by the end of his or her term. Most importantly, the internationally recruited director would have prepared a national management team which is capable of managing and maintaining the newly established international standards by the end of the contract of the international director.

The Director of Procurement is accountable for leading the assessment of procurement process effectiveness in EDM. S/he will lead the charge in overhauling existing processes, policies, and practices. The director will also propose policy changes and develop application systems for all aspects of procurement in EDM (including but not limited to guidelines, manuals, standard bidding documents, Procurement Directives, capacity building, IT enabled processes, etc.).

The new Director of Procurement will work directly with each member of the Executive Committee to understand priorities and special issues which may be emerging from the different business complexes. S/he is expected to integrate these various priorities into a corporate master list of key priorities.

The accountabilities of the Director also includes the following:

•  Provide expert internal procurement advice to all the EDM’s organizational units;
• Lead procurement spend analyses and preparation of management reports;
• Identify weaknesses and implement improvements in processes, systems, as well as in service quality;
• Provide leadership and technical guidance to other professional and support staff in the field of institutional procurement;
• Resolve complex procurement issues and challenges such as interpretation of rules and guidelines for situations not provided in existing manuals, preparing terms of reference for complex specifications, etc;
• Lead negotiation and preparatory work required for the approval of contracts. Establish local and international market research, complex and large amount procurements;
• Lead preparation of annual as well as long-term procurement plans and supervise their implementation;
• Train EDM Staff in the application of the institutional procurement. Conceive and prepare training materials on institutional procurement for staff at the Headquarters and the regions;
• Oversee and manage outreach on EDM’s new philosophy and standards to local, as well as international business communities and publics;
• Lead assessment of existing computerized systems for procurement, and propose improvements in view of best practice and introduction of new technologies;
• Analyze and draw conclusions and lessons concerning suppliers’ performance to assist EDM management in the formulation of guidelines for selection of future suppliers.