Procurement Advisor II

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:

The Compliance and Capacity Building Advisor will provide technical advice, support and capacity building to procurement and non-procurement staff in line with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) procurement policies and standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices. The Advisor will work with colleagues in HQ, regions and country programs (CP) to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable. This role will contribute to effective, adaptive, and innovative procurement throughout CRS. In-depth technical knowledge in procurement and donor regulations (USAID, Global Fund, DFID, KfW, etc.) along with critical skills such as learning design, influencing without authority, and communication will be required for success.

1. Develop and implement a procurement capacity building strategy, in collaboration with the GSCM Learning Advisor (and in line with the overall GSCM learning strategy). In addition, support the capacity building of staff in the following ways:

   1. Lead Global Procurement HQ’s capacity building efforts through close coordination with Global Procurement Managers and Specialist IIs.
   2. Create and support learning opportunities for staff, help to develop trainings and facilitate workshops
   3. Engage with non-procurement staff responsible for submitting and approving requisitions to ensure understanding of their role and importance in the procurement process.
   4. Provide mentorship and coaching the HQ, regional, and country program staff.
   5. Contribute to knowledge management and learning through collecting and analyzing procurement data, evaluating strategic procurement initiatives, assisting with measuring impact, capturing and sharing lessons learned and best practices, and research and internal reports.
   6. Support capacity building needs for procurement modules in Insight (CRS’ Oracle-based ERP system)

2. Leads on all compliance related activities for procurement, with a focus on policies and procedures.

3. Create tools, templates, and guidance documents to help support staff implementing steps in the procurement process. Provide technical advice and support to staff.

4. Provide guidance to HQ, regional and CP teams, remotely and on-site, for strategic planning and how to best apply procurement planning and implementation standards, best practices, tools, and M&E, ensuring high-quality implementation of procurement processes and procedures.

5. Contribute to HQ, regional and CP efforts to pre-position CRS for growth opportunities in procurement.

6. Lead or contribute to the development of the procurement plans for large and/or complex proposals, including defining appropriate procurement processes and indicators. Advise project teams on integrating donor strategies, priorities and technical requirements into CRS’ approach to procurement.

7. Closely collaborates with GSCM KML team, including but not limited to attending team meetings.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required. Master’s or equivalent experience preferred.
• Minimum of five years relevant international working experience in an advisory or management role with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO, with minimum of three years working in procurement.
• Previous experience providing technical assistance and developing successful capacity building initiatives for external donor funding is required.
• Demonstrated application of technical principles and concepts in procurement. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience in reviewing and disseminating guidance on compliance requirements, capacity building and policy development in procurement, including technical writing.
• In-depth knowledge of donor procurement regulations, including USAID, Global Fund, DFID, KfW, etc.
• Experience in mentoring, coaching, facilitation and training applying adult learning principles and practices.
• Experience and skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Required Languages – English (required)

French, Spanish or Arabic (highly desirable)

Travel– Must be willing and able to travel up to 30%.

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