Country Programs & Procurement Support – Tanzania

Job Reference: CPPS/PD/TZ/12/2024

Job type: Full-time

AGRA and Its Work to Transform Agriculture

AGRA is an African-led institution that actively supports the drive towards inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems. We do this by empowering the continent’s 33 million smallholder farming households to transform their agriculture from a struggle to survive to profitable businesses. The continent’s farmers regularly face challenges, and we aspire to provide uniquely African solutions that respond to their agricultural and environmental challenges, leading to increased harvests for reduced hunger and more income. Working in alignment with the development priorities of our focus countries, we enable farmers to access improved and high-yielding seeds, gain knowledge on sustainable farming, and linkages to profitable markets.

In our work, we aspire to build the alliances, partnerships, and networks required to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. We work with our partners to create an equitable youth-friendly environment that harnesses the youth dividend on the continent to drive growth and facilitate open employment opportunities for young women and men. We achieve our key objectives through a focus on the following four areas of intervention:

• Policy and State Capability – We support governments in creating an enabling environment for private sector involvement in agricultural transformation.
• Seed Systems – We trigger higher productivity by increasing the availability and access to improved seeds by farmers, allowing them to increase their harvests for food security and better incomes.
• Sustainable Farming – We support farmers in building resilient farming systems for sustained high yields through interventions such as mechanization and irrigation.
• Inclusive Markets and Trade – We work to increase the linkages between farmers and other market actors for a positive, sustained cycle of commercialization and reinvestment.

Key Responsibilities

• Review procurement requests and initiate procurement procedures for office and project equipment, supplies, and services in a transparent and cost-effective manner.
• Liaise with the Human Resources Business Partners (HRBPs) to ensure proper onboarding and offboarding of staff and assist with the operationalization of employee engagement activities.
• Oversee the flow of information between the program and other AGRA functions and offices and follow up on action points as required.
• Provide oversight and guidance in technical and financial evaluations.
• Conduct negotiations or recommend a negotiating team where applicable and negotiate contractual agreements with suppliers to ensure that service, added value, and lowest total cost are achieved while maintaining quality.
• Sensitize country teams on a regular basis on the procurement process through regular updates and staff training.
• Carry out vendor prequalification and maintain a vendor database.
• Coordinate staff travel and ensure that travel authorizations are approved and expenses are settled on time.
• Facilitate AGRA staff and visitors’ visa and other protocol-related approvals.
• Coordinate and draft the country’s annual budget and ensure spending is aligned with the approved budget.
• Plan, organize, and execute various types of events, such as meetings, conferences, workshops, and trainings.
• Maintain a robust online filing system of the function activity reports and documentation and follow up on actions.
• Establish framework agreements for frequently needed services and manage the renewal of agreements.
• Enforce the procurement and contracting process and follow up on outstanding tasks.

Why Join Us?

People are the heartbeat of our organization and remain the true drivers of our delivery, impact, and success. We have cultivated a workplace that fuels Depth in Collaboration, Excellence in Execution, Constructive Engagements, and a spirit of being Increasingly Entrepreneurial; all underpinned by our cherished I-RISE Values (Integrity, Respect, Innovation, Stewardship, and Equity). We work with incredible people and partners who have roots in farming communities across the African continent combined with an inclusive, diverse, and talented workforce from over 25 nationalities. Our commitment to action goes beyond ourselves as we strive to catalyze African Food Systems transformation and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

Key Qualifications and Experience Required

Essential

• Business degree in Administration, procurement/supply chain management, or related disciplines.
• Familiarity with relevant legislative and regulatory requirements, as well as understanding of standard contractual terms and conditions.

Desirable

• Experience working and supporting multicultural teams.
• Experience with project and procurement planning.
• Fluency in English.
• Computer proficiency in: Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet search skills, PowerPoint, and the ability to learn new applications.
• Experience working in a busy administration office and managing procurement operations.

Technical Competencies

• Stakeholder Focus and Partnerships
• Database Management
• Negotiation
• Managing and Sharing Knowledge

Behavioral Competencies

• Ability to drive collaboration through inclusive and agile teaming, breaking siloes, sharing information, and celebrating joint successes.
• Ability to execute excellently by delivering high-quality work at speed, committing to decisions and plans, and increasing accountability to deliver impact at scale.
• Ability to be sincerely constructive in interactions with others by demonstrating trust, sincerity, and care, in recognition of our joint purpose.
• Ability to be increasingly entrepreneurial by breaking hierarchies, embracing learning and innovation to unlock the potential of diversity and ideas.

How to Apply

If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, kindly submit your application with a detailed CV (including your email and telephone contacts) to recruit@agra.org. Please quote the job reference number in the subject line of the application email. Applications must be received on or before 30th December 2024. Due to the large volume of applications we usually receive, we will only contact those candidates who are shortlisted.