Commercial Adviser

Vacancy Announcement
Department for International Development
DRC – Kinshasa

POSITION: A2 (L) – Commercial Adviser

JOB TYPE: Procurement Specialist

SALARY: US$ 54,335per annum (13 months Payment)

DURATION: Permanent

Key accountabilities and responsibilities

DFID DRC is looking to recruit a suitably qualified/experienced person as a Commercial Manager. The post holder will be a member of DFID DRC’s Commercial team, working closely with the Commercial Delivery Manager and Delegated Procurement Officer(s) to provide commercial advice and support to colleagues.

The individual will be based in DFID DRC (Kinshasa) and will be part of the DFID DRC core team.  In the execution of responsibilities, the post holder will also work closely and collaboratively with DFID’s Procurement and Commercial Department (PCD, the central purchasing and programme sourcing function) in the UK.

The individual will be responsible for the development and implementation of tailored commercial strategies and provide guidance to the DFID DRC Office. As well as working directly with advisers and project officers within the office, the role will also potentially involve engagement with Government partners, Civil Society Organisations, Suppliers, Consultants and other development partners (including multilaterals) to ensure maximum delivery benefit and value for money is achieved with DFID funds.

We are looking to recruit at “Developing” level with a requirement to reach “Practitioner” level within 12 months.
Any offer of appointment will be subject to medical clearance, security clearance and satisfactory references.

Background

DRC is one of the most challenging places in which DFID operates. It has a resource envelope of about £147m per year, which is likely to remain more or less flat through to 2020.

At August 2017, DFID DRC had 14 active programmes delivering services across 3 programme teams: Conflict, Humanitarian and Governance; Human Development (includes water and sanitation, health, education and malaria), and Private Sector Development.

DFID DRC does not channel aid directly through government systems though the government is a key partner of coordination and policy dialogue and programmes are aligned to national priorities and policies, and teams will work with government at an operational level.  The range of operating partners available to programme managers is comparatively small; their capacity variable and the sheer size of the country, coupled with poor to non-existent infrastructure, impinge on the ability to oversee and visit programmes in the field. 

DFID DRC spends the majority of its funds with a limited number of delivery providers and while operating circumstances within DFID DRC are difficult there could be an opportunity to explore whether the supply base could be broadened further to increase competition in some sectors. 
We need excellent staff to support our programme and advisory specialists to deliver of of DFID’s largest country programmes. This is an exciting opportunity to join the commercial team. With a number of large and complex programmes to design and implement in difficult environments, strong and effective commercial management is critical to deliver our results and respond to the high levels of scrutiny.

The post holder will need a positive, pro-active and can-do attitude to the role. He/she must have demonstrated an ability to work under pressure in a fast-moving situation and juggle a varied workload. Strong communication, management and organisational skills, financial literacy and broad experience will be critical.

Diversity

Applications are welcomed from all parts of the community and selection will be made on merit

JOB DESCRIPTIONS/DUTIES

The A2 (L) Commercial Manager will play a critical leadership role through ensuring effective commercial management in DFID DRC. This will include leading on different aspects of commercial management - providing contract and commercial support activities to the office through the full commercial cycle of design, implement, monitor and manage. In particular the role is expected to:

• Provide commercial input on project design including contract management considerations to ensure procurement initiatives are effective
• Support team to build good commercial data including suppliers, funding and programme data for country office
• Work with technical Advisers to ensure there is sufficient collaboration between funding recipients and other donors during the project design phase.
• Identify opportunities for more effective co-operation and collaboration between DFID, partner governments, CSOs, suppliers, consultants and other development partners (including multilaterals).
• Promote the importance of assessing and developing in-country Procurement systems.
• Support the development of staff within DFID DRC by providing local training and guidance on commercial matters, by sharing technical knowledge and by coaching.
• Contribute to embedding commercial awareness and new ways of working within DFID DRC teams.
• Working closely with PCD (Procurement and Commercial Department, PCD, the central purchasing and programme sourcing function based in the UK that procures on behalf of DFID DRC), provide guidance to the DFID DRC Office on the tender evaluation process, best practice principles and interpretation of commercial legal issues.
• Work closely with DFID PCD and DRC to ensure project mobilisation is efficient and effective and executed in the minimum timeframe possible.
• Support deployment of systems and procurement improvement processes to ensure governance and benchmarking of performance is measured against key supplier management capabilities.
• Lead the Delegated Procurement Officer(s) to embed transactional procurement initiatives and to build their capability/capacity.
• Ensure implementation of effective supplier management practices in DFID DRC by helping advisors and programme staff understand and leverage supply markets and ensure suppliers are held to account.
• Provide focus on a suppliers combined in-country performance across multiple projects or initiatives.
• Look for opportunities in partnership with suppliers to embed policy (including Corporate Social Responsibility) and deliver targets in the supply chain. 

Personal qualities and skills required (person specification)

• Relevant finance or commercial or procurement and sourcing experience.
• Proven track record in project management and delivery, and of working to deadlines and meeting targets.
• Proven track record in project management and delivery, meeting deadlines and targets.
• Experience of influencing (customers/stakeholders etc.) internally and externally at all levels.
• Flexibility, willingness and ability to adapt to change.
• Persuasive presentation, facilitation and negotiation experience skills (in English and French) with the ability to influence and to support the achievement of DFID commercial objectives.
• Ability to monitor / scan external sources of data and intelligence, and to pro-actively share relevant information with others.
• Ability to lead, manage, motivate and co-ordinate cross-functional teams, often with no direct authority over a significant number of the key stakeholders and team members. 

The post holder will need to be comfortable working and negotiating with external partners (including challenging performance where needed); as well as representing DFID with senior partners and Government.

Although not critical, an ability to understand the wider UK commercial agenda is desirable.

Detailed objectives/duties will be agreed upon commencing employment with DFID DRC.

Key competencies required for this post. Please refer to the CS Competency Framework attached. Level 3 for all competencies:

Core Competency 1: Delivering value for money
Core Competency 2: Making effective decisions
Core Competency 3: Achieving Commercial Outcomes
Core Competency 4: Collaborating and partnering

Technical Commercial Competencies (Civil Service Procurement Skills Framework attached) Level 1- Awareness Level 2- Practitioner Level 3- Expert

• Pre-procurement market engagement (Level 1)
• Relationship and performance management (Level 1)
• Maintaining and Improving the category (Level 1) 

Qualifications & Experience

Applicants must possess a relevant post graduate degree and have at least but not limited to:

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience of working within a programme management or commercial/procurement role;
• A knowledge of a country procurement system and/or understanding of procurement best practice and commercial principles e.g. around the importance of engaging with the market prior to tender, robust business case design, and effective supplier relationship management.
• Experience of working in the development sector and a commercial qualification would be desirable but is not essential.

Strong commercial acumen is therefore crucial. Applicants should note from the above that this is not a transactional procurement role although they will closely interact with the central procurement functions in the UK. This is a higher profile role engaging on the design of key projects, mentoring and training colleagues about procurement processes and supporting effective supplier management. Applicants need to demonstrate a background that gives more than just an awareness of commercial outcomes, and have the capability to quickly reach practitioner level under the direction of the Commercial Delivery Manager.

Important – HOW TO APPLY!!

• The appointment will be subject to Police Verification and other checks including references, educational, professional and medical clearance.
• No accommodation or relocation expenses are payable in connection with this position or with attending interviews for this position.
• You must have or be able to obtain work authorisation for DRC in order to apply. Proof of work permits will be requested for non DRC citizens.
• The full Job Description, Application Form, Civil Service Competency Framework can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/dfid-drc/about/recruitment
• The candidate must complete and send the Application form in ENGLISHand their most recent CV in ENGLISH to AfricaHRHubRecruit@DFID.GOV.UK
• Only email applications will be accepted.
• The subject line MUST read “DRC/004”.
• Failure to follow the outlined procedure might result in the application not being considered. The closing date for the vacancy is close of business day on Tuesday, 28 November 2017. If no response has been received after 2 weeks, consider the application as unsuccessful.

1. Click here to download the application form - MS Word format (DOCX)

2. Click here to download the Civil Service Competency Framework - PDF format