Procurement Officer (PO)

Rolling Plans Pvt. Ltd (RPPL) announces the vacancy for Rural Enterprises and Remittance Project (RERP) . SAMRIDDHI is a seven-year project funded by International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and executed by the Ministry of Industry (MOI). Government of Nepal (GON) that aims at providing sustainable sources of income to poor households, migrant families and returnees in the Eastern and Central Regions of Nepal, by supporting the creation and expansion of family, micro, small and medium rural enterprises, both in the farming and off farming sectors. The goal of the project is reducing poverty and achieving sustainable peace through employment-focused, equitable and inclusive economic development.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Application should include a cover letter, updated Bio-data and self-verified copies of necessary documents that qualify the CV. The application through email and/or by post should mention the job position and vacancy code in the subject line or in the envelope respectively. 

Fill the Application Form online from the link: www.rollingplans.com.np/samriddhi

The TOR may be revised at the time of employment agreement.

The organization reserves the right to reject any/all applications without assigning any reason whatsoever. Canvassing at any stage of the process shall lead to automatic disqualification.

DEADLINE:

The application needs to be received latest by 17:00Hrs, October 30, 2016 (Kartik 14, 2073) 

Procurement Officer

Position’s Key Features

Job Title: Procurement Officer (PO)

Duty Station: PMO Itahari, Sunsari with some travel to Kathmandu and Project areas

Mode of Contract: Annual, with six-month’ probation period, and extendable up to the Project period based on satisfactory performance

Reporting to: Project Manager 

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Rural Enterprises and Remittances (RER) - SAMRIDDHI is a seven years’ project signed between the Government of Nepal (GON) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on 10 December 2015 covering 16 hills and Terai districts. It aims at providing sustainable sources of income to poor households, migrant families and returnees in the Eastern and Central Regions of Nepal, by supporting the creation and expansion of family, micro, small and medium rural enterprises, both in the farming and off-farming sectors. Ministry of Industry (MOI) is the Executing Agency. Agro Enterprise Center (AEC) under Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Helvetas Nepal, selected financial institutions and the business development service providers extending services to the rural areas are the key implanting partners. The Project comprises three inter-linked components encompassing the full set of interventions required to support RMSEs’ profitable and sustainable growth:

• Component 1: Promotion of RMSEs aims at (i) strengthening micro and small entrepreneurs, migrants and their families with sustainable access to adapted Business Development Services (BDS), i.e. non-financial services in support to enterprise creation and/or expansion; and (ii) vocational training and apprenticeship to poor households to build their skills and to secure gainful wage employment in RMSEs. Activities will be driven by an assessment of markets, business opportunities and available services and by an inventory and classification of existing RMSEs through a validation process.
• Component 2: Productive Investment builds on results of component 1 and aims at (i) facilitating RMSEs/migrants/remittance recipient households’ access to financial services at an affordable cost by sustainable financial institutions; and (ii) mobilizing migrants’ resources and skills for creating assets and promoting profitable rural enterprises. It will develop innovative financial instruments designed to offset major constraints faced by RMSEs in accessing investment loans at an affordable cost and to stimulate migrants’ savings and investment in profitable business development.
• Component 3: Institutional Support and Project Management aims at promoting a favorable policy and institutional environment supporting the development of RMSEs at a national scale and the contribution of migration to sustainable development.

Implementation Arrangements

The MOI is overall responsible for coordination and oversight. A Project Management Office(PMO), located at Itahari is responsible for day-to-day implementation of project activities with support from two Corridor Teams providing technical and management support to Enterprise Service Centers (ESCs) and migration-related activities at the district level. Technical partners - Helvetas Nepal and South Asia will support to implement of vocational training and knowledge management aspects. Besides, selected financial institutions and business development service providers’ are expected to support the implementation. A Project Steering Committee headed by MOI Secretary at the national level will provide oversight and guidance.

Expected Results

The development objective of the Project is that viable RMSEs, in both farming and off-farming sectors, provide sustainable sources of income to poor households, migrant families and returnees. Main indicators are: (i) 60,000 RER supported rural entrepreneurs expand their existing business or create a new one; (ii) 30,000 rural youth access job placement services; (iii) 30,000 RER-supported enterprises are still in business after 3 years, of which 33% owned by women/30% owned by migrant returnees; and (iv) 21,000 RER supported vocational trainees and apprentices, of which 33% of women, are in gainful employment over at least 6 months

Scope of Assignment:

The Procurement Officer streamlines the procurement process by ensuring that the procurement rules and procedures of the GON and IFAD. The job of the PO is to ensure the procurement of highest quality goods and services available in the market at the lowest possible price. This is a key position which requires coordination with team members and service providers. 

Key Responsibilities and Duties

The procurement Officer  should be responsible ensuring the procurement of goods and services following the rules of the Government of Nepal and IFAD and ensuring the quality of goods and services. The job responsibility of this position include (but not limited to) the following:

Project planning:

• Assist the PMO (P M&E S) in preparing the annual work plan and Budget
• Work with the PM&E specialist  and prepare Annual Procurement plan to be submitted to the GON and IFAD
• Get the Procurement Plan approved by the PM, PSC,MOI and IFAD
• Receive the t, requests of the corridor teams as well as other team members of the PMT,  and incorporate them in the Procurement plan.
• Guide the corridor team and the ESC and PMT in preparing the necessary documents and quality assurance system while procuring goods and services
• Review of the procurement Procedures laid out in the PIM and  suggest necessary changes in it to the PM in order to ensure cost effective and transparent procurement system in the project

Project Implementation:

• Suggest appropriate procurement procedure for procurement of various goods and services to the PM
• Get the Specifications/TORs  ready by concerned specialists and suggest the points to be included in the TOR, Specifications
• Prepare the cost estimates
• Prepare bid documents,  RFQs and RFPs, 
• Arrange no objection/approval from IFAD on the documents
• Prepare Announcement(advertisements/ letters/notices) and get the publicity for the enouncement(ensure that the potential suppliers of the goods and services get the information 
• Manage the procurement processes of both goods and services procurement
• Prepare evaluation criteria as per the rules and procedures followed by the GON and IFAD
• Ensure the flow of tender information to the parties concerned
• Identify the potential members of the external evaluation panel of bids and proposals (if necessary as per the rule), 
• Get necessary approvals  or the evaluation team and provide the necessary support to the external evaluation panel, 
• Organize the meetings of the evaluation teams, document the proceedings
• Ensure the adherence to the laid down procurement procedures
• Support the  evaluation panel for consideration of Bids and proposals and maintain the necessary documentation
• Receive necessary documents and proposals from the potential suppliers and Preliminary evaluation of the proposals and bids and bring them to the notice of the panel
• Ensure adherence to laws, rules, procedures, decisions of the PSC and IFAD joint missions as well as directives of the government and IFAD
• Organize the negotiation meetings with the suppliers of goods and services
• Prepare the contract papers
• Prepare the table of milestones for ensuring the timely delivery
• Maintain contact with the suppliers of good and services and answer to their querries
• Ensure that the procurement milestones are achieved in time
• Ensure that the procurement under the project(with resources of the project being used ) strictly adhere to the norms and rules
• Assist the ESC and  implementation partners adhere to the procedure as per the project rules and train them in the same if needed
• Maintain documentation of the processes are  followed in Procurement
• Prepare the necessary reports on procurement

Monitoring and evaluation:

• Ensure timely reports from the bidders and discussion of their periodic reports among  concerned PMT team members for ensuring the quality of work by the contractors
• Work with the M&E specialist and provide the inputs for timely inclusion of progress in procurement in the periodic reports of the project

Others: 

• Perform other work as assigned by the Project Manager.

QUALIFICATION, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES:

• Post Graduate (Professional Degree) or higher degree in Procurement management, Law or  Financial  management
• 5 years  Proffessional  experience work programs with at least 3 years experience of handling procurement activities
• Knowledge of the laws governing procurement by the government or a public institution
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a multi disciplinary team
• Knowledge of GON and IFAD procedures
• Working knowledge of MS Office suite and computarised accounting software
• Fluency in spoken and written and English and Nepali

Desirable

• Experience of past handling of procurement works in a development project
• Knowledge of IFAD rules and Procedures

Salary and Benefits

• The salary will be paid for only twelve (12) months and is negotiable within the range between NPR. 100,000 to NPR 120,000 as decided by the Project Manager. 
• Tax on the salary will be applicable as per the prevailing GON rules and regulation. 
• Travel and the Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) will be as per the prevailing GON rule as applied for the gazetted class II officer while traveling out of the work station for official purpose. 

Other Entitlements

• Leave: The Specialist will be provided with 21 days of home leave and 6 days of casual leave annually, which will not be carried over to the next year. S/he will also be provided 12 days of sick leave per year, which if not consumed, will be carried over to the next year. The unspent sick leave will be compensated as per the existing salary scale at the time of termination of the contract or closing of the Project. In addition, s/he will also be provided with Mourning Leave – 15 days, Maternity Leave -2 months for women (15 days for men, for maternity care leave) and all public holidays.
• Insurance: The Specialist has to insure his/her life including accidental insurance. The Project will reimburse 50 % of the monthly premium for the period working with the Project, not exceeding Rs. 300 per month, upon submission of copy of insurance policy and receipts.

Performance Assessment

The performance assessment of the Admin/Finance Officer will be based on the quality and timely completion of the tasks assigned and contributions to the Project outputs and outcomes. Details on the indicators for performance assessment will be negotiated and agreed upon on a later stage once s/he signs contract with the Project. The Project reserves the right to terminate the contract if the performance of the MS is assessed as unsatisfactory.

These Terms of Reference are subject to revision/update annually per requirement of the Project based on planning trajectory, modification in project design, or as recommended by Joint Reviews/Supervision Missions and lessons learned during the course of implementation.