Client Services Manager (AfCDC)

Organization Information

Reports to: Director of APPM
Directorate/Department: African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM)
Division: African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM)
Number of Direct Reports: 1 
Number of Indirect Reports: 0
Number of Positions: 1
Job Grade: P4
Contract Type: Appointment for Limited duration (ALD)

Purpose of Job

The African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM) is a flagship Africa CDC instrument designed to aggregate demand, secure affordable pricing, strengthen African manufacturing, and ensure timely access to quality-assured health products for AU Member States. As APPM scales from pilot to full operationalization, robust client servicing, financial discipline, and performance management are critical to credibility and sustainability.

The APPM Client Service Manager serves as the primary operational interface between AU Member States and APPM, managing the full client lifecycle from MoU signature through cost estimation, invoicing, reconciliation, and post-delivery performance monitoring.

Main Functions

• Lead client engagement and contracting with AU Member States under the APPM framework;
• Manage end-to-end client service operations, including cost estimates, customer registration, invoicing, and settlement;
• Coordinate across procurement, finance, and forecasting teams to ensure timely and accurate service delivery;
• Monitor service performance and client satisfaction, escalating risks and delays;
• Strengthen transparency, accountability, and trust in APPM operations.

Specific Responsibilities

Client Contracting & Onboarding

• Lead preparation, negotiation, and signing of APPM MoUs with AU Member States;
• Ensure MoUs align with approved APPM policies, pricing frameworks, and financial terms;
• Maintain a centralized registry of executed MoUs and amendments.

Customer Registration & Data Management

• Establish and maintain a comprehensive APPM customer database, including consignee details, shipment information, bank account data, and special contractual terms;
• Ensure data accuracy, completeness, confidentiality, and compliance with AU data governance standards.

Cost Estimates & Financial Performance

• Prepare and issue APPM cost estimates in close coordination with procurement and forecasting teams;
• Track and analyze cost-estimate-to-actual performance, identifying variances and systemic issues;
• Support transparent communication with Member States on pricing and cost drivers.

Financial Coordination & Settlement

• Coordinate with Finance to ensure timely issuance of statements of account;
• Monitor receipt of client funds, advances, and settlements;
• Support reconciliation processes and return of unutilized funds to Member States, as applicable.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Serve as the primary liaison between clients and:
  • Procurement teams on product specifications, lead times, pricing, and supplier performance;
  • Forecasting teams on demand timing and volume;
  • Finance teams on invoicing, payment tracking, and settlement.

Client Satisfaction & Issue Escalation

• Design and implement periodic client satisfaction surveys;
• Monitor service-level performance indicators and client feedback;
• Proactively escalate delays, delivery risks, or financial discrepancies to APPM leadership.

Academic Requirements and Relevant Experience

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Finance, Public Health, Economics, or related field with a minimum of 10 years of professional experience including at least six (6) years of progressively responsible experience in client management, programme operations, supply chain, or financial service delivery and three (3) years in a supervisory role

OR 

• A bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Finance, Public Health, Economics, or related field with a minimum of 12 years of professional experience including at least six (6) years of progressively responsible experience in experience in client management, programme operations, supply chain, or financial service delivery and three (3) years in a supervisory role.
• Experience working with governments, multilateral organizations, or pooled procurement mechanisms is highly desirable

Required Skills

• Client relationship management
• Contract & MoU management
• Cost estimation, financial monitoring, invoicing, and reconciliations
• Supply chain coordination
• Risk management & operational oversight
• Cross-functional coordination & teamwork
• Communication & stakeholder engagement
• Data management & ERP proficiency

Leadership Competencies

• Building relationships:
• Managing Risk….
• Strategic Insight

Core Competencies

• Communicating with impact
• .Drives Accountability Culture

Functional Competencies

• Drive for result:
• Job Knowledge and information sharing:
• Conceptual Thinking and Problem Solving

TENURE OF APPOINTMENT:

The Appointment will be for a period of Eleven (11) Months, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract may be renewed subject to funding availability, satisfactory performance and agreed deliverables.

GENDER MAINSTREAMING:

Africa CDC is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

LANGUAGES:

Proficiency in one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish) is mandatory and fluency in another AU language is an added advantage

REMUNERATION:

The salary attached to the position for the eleven month period is US$  101,705.53 (P4 Step 5) inclusive of all allowances for internationally recruited staff, and US$ 85,128.97 inclusive of all allowances for locally recruited staff of the African Union.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Applications must be submitted no later than May 2, 2026 11h59 p.m. EAT.

-Only candidates who meet all job requirements and are selected for interviews will be contacted.

-Consideration will be given only to those candidates who have submitted a fully completed online application with a curriculum vitae (CV), an African passport, and the required academic qualifications, such as Diplomas, Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees and any relevant certificate in line with the area of expertise.

-The African Union is an equal opportunity employer, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

-Candidates from less represented countries within the African Union are strongly encouraged to apply for positions that fit their profiles.

These countries include: Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sahrawi D.R., Sao Tome and Principe., Seychelles, Somalia and Tunisia.