About the Ethiopian Red Cross Society
The Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) was established in 1935 and is one of the oldest and largest humanitarian organizations in Ethiopia. ERCS provides services to communities affected by natural and manmade disasters through the provision of emergency responses, ambulance and first aid, family reunification, essential drugs, water and sanitation, and other humanitarian services. ERCS also runs disaster risk reduction programs with the aim of creating resilience households and communities. Currently the ERCS has a structure consisting of 14 Regional Offices, Zonal Branches and District/Woreda Branches, Woreda Red Cross Committee and Kebele Red Cross committees.
ERCS also runs disaster risk reduction programs relating to food security, climate change adaptation, livelihood diversification, and institutional capacity building interventions, with the aim of creating resilience households and communities. ERCS works in partnership with the Ethiopian Government, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), partnering National Societies, members, volunteers and the communities we serve.
I. Details of the vacant position
- Work Unit: Procurement and Customs Clearance Division
- Reports to: Procurement and Customs Clearance Division Manager
- Terms of employment: Permanent after probation period
II. Job Summary
The Senior Procurement and Market Research Officer plays a pivotal role in ensuring the efficient and effective execution of procurement activities to support the work program of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) at its headquarters. This position is responsible for developing comprehensive procurement plans, conducting market research, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring compliance with organizational policies, donor requirements, and international standards.
The incumbent will also contribute to the continuous improvement of procurement processes, facilitate seamless coordination with internal and external stakeholders, and provide strategic guidance to enhance the quality, cost-effectiveness, and timeliness of procurement operations. Key responsibilities include preparing detailed procurement plans supported by actionable strategies, analyzing market trends and supplier performance, maintaining an up-to-date supplier database, and identifying new opportunities to optimize sourcing decisions. The role involves preparing tender documents, conducting offer analyses, and ensuring accurate documentation of procurement and payment processes.
Additionally, the officer will oversee the procurement of capital and consumable goods, manage insurance coverage for goods in transit, and address discrepancies or claims related to shipments. In collaboration with the Procurement Manager, the Senior Officer will assist in formulating and implementing procurement policies, budget preparation, and long-term planning while fostering strong relationships with government entities, NGOs, donors, and other stakeholders.
III. Specific Duties and Responsibilities
- Develops a procurement plan with an action plan to ensure timely execution of procurement activities to support the ERCS HQ work program.
- Collects, studies, and analyzes supplier information, market trends, and product/service offerings to enhance the procurement process and quality.
- Organizes and maintains updated supplier list, registering qualified suppliers/consultants /contractors in the database and identifying new potential suppliers for approval.
- Gathers Expressions of Interest (EOI) to continuously update ERCS’s supplier database based on forecasted procurement needs.
- Prepares, reviews, and updates the national society standard specification of goods, services, and works. The specification should be sufficiently detailed and comprehensive to provide a complete and exact description to meet the quality and standard of the national society.
- Assists the procurement manager in formulation and implementation of policies and procedures designed to ensure overall economic purchasing or procurement;
- Conducts market surveys and gathers accurate data on commodities to be procured, including preparation of bid documents, advertisement, solicitation of quotations, and offer analysis;
- Prepares tender documents and offer analysis in cases of open tender purchases; maintains up-to-date and systematic records about prices, suppliers, procurement schedule;
- Facilitates the procurement process of foreign and local purchase activities by fulfilling the required formalities, including obtaining foreign exchange permits, customs clearance;
- Prepares and presents complete, accurate, and appropriate procurement and payment documents for approval and processing;
- Handles the purchase of capital and consumable goods based on specifications prescribed by requesting work units and purchase committee;
- Reviews and prepares annual budgetary requirements for consideration by superior;
- Studies and recommends improvements in purchasing procedures, forms, and processes;
- Initiates and recommends change for continuous improvements of purchasing activities through studies of purchasing policies and procedures;
- Ensures that proper and adequate insurance coverage is secured for the movement of goods inland transit;
- Prepares discrepancy reports on commodities supplied and lodges appropriate claims with the manufacturers/suppliers and coordinates insurance claims related to loss, shortage, damage, and theft of items in transit;
- Ensures the proper maintenance of requisitions, purchase orders, invoices, receiving reports, shipping, and other documents;
- Reviews samples and documents submitted by the suppliers to ensure compliance with procurement requirements, policies, and procedures;
- Assists in budget preparation, budget monitoring, and long-range planning and goal setting for the Society’s Procurement activities;
- In consultation with the procurement manager, liaise with external partners, including government partner offices, NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders.
- Supports the Procurement Manager in ensuring the preparation, implementation, control, and timely completion of procurement plans and activities.
- Assist the procurement manager for the smooth workflow of the procurement functions such as planning, coordinating, directing, and supervising the procurement Division activities of the Society
- Facilitates the new procurement needs of the program work units as per the new project proposals MoU signing between ERCS and partners/donors.
- Develop a detailed annual procurement plan, including a list of procured goods and services, their specifications, allocated budget, sources, and a breakdown schedule for each procurement, in collaboration with different work units;
- Prepares the division progress performance and financial report and timely submission to division manager as per ERCS procedures, in respect to the deadlines, and reporting formats;
- Ensures that all documents (plans, ToRs, reports) are appropriately documented;
- Maintains and ensures the confidentiality of all related information of the department and division work units and branches when implementing the national society-relevant policy and procedures in line with standards and rules of the partners/donors.
- Closely follow up in compiling the procurement successes, lessons learned, best practices, and provide suggestions and ideas that can help for scale-up
- Performs other related duties and responsibilities assigned by the procurement and customs clearance division manager.