Senior Procurement Assistant

• Attractive local package
• Friendly and supportive team environment
• Join the principal development organization in the Pacific region

Description

The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our organisation works across more than 20 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The Operations and Management Directorate (OMD) Division provides corporate services to all SPC Divisions and Programmes. It consists of three key departments: Finance, Human Resources and Information Services. OMD is focused on improving the effectiveness of systems, policies and management to provide high-quality customer-oriented services.

The Procurement Senior Assistant will support procurement activities; provide high quality advice and client customer service; and contribute to the PG Team reforms.

The key responsibilities of the role include:

Operations: Procurement

• Support the procurement activities in accordance with SPC’s Procurement Policy, in close with divisions, and as allocated by management, by assisting with drafting tender documentation for RFP processes, processing vendor entries and undertaking due diligence on vendors, drafting standard procurement contracts using SPC’s templates and providing information to clients on procurement processes.

Teamwork  

• Contribute to the PG Team.
• Identify and escalate any risks and ethical issues.

Advice and client services

• Provide high quality customer service on procurement issues.
• Provide professional and sound service to the divisions and assist with providing service to the Procurement Committee to assist with procurement decisions.
• Provide information to divisions on routine procurement matters to divisional contacts.

Record keeping

• Support reporting and ensure dashboard is accurate and up to date.
• Ensure record-keeping is accurate.

Other duties as required

• Support logistics for meetings.
• Other administrative tasks as allocated are completed, including back-up support for the general administrative assistant

For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the online job description.

Key selection criteria

Qualifications  

• Diploma in procurement, finance, administration or a related field; or
• Business/procurement related certificate and equivalent work experience.

Technical Expertise

• At least 5 years of experience providing advice on procurement matters.

Language skills

• Excellent English communication skills (oral and written).

Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness

• Ability to work in a multicultural, inclusive and equitable environment.

Salary, terms and conditions

Contract Duration – Until 19 September 2027 – subject to renewal depending on funding and performance.

Remuneration – The Procurement Senior Assistant is a Band 7 position in SPC’s 2024 salary scale, with a commencing taxable salary range of FJD 2,287-2,859 per month, plus local staff benefits. An offer of appointment for an initial contract will normally be made in the lower half of this range, with due consideration given to experience and qualifications. Progression within the salary scale will be based on annual performance reviews.

Recruitment principles – SPC’s recruitment is based on merit and fairness, and candidates are competing in a selection process that is fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory. SPC is an equal-opportunity employer, and is committed to cultural and gender diversity, including bilingualism, and will seek to attract and appoint candidates who respect these values. Due attention is given to gender equity and the maintenance of strong representation from Pacific Island professionals. If two interviewed candidates are ranked equal by the selection panel, preference will be given to the Pacific Islander.

Applicants will be assured of complete confidentiality in line with SPC’s Privacy Policy.

Application procedure

Closing Date – 22 September 2024 at 11:59pm (Fiji time)

Job Reference: JM000724

Applicants must apply online at http://careers.spc.int/

Hard copies of applications will not be accepted.

For your application to be considered, you must provide us with:

• an updated resume with contact details for three professional referees
• a cover letter detailing your skills, experience and interest in this position
• responses to all screening questions

Your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed at shortlisting stage if all the above documents are not provided. Applicants should not attach copies of qualifications or letters of reference. Please ensure your documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

SPC does not charge a fee to consider your application and will never ask for your banking or financial information during the recruitment process.

Only Fijian citizens are eligible to apply for this role.

Screening Questions (maximum of 2,000 characters per question):

1. Please describe your past experience in supporting procurement activities.
2. What are the key elements for delivering good quality customer service? Please provide an example of how you have applied these in the past.
3. Please describe your experience working with finance/accounting software or another ERP.