Procurement assistant

Expertise France is a French public agency under the tutelage of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter- ministerial vocation. Expertise France offers project engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, post-crisis/ stability, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance. Carrying out large-scale, multi-stakeholder projects, EF can ensure the cooperation between individuals, teams and institutions with very different statuses, cultures and specialties. Besides, EF has acquired a sound experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale international projects and is accredited by the European Union for the management of delegated Community funds.

Context

The Middle East is currently experiencing a profound crisis. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq are both a reflection and a transmitter of this crisis, with growing potential to further destabilise neighbouring countries and the wider region. These crises have resulted in a humanitarian disaster affecting more than 13.5 million people who were forced to flee their homes from Syria, and more than 17 million people in need of humanitarian aid (12.2 in Syria and 5.2 in Iraq).

Lebanon is now home to the largest number of Syrian refugees per capita relative to its total population, putting a severe strain on the country’s fragile infrastructures, economy, and security. The population of Lebanon was estimated at about 4.8 million (including almost half a million Palestinian refugees) in 2013. Even though Lebanon has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, up to date it has taken in about a fourth of its own population. According to UNHCR, in September 2016 about 1,017,433 persons from Syria were registered as refugees in Lebanon. In the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan 2017- 2020 (2018 update) (LCRP), the total number of people living in Lebanon is estimated at 5.9 million, with 3.3 million people in need. Among the Syrian refugee population in Lebanon, which today comprises over 1.5 million people.

Background information on Qudra Specific Objective 3

’Qudra – Resilience for Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises’ is a regional action financed by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the Madad‘ Fund and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), seeking to strengthen the resilience of Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises.  The programme launched in June 2016, is being jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Expertise France (EF) and Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID) in programme partner countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and North Iraq.

In Lebanon, Expertise France ensures the consistency and the implementation of the Specific Objective 3 of Qudra. The project seeks to improve social stability between communities in Lebanon through a comprehensive and local approach of protection for children and adults. To do so, activities will revolve around four pillars: (i) support to Social Development Centers (SDCs) of the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), (ii) Child Protection activities, (iii) protection activities and (iv) campaigns and communication activities. Expertise France will work within the framework of the LCRP and MoSA National Plan for Safeguarding women and children in close partnership with Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA). The programme will be implemented in the SDCs of the MoSA and if needed in annexes that might be developed during the project’s lifespan. Expertise France will select local NGOs as partners to implement the activities, these NGOs will hire the necessary staff and implement the activities following a precise programme drafted with the MoSA.

Supervision:

This position is under the direct supervision of: EF Procurement Coordinator based in Beirut.

Description of the Tasks:

• Procurement of equipment and furniture
  • Market Studies
    • Conduct market studies for different markets (IT equipment, furniture, utilities etc...)
    • Draft suppliers’ comparison reports
    • Assist the Procurement Coordinator in the draft of tentative budgets
  • • Assist the Procurement Coordinator in the draft of the procurement plan
    • Strictly follow up on the procurement plan
  • • Contact local sources of supply, get price quotations, and assist in the selection of vendors.
    • Contact vendors to resolve problems with late shipment, damaged items, incorrect products or incorrect prices.
    • Follow up and keep track to close any pending request.
    • Keep accurate records of payment and delivery of goods and services.
    • Maintain purchasing files and records.
    • Receive the goods as per the description on the purchase request.
    • Inspects goods upon delivery and rejects inadequate, broken, lower quality and other items not meeting the requirements of the order.
    • Organize and maintain computerized records containing vendor and bid information.
    • Correspond with vendors regarding prices, product availability, and delivery.
    • Check that purchase request and order forms are filled properly.
    • Coordinates warranty, Maintenance, and insurance claims for all assets/ inventory items.
    • Ensure that Expertise France Procurement procedures are respected.
    • Ensure that no procurements are carried out without approval.
    • For each order filed appropriately Documentation demonstrating accountability

• Rehabilitation of buildings
  • Pre-construction phase
    • Assist in the preparation of tender process
    • Attend field visits with potential contractors
    • Participate in the rehabilitation management team meetings
  • During implementation
    • Follow up on the work progress
    • Fill in quantity reports based on the BoQ
    • Take pictures of the work progress and organize them systematically
    • Follow-up on the contractor’s issues in the field and report Procurement Coordinator

• Site closing

• Attend site hand-over visits
• Report deficiencies
• Insure that all documents are properly archived and backed up as soft copies

The above list of tasks may be subject to changes during the project implementation.

Requested Profile

• University degree in a relevant field (business administration, business management)
• At least 3 years of experience in the nonprofit sector in administrative, accounting or financial support department
• Excellent MS Office skills, with proficiency using MS Excel is mandatory
• Diplomacy and negotiating skills are priorities
• Good knowledge of international donors’ rules and regulations, especially EU regulations is a distinctive advantage
• Excellent reporting and writing skills
• Impartially
• Professional working knowledge of English & Arabic are required. French is an asset
• Good coordination and team work skills
• Being rigorous and strictly follow the rules

Source: UNRWA http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=122 http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/region.php?id=90&country=122, last update, September 2016