Procurement Officer Operations at National Pension Scheme Authority

Job Description

The Procurement Officer, Operations, coordinates the procurement of goods and services in a timely manner, within terms favourable to NAPSA, and with consideration for the procurement laws and regulations. Additionally, the officer provides support to user departments and directorates in the identification of user requirements, keeps records on procurement goods and services, and participates in the tender process for procurement of goods and services.

Key Responsibilities

Facilitate the timely development of user requirements for user departments to ensure goods and service purchases are fully captured in the Annual NAPSA Procurement Plan.
Participate in the development of the procurement budget through the provision of budget estimates of the identified user requirements under the goods and services purchases category.
Provide assistance to user departments, when required, in the preparation of specifications to ensure that the requirements of the user departments are properly captured and to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the departmental procurement process.
Provide feedback on enhancements to the existing procurement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the relevant procurement laws and to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Participate in the development of the NAPSA procurement strategy through the provision of input on the strategies that can enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the procurement of goods and services.
Coordinate the procurement of goods and services for NAPSA to ensure the Procurement Act and the NAPSA procurement policies and procedures are observed to enhance operational efficiency.
Train users on the procurement rules, policies, and procedures to enhance compliance by the user department and, consequently, NAPSA as a whole.
Perform due diligence on the suppliers shortlisted, in addition to the system checks, to ensure that NAPSA contracts only with suppliers that are compliant as per the Procurement Act and the NAPSA policies and that have the capacity to deliver.
Record and maintain the filing systems of all documents, both in soft and hard copies, i.e., contracts, copies of LPOs, and quotation files, in an orderly and efficient manner to ensure easy retrieval when required.
Participate in the tender process to carry out tender evaluation of low-value purchases in line with the NAPSA procurement policies and procedures in order to select the most qualified suppliers to contract with.
Monitor contracts for expiry and renewals, especially for low-value purchases that are still ongoing, to ensure NAPSA is protected against costs arising from unnecessarily prolonged contracts and against lawsuits arising from non-compliance by NAPSA.
Review and approve invoices for payment to suppliers to ensure transparency in the payment of suppliers, in addition to enhanced relations between NAPSA and suppliers that enhance service excellence to NAPSA;
Coordinate the training and development of the procurement assistant in the low-value section to ensure the availability of competencies critical for the delivery of timely and quality services.

Minimum Qualifications

Grade 12 Certificate with 5 ‘O’ levels with credit or better in Mathematics and English.
Bachelor’s Degree in Purchasing and Supply or equivalent.
Must have a valid Zambia Institute of Purchasing and Supply (ZIPS) membership certificate.

Minimum Experience Required

Not less than three (3) years of experience in procurement in an organisation with a similar size of operations.