Procurement Assistant

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine 

Reporting line manager: Procurement Coordinator

Duration: 12 months (National Contract) 

Conditions: Employment contract, gross monthly salary starting from €1,033, Risks allowance of €200/month (medium risks area), medical insurance and PSS. Annual leave of 28 days per calendar year. 

Starting date: 1 January 2025 (or sooner) 

CARE INTERNATIONAL

CARE International (CI) is among the world's largest international non-governmental humanitarian relief and development confederations. Drawing on more than 75 years of experience, CI's work reaches over 110 countries worldwide to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice. CARE's vision is to seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice; where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security. CARE focuses heavily on women and girls, and the areas of gender equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the center of our work because we know that we cannot overcome poverty and social injustice until all people have equal rights and opportunities. 

CONTEXT IN UKRAINE

On 24th February 2022, the invasion of Ukraine marked a significant escalation to the conflict that started in 2014. It continues to profoundly impact the lives of people across the country at various levels. The front line is continuously shifting and there are areas under Russian military control, as well as cities under siege. Attacks on military installations and critical civilian infrastructures are conducted in the entire territory of Ukraine, often resulting in collateral civilian casualties. The conflict has caused the largest population movement in Europe since World War II, with over 5 million currently displaced within Ukraine and 6 million refugees across Europe. OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) had counted 14.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. An ongoing priority for the international humanitarian response is to reach newly accessible areas in the East and South of Ukraine, and to provide aid to previously unreachable and particularly hard-hit areas of Ukraine. 

CARE UKRAINE 

As CARE, we strongly believe in the importance of localization and recognize the invaluable skills and knowledge present in the local context. By working together, we can achieve quality responses and make a lasting impact on the lives of those we serve. CARE seeks to establish long-term, sustainable partnerships with civil society organizations especially WLOs/WROs that lead to more effective, locally driven, and impactful humanitarian responses, recovery, and development in Ukraine, improving the lives of the most vulnerable populations. In the first few weeks after the escalation of the war, virtually all humanitarian aid inside Ukraine was organized and implemented by local actors. These groups (together with local authorities) remain the principal aid providers but are quickly being exhausted of funds, fuel, and physical energy. Thereby, a considerable proportion of CARE's resources is dedicated to strengthening and supporting the capacities of local partners. 

As of September 2024, CARE Ukraine has established partnerships with over thirty local/national organizations (incl. WLO's/WRO's). From the more than 75 million euros that have been raised for Ukraine so far, more than 77% is allocated to national partners. Through the activities that have been implemented so far, CARE Ukraine has been able to reach more than 1.4 million people. While CARE Ukraine's country office is currently located in Kyiv, we also have offices in Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv. Job summary:

We are seeking to hire a Procurement Assistant to manage our procurements sourced in Kyiv and Lviv as well as supporting our advanced offices of South AO, East AO in their procurement.

Working under the direction of the Procurement Coordinator, the Procurement Assistant will be responsible for managing the purchase files for our coordination office in Kyiv and Area Offices, from reception of purchase requests until the delivery and payment of requested items/works/services. Her/his main responsibilities will be to manage logistics flows related to procurement, in cooperation with program's stakeholders, finance coordinators and in collaboration with her/his logistics colleagues.  

Main responsibilities: 

Procurement

• Acknowledge, review, deliver feedbacks, code, archive Purchase Requests (PR) and their annexes, according to Procurement SOP and Guidelines
• Help prepare quotation requests or tender documents after PR approval, in line with SOP and guidelines, 
• Support the equitable and timely distribution of procurement documents according to procedures and guidelines
• Collect quotations/offers and assist in preparing documents for the selection committee or bid analysis, following procurement procedures.
• Help with the vetting process for new suppliers and ensure the regular renewal of supplier vetting for those already in the system.
• Assist in preparing contracts and or Purchase Order according to decision made at selection stage, get it approved internally and then with the supplier
• Monitor contracts and purchase orders to ensure compliance with delivery terms and conditions.
• Collaborate with relevant teams to manage the acceptance of goods or services and ensure appropriate documentation is completed (eg, good receipt notes).
• Collect necessary documents to issue payments and organize payment in collaboration with finance departments after submitting the complete validated file
• Collect all necessary documents towards suppliers regarding transport (waybill, packing list, certificate of origins, customs clearance certificate, pro forma invoice, hygiene certificate, quality certificates insurance), as well as agreed documents accompanying goods/services/works, as per contract/ PO conditions, such as insurance, warranty, user's manuals.
• Support in preparing necessary documents when outsourcing transport and customs clearance.
• Regularly update procurement monitoring tools, including procurement plans, PR trackers, contract follow-ups, and vendor databases.
• Assist the Procurement Coordinator in editing the cash forecast based on PR tracker and all known upcoming payments
• Ensure all procurement files in a transparent, objectively justified, accountable, equitable, timely, rigorous and organized manner as per manuals, procurement plan, guidelines, and SOP
• Maintain clear communication with key stakeholders (eg, requesters, finance, logistics) at each stage of the procurement process.
• Inform immediately to concerned stakeholders when blocking points are being identified. Requests for meetings with requesters or program focal points on ad-hoc bases, or requests for instructions and advice by email after discussing issues with your line manager
• Assist in ensuring the best value for money, avoid procurement duplication, and provide market-based solutions to requesters' needs.
• Help the Procurement Coordinator monitor key performance indicators and report any bottlenecks or systemic issues.
• Assist in identifying new suppliers and assessing the economic network through expressions of interest.
• Provide support to field or advanced bases for their procurement needs when required

 Archiving

• Ensure that all documents produced for all above subjects are orderly archived in hard and soft copy, as per the SOPs and archiving tree defined, as soon as documents are produced, at each step
• Ensure that all archives in hard copy are marked according to the evacuation plan, by the three categories: to be left, to be taken and to be destroyed (green mark, orange mark, red mark). And ensure that the means of destruction are ready. Ensure that all electronic devices containing sensitive information are part of the evacuation plan

Others

• When requested, support Log Officers on inventories count check, as well as on office relocation or installation or any collective logistics teamwork
• Collaborate closely with IT Officer, Log Officer ensuring the preparation of delivery and actions to be taken after delivery.
• Perform other duties as requested by the Line Manager.

Security

• Identify and report to the Line management and the Security team monitoring on any gaps or issues that may compromise the security setup in place.
• Ensure the good respect of security and safety rules within logistics operations

Requirements & Qualifications

The post holder should be able to demonstrate the following attributes:

• University degree preferably in Logistics, or as second choice in Business/Finance, or equivalent experience in logistics, minimum 1 year, including 1 year in non-profit/humanitarian sector, with an experience in similar positions
• Good understanding of humanitarian principles or public/private tenders governing the procurement processes, 
• Good understanding of basic economic principles
• Good listening and negotiation skills as well as being comfortable when speaking in a group or in public
• Details oriented, meticulous, efficient and logical, the ideal candidate should demonstrate a good capacity to administer and coordinate various types of demands
• Possesses excellent oral/written communication skills in English and Ukrainian
• Ability to work in a stressful environment and able to prioritize high workload with multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines.
• Strong computer skills - Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Google, Teams/Sharepoint a plus
• Willing to travel to the field from time to time
• Ability to work as part of a team and culturally sensitive and able to work in a multi-cultural team.
• Results/action-orientation; organizational skills
• Unquestionable personal code of ethics, integrity, diversity and trust
• Experience in applying processes, and procedures
• Detail-oriented, organized, and self-starter
• Strong belief in human rights and gender equality 

Accountability within CARE 

A commitment to CARE values and CARE's integrity framework is critical to working with CARE. Any candidate offered a job with CARE will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability: 

• Comply with CARE's policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behavior protocols. 
• Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area. 
• Report any concerns about inappropriate behavior of a CARE staff or partner. 

Safeguarding 

Children and vulnerable adults who come into contact with CARE as a result of our activities must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury, and any other harm. One of the ways that CARE shows this ongoing commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates. 

Gender equality 

CARE is committed to meeting the standards of the CARE International Gender Policy (2019). Through this policy, CARE seeks to promote the equal realization of dignity and human rights for girls, women, boys and men in all diversities, and the elimination of poverty and injustice. Specifically, this policy seeks to improve the explicit incorporation of gender in programmatic and organizational practices. 

How to Apply:

CARE values equal opportunities and diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability. 

Please send your CV (in pdf format max. 4 pages) and a cover letter in English to < Отправить резюме >, no later than 23 November 2024. Please name your documents Surname_CV, Surname_Cover Letter. Put Procurement Assistant-Kyiv  as the subject title of your email. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.