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Job Title:  Procurement Associate    

Organisation: Medical Research Council (MRC UK) /UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit

Duty Station: Entebbe, Uganda

Reports to: Head of Procurement

Position Code: PA -822

About US:

The Medical Research Council (MRC UK) is an internationally recognised centre of excellence with dominant research themes in the areas of HIV and emerging infections, vaccines and immunity, and chronic diseases and cancer. Through a multidisciplinary approach, intersecting basic science, epidemiological research, social-behavioural research and the conduct of new intervention evaluation studies, the Unit contributes knowledge on changing epidemics and diseases, the evaluation of innovative health care options, treatment and prevention and the development of health policy and practice in Africa and worldwide. Following the signing of strategic transfer agreements between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Medical Research Council (MRC UK), the Unit formally joined LSHTM on 1st February 2018. The exciting new partnership will boost research capacity into current and emerging health issues in Africa and throughout the world. The Unit is based at the UVRI Entebbe campus with established outposts in Kalungu, Masaka, Wakiso and Kampala Districts.

Job Summary:  The Procurement Associate will timely coordinate flow of information, updates, and documents between the procurement team, and stakeholders; collecting analyzing procurement data and publishing procurement performance reports. Also assists Procurement Officers in performance some buying functions and acts in Procurement Officer Capacity in the event of leave/ absence of a Procurement Officer.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Developing a tracking/update tool that contains all pending purchase requests and user inquiries; update the status of each inquiry daily and share an update with requesters daily;
• Checking the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool (Microsoft Dynamics Navision) for all new purchase requisitions and add these to the tracking/ update tool. In addition, add any new inquiries arising outside of the ERP tool to the tracking/ update tool;
• Collecting regular updates from Procurement Officers and Head of Procurement on progress of their respective pending purchase requests and update the tracking/ update tool each week with updates that are accurate and useful to users;
• Checking weekly shipping plan and shipping pre-alerts from the shipping agents and update the tracking/ update tool to show import orders that are planned for shipping, in transit, under customs clearance or delivered to stores, rejected/ returned, pending payment, paid;
• Contacting shipping agents and clearing agents for updates on import orders that are planned for shipping or undergoing customs clearance and update tracking/update tool accordingly;
• Regularly contact and liaise with shipping agents to inform them of orders requiring collection and orders to be delivered to shipping agent by suppliers;
• Supporting Procurement Officers in following up with suppliers on orders that are due for collection or delivery or delayed and push for fulfilment or new delivery dates;
• Require shipping agent to provide pre-alert documents including invoices, waybills/ bills of lading, export certificates;
• Contacting suppliers for certificates of conformity, certificates of analysis, material safety data sheets and any other documents required by shipping and clearing agents for successful shipping and customs clearance of imported consignments;
• Liaising with the Unit pharmacist to lodge applications for National Drug Authority Import Verification Certificates (NDA VCs) and with the clearing agent to apply for Uganda National Bureau of Standards(UNBS) destination inspection for all import shipments that require them;
• Requesting Cash or Bank Transfer payments (per Unit Accounts Payables Policy) and coordinate with drivers and/ or accountants and regulatory agencies to ensure payments for permits/ inspections are made in timely fashion, and permits are provided/ inspections are conducted accordingly;
• Responding to inquiries of shipping agent on orders to be consolidated or separated from weekly shipping consignments;
• Instructing shipping agent when required, on treatment of different orders, pickups, deliveries and shipments;
• Consult Procurement Officers on any information needed by shipping agents and act as single point of contact between Unit and shipping agent/ customs clearing agent;
• Being accountable for procuring logistics requirements of the Unit, in compliance with the Unit Procurement Policies and Standard Operating Practices, including procurement of shipping agent and clearing agent services;
• Managing sourcing, selection and ordering of services of couriers for shipment of samples, biological shipments and courier shipments both locally and internationally;
• Receiving payment schedules and invoices from logistics and clearing agents, checking accuracy of the same, submitting these for requisitioning, approval and following up their timely payment;
• Tracking of all procurement deliveries to the Unit and ensure these are appropriately forwarded for payment and settled in accordance with the Unit’s Accounts Payables

Policy;

• Regularly updates the tracking/update tool with the payment status of each outstanding order
• Coordinating with the Stores department, Procurement department, Finance department and Suppliers to troubleshoot/ investigate and resolve any contested or ‘on-hold’ deliveries and ensure these are escalated for resolving or resolved and payments settled;
• Receiving the  Finance  ‘Outstanding  Pre-payments’  report  and  follow  up  with Procurement Officers, Requesters, and Stores to provide correct updates on the status of open pre-paid orders;
• Keeping track of the annual tender and initiatives plans and produce a monthly dashboard/report on progress of completion of tenders and initiative projects;
• Keeping track of the annual Procurement team targets and publish a monthly update on progress towards achieving Procurement objectives;
• Collecting and analyse data from the ERP tool and other sources, on each purchase request and the different stages from need realization to delivery. In addition, use this data to report on Procurement’s performance in achieving service levels and turnaround times, for each purchase request;
• Relieving Procurement Officers and perform Procurement officer functions when a Procurement Officer is on leave, out of office or when assigned to do so by Head of procurement;
• Performing any reasonable clerical actions requested by Procurement Officers including filing; and,
• Inspecting deliveries following up with suppliers and/ or requestors on specific requests.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The applicant must hold a Bachelor’s degree in Procurement, Logistics, Supply Chain management, or related field required;
• CIPS qualification, minimum Level 5 as an alternative to Bachelor’s degree;
• Previous experience working with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system;
• Previous experience in an analytical role, working with spreadsheets, analyzing data and producing reports;
• Previous progressive experience in procurement/ logistics/ supply chain role;
• Should possess Intermediate level user of Microsoft Excel;
• Knowledge of standard workplace IT-tools such use of computers, scanners and Windows Office;
• Good understanding of international trade, logistics, laws, practices and Uganda customs requirements;
• Exemplifying Integrity – zero tolerance to unethical acts;
• Client orientation – always putting self in client’s shoes;
• Innovation – constantly developing new or improved approaches;
• Quick learner – quickly picks up and applies new information on the job; and,
• Results focused – looks for ways to achieve results, not excuses why results cannot be achieved.

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified candidates Follow the link below to fill a form and submit your application documentation at the link below.

Click Here

Deadline: 23^rd August 2022

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