REQUIREMENTS

Education/Experience

• Master level in Business Management or Supply Chain - Procurement specialization is an asset
• A minimum professional experience of 8 years, including at least 4 years in a purchasing/procurement department, and team management experience of at least 4 years
• MSF experience on the field as a supply coordinator or procurement manager is a strong asset.
• Demonstrated experience of managing change and complex projects is required
• An experience of non-European contexts would be appreciated, and knowledge of medical procurement would be a plus

Competencies

• Ability to define a strategy, share a vision, with leadership style based on openness and empowerment
• Diplomatic approach with good interpersonal skills, ability to work cross-functionally
• Technical skills: financial analysis, negotiations techniques, knowledge of contract law, advanced use of Excel
• Fluency in English and French is required, Spanish, Portuguese or Dutch would be an added value

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides assistance in more than 60 countries to populations in distress, to victims of natural or manmade disasters and to victims of armed conflicts, without discrimination and irrespective of origin, religion, creed or political affiliation.

HEAD OF MSF-OCB PROCUREMENT (m/f/x)

CONTEXT

MSF consists out of 5 Operational Centers (OCs), 3 European Supply Centers (ESCs) and 22 partner sections (PS). OCB (Operational Center of Brussels) is one of the 5 operational centers

Driven by MSF’s goals, the OCB Supply chain’s mission is to enable humanitarian action and provide reliable supply chain solutions. The supply chain is composed of different entities to cover the whole, all having interactions with each other. As such, the scope covers a supply chain that is specific, humanitarian and subject to emergencies.

The OCB itself procures 190 Million euros of goods and services per year. Purchases are made by several entities: the European Supply center (MSF Supply) for international purchase of goods and transport, Headquarters in Brussels plus 9 offices around the world that procure mainly services for internal use, a regional intersectional hub in Kenya (KSU) that procures for the East Africa region and all the local missions and projects.

In line with the global MSF strategy, the MSF Strategic Procurement Program (MSPP) has been launched in order to intensify collaboration between the different MSF entities and streamline the existing MSF procurement set up with the aim to achieve optimal operational efficiency by avoiding duplication, waste and operational complexity.

The ultimate goal of the program is to develop and implement a global, common approach to strategic procurement across all entities (OCs, ESCs and PS) at international, regional and national level.

In this frame, OCB is recruiting a head of procurement in order to ensure OCB procurement is delivering the best value to the organization and to prepare the transition of the current MSF OCB procurement organization to the future global procurement set up.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to MSF OCB’s Supply Chain Director, the Head of Procurement is overall responsible for all these procurement activities, and supervises:

As a line manager, his/her team comprises:

• Two Field procurement experts based in Brussels Headquarters. They monitor local procurement and provide coaching and support to the missions. They indirectly supervise the field procurement managers. 
• Two Regional procurement managers. They  cover specifically Southern Africa and Latin America and are based in these regions.
• Two Headquarters strategic buyers, providing support to the categories at the headquarters for their procurement (facility management, fundraising/communication, ICT, etc.…)

As a functional manager :

• A Procurement Coordinator, who manages a team of 5 strategical and 2 tactical buyers based at MSF Supply (Neder-over-Hembeek). They are responsible for the supplier selection, contract negotiations, and supplier relationship management, with the aim to find the right balance between cost and supplier performance.

The actual setup has been evolving since a few years, along with the professionalization of the procurement function within OCB,  and at international level with the development of the MSPP.

Therefore, the current organigramme will be subject to further change in the future and the Head of Procurement is expected to support and accompany this transition to a more global and intersectional Procurement workforce and set-up, while developing a strong anchorage within the OCB reality, both at HQ and Field levels.

The Head of Procurement’s key responsibilities include:

1. Ensuring the transition from the current set-up to the future global procurement organization currently under development with the MSPP, hence collaborating actively with the different MSPP projects. In the light of the evolution of the movement procurement organization, the content of the job profile of the head of procurement, may evolve in the forthcoming years.

2. Increasing the intimacy with the OCB operational reality to ensure a proper translation between the operational needs and the global policies and avoid the disconnect.

3. As a member of the Supply Chain Management Team, contributing to the definition of strategy objectives and organization of the OCB Supply Chain, as well as key operational and budgetary decisions.

4. Overseeing the definition of procurement policies, processes, methodologies and tools to ensure coherence with the strategy and coherence across the different areas, as well to ensure that we have the means to achieve our objectives and that we continually improve.

5. Managing, coaching, motivating, and supporting the team to ensure employee’s satisfaction, improve performance and ensure that objectives are met.

6. Communicating and collaborating with the key stakeholders within the OCB and internationally (the other Supply Centers, the other Operational Centers, the International Medical Coordination…) to ensure an effective collaboration and leverage synergies.

CONDITIONS

• Expected starting date: as soon as possible
• Contract type: Long-term contract - Full-time
• Location: Based in Brussels (20% at MSF Supply in Neder-Over- Heembeek / 80% at MSF Headquarters in Ixelles) - Regular travelling
• Salary according to the MSF-OCB HQ salary grid – Hospital insurance (DKV) – Pension plan – 100% reimbursement for public transport cost
• Adhere to the MSF principles and to our managerial values: Respect, Transparency, Integrity, Accountability, Trust and Empowerment
• Adhere to the MSF Behavioral Commitments

Deadline for application: 04/04/2022

How to apply?

Please, send your CV and cover letter to recruit-hq-sc@brussels.msf.org and mention “Head of Procurement” in the subject of your email.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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