Procurement and Contracts Officer Full Time NEW

1/ CONTEXT AND MISSION

A/ About Expertise France

Expertise France is the public agency for the design and implementation of international technical cooperation projects, a member of the AFD Group. The Agency intervenes around four priority areas:

• Democratic, economic and financial governance.
• Peace, stability and security.
• Climate, agriculture and sustainable development.
• Health and Human Development.

In these areas, Expertise France carries out engineering and implementation missions for capacity building projects, mobilizes technical expertise as well as a project coordinator involving public expertise and private know-how.

With a turnover of €450 million in 2024 and more than 350 ongoing projects in 140 countries of intervention, Expertise France is the leading public agency for French international technical cooperation.

B/ Expertise France in Ethiopia

With more than 120 million inhabitants, hosting the African Union headquarter, Ethiopia is a key country on the continent. In recent years, the country has seen a constant strengthening of its bilateral cooperation with France and benefits from the largest European programme in sub-Saharan Africa.

This has resulted in an increase of more than 140% in the Agency’s portfolio in 2024, which now stands at €32 million and is expected to exceed €45 million by the end of the year. The country is also home to two strategic regional projects in education and heritage, and a team of 3 ITE, which is being reinforced by 6 additional ITE.

The Expertise France country team should increase to nearly 50 people.

To support this development, the Agency has decided to structure a country directorate and a project support unit in Addis Ababa, as of September 2025.

C/ Position and Reporting Line

Based in Addis Ababa, the position of Procurement and Contracts Officer is under the direct reporting responsibility of the Procurement and Contracts Manager (PCM).

The managerial report is: PCM / Support Service Coordinator / Country Director / Geographical Department / Operations Department.

The functional link of the Procurement and Contracts unit is provided by the Legal Affairs Department (LAD) at the headquarters in Paris.

The PSU is made up of four main units: Procurement and Contracts, Logistics, Administrative and Financial, and Human Resources.

The Procurement and Contracts Officer will be integrated into the Procurement and Contracts unit, made up of the PCM, another Procurement and Contracts Officer and a Procurement and Contracts Assistant.

The position of Procurement and Contracts Officer does not involve direct supervision of staff at this stage of the PSU’s structuring.

Externally, the Procurement and Contracts Officer will liaise with suppliers, service providers, public administration, partners and civil society organizations; according to the distribution set up by the PCM.

2/ JOB DESCRIPTION

Main missions:

The scope of the Procurement and Contracts Officer covers the following areas: Legal, supply chain, purchasing, storage, contract awarding, public procurement, taxation.

Within the Project Support Unit team in Ethiopia, under the supervision of the PCM, and the support of the Legal Affairs Department at Headquarters, the Procurement and Contracts Officer is responsible for:

• Receiving contracting requests from PSU and projects in the Ethiopian portfolio
• Contributing to the programming and optimization of contracts (PPC)
• Selecting and implementing the procedures for contracts and grants in accordance with the regulations applicable to Expertise France in terms of public procurement and subsidies
• Drafting of amending acts during implementation (amendment, termination, decision to reject services/deliverables, etc.)
• Contributing to the cross-functional activities of the department (reporting, advice, support)
• Participation in cross-functional workshops launched by the LAD

Main activities

a) Scheduling contracts and identifying cross-functional purchases

• Provide advice and validation to project managers and the PSU in updating their respective Procurement Plans (PPC)
• Identify cross-functional purchases that can be shared, propose and schedule the implementation of appropriate contractual supports that can cover these needs

b) Supplier monitoring and database

• Monitor and capitalize on the national and international markets of suppliers (players, products, prices, etc.)
• Setting up a supplier database, ensuring the follow-up of relationships and preferential agreements as needed
• Ensure the capitalization of price lists and suppliers identified within a supplier database

c) Purchase and Grant Contracts

In accordance with the regulation applicable to Expertise France’s purchases:

• Collect and follow-up the purchase requests of the services (Coordinator of the PSU and Project Managers) under his/her portfolio
• Provide support for the expression of needs, sourcing or the development of the technical specifications in collaboration with the requesters
• Choose the most suitable procurement procedure and validate the selection criteria in consultation with the applicants
• Prepare the consultation file and launch the procedure (publication of notices, posting on the dematerialization platform, etc.)
• Management of the consultation (question/answer exchanges, modifications to the consultation, reception and sharing of applications and offers with the evaluators)
• Carry out administrative admissibility checks and due diligence of applications
• Supervise, contribute and organize the negotiation of bids in conjunction with the evaluators
• Supervise and control the evaluation of bids carried out by evaluators
• Contract draft finalization and follow-up of signatories and notification
• Classification in accordance with the standards of Expertise France of all the documents constituting of the procedure and the contractual annexes to the contract

d) Follow-up of contract execution

• Develop contract monitoring dashboards for the PSU and for each project
• Provide support and advice in the application of the applicable contractual clauses
• Participate in the implementation and contractual framing as part of the launch of contract execution
• Enforce penalties if necessary, upon CFT validation and project team
• Draft and contract amendments and all amending implementing acts: rejection and termination decisions, start-up service orders, tranche consolidation orders, purchase orders/subsequent contracts, decision to extend deadlines, etc.

This list of responsibilities is not exhaustive. The Procurement and Contract Officer will also have to support the Procurement and Contracts team in any task necessary for the proper functioning of the department.

3/ EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

• Employee contract under local law, via a third-party employer company
• Duration of the contract: Fixed-term contract of one year renewable with the possibility of renewal or extension and/or perpetuation before the end of the contract depending on the performance evaluation and available budget.
• Job Location: Addis Ababa
• Start date: December 2025

Qualifications and experience

• Higher education at minimum level BAC+3 in law or administrative management
• Experience with donors (European Union/AFD/World Bank/other development banks) or any other technical cooperation operator
• 3 years’ experience in operational purchasing, all purchases combined: supplies, services and works
• Proven experience in the application of purchasing levers (price negotiation, analysis of the strengths/weaknesses of families, etc.)
• Desired experience in international cooperation

Competencies and technical skills

a) Knowledge

• Knowledge of purchasing techniques (sourcing, supplier database, pooling, framework agreement, negotiation, follow-up of purchasing gains, etc.)
• Knowledge of basic principles and rules in international supply chain and logistics is an advantage
• Knowledge of public procurement rules. Knowledge of French and European ones is an asset
• Knowledge of international donor rules is an advantage
• Fluency in oral and written English. French would be an asset

b) Know-how

• Good organizational and writing skills
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills, including evaluation
• Excellent negotiation skills
• Perfect proficiency of Pack Office

c) Soft skills

• Ability to work in a demanding and multicultural context
• Strong capacity for autonomy, independence of mind and impartiality
• Strong ability to work, rigor and organization
• Interpersonal skills, teamwork skills
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work in a challenging environment
• Ability to communicate clearly and synthetically, both written and orally
• Observer and available