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Job Description
The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer. We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow. The FCDO operates an agile workforce and to facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time, as we may reasonably require.
Main purpose of job:
Reporting to the Deputy Director Corporate Services, the Procurement and Estates Manager will lead procurement, commercial planning, contract management and supplier performance for the British Embassy Addis Ababa.
The job holder will manage the Embassy’s procurement pipeline and oversee procurement exercises so that goods, works and services are compliant, affordable and fit for purpose. They will ensure decisions are fair, transparent, properly documented and aligned with FCDO policy, delegated authority and governance requirements.
The role provides strategic commercial oversight of the Embassy’s residential and operational estate, while day-to-day property management, maintenance delivery and technical works remain with the relevant estates, facilities and technical teams.
The post requires commercial judgement, procurement and contract-management experience, effective leadership and confidence working with internal customers, suppliers, landlords, contractors, regional teams and senior managers. Estates or facilities-management experience would be useful but is not essential. The successful candidate must be willing to undertake relevant FCDO training as it becomes available.
Roles and responsibilities:
Procurement and Commercial Management: 40%
- Develop, maintain and regularly review the Corporate Services procurement pipeline and contract register.
- Work with budget holders and service leads to identify, plan and prioritise current and future procurement requirements.
- Review requirements and recommend the most suitable procurement route in line with FCDO policy, local procedures and delegated authority.
- Lead procurement exercises within delegated authority, including market research, supplier engagement, specifications, tender documents, bid evaluation, due diligence, approvals and contract award.
- Work with regional procurement and commercial teams on procurements that are above Post’s delegated authority or require specialist support.
- Ensure requirements and specifications are clear, proportionate and based on business need.
- Support fair and objective bid evaluations, ensuring evaluators understand their responsibilities and decisions are properly evidenced.
- Ensure procurement activity demonstrates fairness, transparency, integrity, competition and value for money.
- Identify opportunities to combine requirements, reduce unnecessary spending and improve purchasing arrangements.
- Provide advice and practical support to staff carrying out low-value procurement.
- Develop simple procurement guidance, templates and standard processes for use across the Embassy.
- Monitor compliance and raise procurement risks, delays or policy concerns with senior management.
- Support procurement audits, compliance reviews and management assurance exercises.
- Promote ethical, sustainable and responsible procurement where this is consistent with FCDO policy and operational needs.
Contract and Supplier Management: 20%
- Maintain oversight of Embassy contracts, including values, key dates, extension options, owners, payment terms and performance requirements.
- Ensure every contract has a named contract manager with clear responsibilities.
- Establish proportionate contract-management arrangements based on contract value, risk and operational importance.
- Support contract managers to set clear service levels, performance measures and reporting arrangements.
- Monitor supplier performance against contract terms, service standards and agreed deliverables, supporting regular reviews where required.
- Record poor performance, discuss it with suppliers and agree proportionate improvement measures.
- Support contract managers in resolving performance issues, disputes, payment concerns and service failures.
- Ensure contract changes, extensions and variations are properly justified, approved, recorded and within delegated authority.
- Monitor contract risks and ensure controls, contingency arrangements and exit plans are in place for critical services.
- Manage procurement and contract renewal timetables to reduce the risk of expired contracts or unplanned extensions.
- Check that payments match the goods, works or services delivered and the terms of the contract.
- Support supplier due diligence and monitor compliance with insurance, licences, safety requirements and other contractual obligations.
- Provide senior management with clear information on contract performance, supplier risks, savings and upcoming commercial decisions.
- Use lessons from completed procurements and contracts to improve future commercial activity.
Estates and Facilities Oversight: 15%
- Provide strategic oversight of the Embassy’s residential and operational property portfolio, ensuring services meet agreed FCDO, safety, security and operational standards.
- Hold service leads, contractors and suppliers accountable for maintenance delivery, service quality, cost and performance.
- Review performance information on planned maintenance, reactive maintenance, outstanding works and service failures.
- Ensure major estates risks, delays, compliance gaps and funding pressures are reported to the Deputy Director Corporate Services.
- Oversee the commercial and contractual arrangements that support maintenance, facilities management, residential accommodation and technical works.
- Ensure estates-related requirements are properly planned, specified, procured and documented.
- Support the forecasting of accommodation requirements and provide commercial advice to the Post Housing Committee.
- Support fair, compliant and value-for-money decisions on residential accommodation, leases and related services.
- Maintain oversight of arrangements to prepare accommodation for arriving staff, while leaving day-to-day delivery with the responsible estates or facilities teams.
- Ensure suitable controls are in place for estates records, property inventories, furniture, stores and asset registers.
- Review management information and seek corrective action where records or controls are incomplete.
- Support senior-level engagement with landlords and property owners where commercial, contractual or performance matters require escalation.
- Provide assurance reports on estates performance, compliance, risks and expenditure to relevant boards and committees.
- Support official events by ensuring that required facilities, equipment and services are planned and procured, with operational delivery led by the relevant service teams.
Financial, Governance and Risk Management: 10%
- Forecast and manage delegated procurement, contract and estates-related budgets.
- Ensure expenditure remains within approved allocations and supports agreed priorities.
- Work with budget holders to connect procurement plans, contract commitments and financial forecasts.
- Monitor expenditure, contractual commitments, savings, supplier payments and financial risks.
- Approve requisitions and expenditure within delegated authority.
- Ensure purchases are supported by the required competition, approvals, contracts and financial records.
- Maintain effective separation of duties throughout procurement, contract management and payment processes.
- Identify and manage commercial, financial, operational, fraud and supplier risks.
- Ensure conflicts of interest are declared, recorded and managed.
- Maintain clear audit trails and provide evidence for audits, inspections and assurance reviews.
- Track agreed audit and compliance actions through to completion.
- Report significant control failures, suspected fraud, supplier concerns or policy breaches through the correct channels.
- Provide clear and accurate financial, commercial and risk information to senior management.
Stakeholder Management and Customer Service: 5%
- Build effective relationships with internal customers, budget holders, service leads and senior managers.
- Act as the main source of procurement and contract-management advice within Corporate Services.
- Work closely with regional procurement hubs, commercial specialists, finance teams and other FCDO stakeholders.
- Engage professionally with suppliers, contractors, landlords and service providers.
- Help teams define their requirements and understand procurement timescales, responsibilities and controls.
- Communicate procurement and contract decisions clearly and keep stakeholders informed of progress, risks and delays.
- Seek customer feedback and use it to improve procurement and contract-management services.
- Support joint working across Corporate Services and the wider Embassy platform.
Line Management and Leadership: 10%
- Lead, motivate and develop procurement, contract-support and relevant corporate-services staff.
- Set clear objectives, responsibilities and performance expectations.
- Ensure staff understand procurement controls, delegated authority and record-keeping requirements.
- Provide coaching, mentoring and practical support.
- Identify skills gaps and develop learning plans for staff involved in procurement and contract management.
- Promote collaboration between procurement, finance, estates, facilities, security and operational teams.
- Create a culture of service, accountability, fairness and continuous improvement.
- Ensure workloads are prioritised according to business need, value, risk and urgency.
- Support wider Embassy objectives through active participation in corporate responsibilities.
- Deputise for the Corporate Services Manager when required.
Health, Safety, Security and Compliance Responsibilities
- Provide assurance that procurement and contract arrangements include suitable health, safety, security and compliance requirements.
- Work with responsible technical and facilities teams to ensure estates and facilities services comply with FCDO standards and applicable local legal requirements.
- Ensure suppliers and contractors provide required safety documents, insurance, licences and evidence of staff competence before beginning relevant work.
- Ensure contracts clearly state supplier responsibilities for safety, security, access, safeguarding and incident reporting where applicable.
- Monitor whether contract managers are checking contractor compliance and recording evidence.
- Escalate serious contractor safety concerns or compliance failures to the responsible manager.
- Support responses to audits, inspections and management assurance exercises.
- Track corrective actions and ensure evidence of completion is retained.
- Promote safe, compliant, sustainable and resilient services.
- Support contingency and business-continuity planning for critical suppliers and contracts.
- This role provides governance and commercial assurance. It does not replace the professional responsibilities of technical officers, facilities managers, health and safety advisers or security staff.
Job Qualification
- At least three years’ relevant experience in procurement, contract management, commercial management or supply chain management.
- Practical experience of planning and delivering competitive procurement exercises.
- Experience preparing or reviewing specifications, tender documents, evaluation criteria and procurement records.
- Experience evaluating bids and supporting fair, evidence-based contract award decisions.
- Experience managing contracts, suppliers or complex commercial relationships.
- Experience monitoring supplier performance against service levels, deliverables or performance indicators.
- Experience resolving supplier-performance problems and managing commercial risk.
- Experience managing budgets, expenditure and contractual commitments.
- Evidence of securing value for money while maintaining service quality and compliance.
- Experience working within clear governance, financial-control and policy frameworks.
- Ability to maintain complete, accurate and audit-ready procurement and contract records.
- Strong negotiation, influencing and stakeholder-management skills.
- Strong written and spoken English.
- Ability to explain procurement requirements clearly to staff who are not procurement specialists.
- Strong customer-service and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and deliver results under pressure.
- Strong organisational, analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Sound judgement and the confidence to challenge non-compliant or poor-value proposals.
- High standards of integrity, fairness and professional conduct.
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Office applications and the ability to use approved digital tools, including artificial intelligence tools, safely and effectively.
- Willingness to undertake FCDO-sponsored training and professional development in procurement, commercial management, contract management and estates assurance.
Desirable qualifications, skills and experience
- A professional qualification or certification in procurement, supply chain management, commercial management, contract management, finance, business management or project management.
- Membership of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, or willingness to work towards CIPS membership or an appropriate qualification.
- Experience managing a procurement pipeline and contract register.
- Experience leading tender evaluations and supplier-selection processes.
- Experience using procurement, purchasing, finance or contract-management systems.
- Experience of supplier due diligence, market analysis and commercial risk management.
- Experience managing high-value, high-risk or business-critical contracts.
- Experience working with regional or central procurement teams.
- Experience procuring facilities management, property, construction, maintenance or professional services.
- Experience providing commercial oversight of residential accommodation, leases or property-related services.
- Understanding of facilities management and estates compliance, including the different responsibilities of technical specialists, service managers and contract managers.
- Experience working in a diplomatic, international or multicultural environment.
- Experience supporting audits, inspections or management assurance reviews.
- Experience improving procurement controls, processes or staff capability.
- Experience managing organisational change or service-improvement programmes.
- A bachelor’s degree in procurement, supply chain management, business management, finance, law, economics or another relevant subject.
How To Apply
Please ensure that your application is authentically written based on your own experiences. If AI tools are used, their usage must only be limited to specific tasks such as ensuring formatting consistency and keyword relevance. The core content, personal narratives, and responses to behaviour and skill-based questions must genuinely reflect your professional journey, experiences, and achievements. We place great importance on originality and individual effort throughout the application process. Any form of plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.
- The British Embassy will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position
- The base salary is subject to tax and other statutory deductions
- Employees recruited locally by the British Embassy in Addis Ababa are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Ethiopia.
- All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit
The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to:
1.Obtain the relevant permit
2.Pay the fees for the permit
3.Make arrangements to relocate
4.Meet the costs to relocation - Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.
- Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles
- Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates
- Please log into your profile on the application system on a regular basis to review the status of your application
- Appointable candidates who were unsuccessful may be placed on a ‘reserve list’. If during the reserve period of 6 months the same or a largely similar role becomes available, that role may be offered to the second or subsequent candidate