Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity, with a focus on vulnerable and underserved populations. Since 1958, we have been a leader in designing, implementing, and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

EDC promotes equity and access to high quality education and health services and products that contribute to thriving communities where people from diverse backgrounds learn, live, and work together. We support an inclusive workplace culture that embraces many perspectives and broadens our understanding of the communities we serve, enhancing and enriching our work.   

EDC is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.

We are looking for candidates who share EDC’s commitment and understand the importance of cultural responsiveness in today’s context.

Project Description

The USAID South Sudan Youth Empowerment Activity (YEA) will reach 25,000 South Sudanese youth in 13 countries across five (5) states (Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, and Western Bahr el Ghazal) over a four-year period. This community-based intervention will establish a vibrant Youth Corps and support local organizations enhance youth-friendly service offerings. IYEA will tailor its intervention to meet the realities of each implementation area and to best support a diverse group of youth with varied capacities and aspirations to reach their full potential.

The Procurement and Human Resources (HR) Manager will manage project procurements and manage the routine functions of the Human Resources department. S/he will ensure compliance with USAID regulations and EDC policy and procedures in support of project activities at project headquarters and five zonal offices. Duties will include the supervision of the day-to-day procurement functions with particular focus on complex, high-value, and critical programmatic procurements such as print materials. S/he will maintain a procurement process that is transparent, responsive, and efficient in delivering goods and services on time and within budget. S/he will organize and manage all office administrative tasks, and have responsibility for providing a variety of activities related to human resources administration including recruitment, staffing, compensation, Human Resources Information Systems, benefits, employee relations, training, and employment regulatory compliance. This position will provide HR support to all offices, maintain close communication relationships with the technical team as well as operational and financial staff, as relevant, and perform other duties, as assigned.

The Procurement and HR Manager reports to the Director of Finance and Administration. This is a full-time position based in Juba, South Sudan.

Essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:

Procurement (80%)

• Coordinating with the Director of Finance and Operations to ensure procurement practices align with the project’s Policy and Procedures Manual and adhere to USAID rules and regulations.
• Developing and overseeing the project procurement plan in collaboration with project management, EDC Home Office Procurement Team, and technical team leads to ensure timely acquisition of goods and services based on the work plan.
• Managing the overall procurement process, including vendor identification, issuing requests for quotations, evaluating quotations, establishing evaluation committees, documenting the process, conducting due diligence, seeking approval for procurement awards, issuing purchase orders, overseeing goods/services receipt, ensuring VAT tax exemption, coordinating customs clearance, and maintaining comprehensive procurement documentation.
• Supervising day-to-day procurement support, collaborating with project technical teams to provide guidance and assistance for activity trainings, events, and meetings requiring venue rentals, catering services, transportation services, and stationery/supply procurement.
• Ensuring deliveries align with approved security protocols in coordination with the Director of Finance and Operations and the Project Health, Risk, and Security Manager.
• Managing timely receipt of invoices from vendors and coordinating with finance staff for disbursements.
• Providing weekly procurement projections to the finance team for planning fund availability.
• Establishing and maintaining a purchase order database to track and monitor the delivery of goods and services.
• Conducting market research in South Sudan to verify availability and pricing of required goods and services.
• Maintaining detailed procurement documentation files in both electronic and hard copy.
• Supervising the Procurement and Logistics Assistant, offering training and guidance in operations functions.
• Supervising Procurement teams in day-to-day activities and coordinating performance reviews.
• Managing staff coordination for ongoing activities and presenting updates to senior management in weekly meetings.
• Other duties, as assigned.

Human Resources (20%)

• Responsible for maintaining confidential HR files for both national and international personnel.
• Tracking and documenting all ongoing HR activities.
• Facilitating the recruitment process for upcoming livelihood officers.
• Managing local consultancies.
• Generating HR timesheets with detailed information at the end of each month in consultation with the Finance team.
• Other duties, as assigned.

The candidate for the position of Procurement and HR Manager shall have at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field with 7+ years of directly relevant work experience in Procurement or Human Resources management.
• Certifications from organizations in other areas that include skills and knowledge needed in logistics may also be considered as experience when hiring for this position.

Skills and Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible and directly relevant work experience (5 years of related experience with a Master’s degree)
• Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated capacity to work with staff at all levels in the organization and to build consensus and collaboration among program teams and with operations
• Must be able to perform complex processes and duties with minimum supervision.
• Must be able to work within a cross cultural setting, negotiate diplomatically, and function well under pressure
• Excellent writing skills
• Experience working with key software and Microsoft Office, especially MS Word and MS Excel
• Familiarity with local labor laws and regulations;
• Self-motivated and proactive with a high level of integrity
• Experience supporting USAID or another donor funded project is a plus
• Willingness to travel to states and counties covered by the project

Language:

Advanced proficiency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of and proficiency in at least 2 local languages spoken in Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Upper Nile, and Western Bahr and Ghazal highly preferred.

Job Closing Date: January 10, 2024

Applications without a resume or CV will not be reviewed. Due to the volume of applications submitted, only finalists will be notified. No phone calls, please.

EDC is committed to enhancing the diversity of its workforce and ensuring an equitable and highly inclusive work environment. EDC is a smoke-free workplace, and offers a supportive work environment, competitive salary, and excellent benefits. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.