Background

The African Youth Action Network (AYAN) is seeking a Procurement Lead to ensure transparent, competitive, timely, and cost-effective procurement and supply-chain processes. This role is crucial for ensuring that goods, works, and services meet program needs and comply with approved policies, donor requirements, budgets, and ethical standards. The position is based in Kampala with travel to AYAN field locations as required.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Procurement Planning and Sourcing: Develop and maintain annual and project procurement plans; lead preparation of specifications, terms of reference, requests for quotations; coordinate competitive sourcing, bid receipt, evaluation, due diligence, negotiation, and award recommendations; consolidate procurement needs.
• Compliance and Internal Controls: Ensure compliance with AYAN policies, donor conditions, and applicable requirements; maintain complete procurement files; identify and manage conflicts of interest; support procurement reviews and audits.
• Supplier and Contract Management: Establish and maintain an approved supplier database; monitor supplier performance; coordinate contract administration, amendments, renewals, and close-out; promote fair access to procurement opportunities.
• Logistics, Assets and Coordination: Coordinate with requesting teams on delivery, inspection, acceptance, and distribution; work with Finance on budget confirmation and supplier payments; support inventory, asset, fleet, and stores controls; provide procurement guidance and training.
• Reporting and Risk Management: Prepare regular procurement status reports, contract trackers, and savings analyses; monitor lead times, bottlenecks, supplier risks, and compliance gaps; maintain a procurement risk register.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Commerce, Logistics, or a related field.
• Professional procurement or supply-chain certification is an advantage.
• At least five years of progressive procurement experience, including competitive sourcing, contract management, and supplier performance monitoring.
• Experience in a nonprofit, humanitarian, donor-funded, or multi-location organization is highly desirable.
• Strong knowledge of procurement documentation, evaluation processes, internal controls, and ethical sourcing.

Core Competencies

• Integrity, impartiality, and confidentiality.
• Strong planning, negotiation, and commercial judgement.
• Attention to detail and disciplined records management.
• Ability to analyse quotations, costs, risks, and supplier performance.
• Clear communication and ability to work collaboratively.
• Commitment to accountability, value for money, and prevention of fraud and conflicts of interest.

• Develop and maintain annual and project procurement plans in coordination with programme, finance and field teams.
• Lead preparation of specifications, terms of reference, requests for quotations and other solicitation documents.
• Coordinate competitive sourcing, bid receipt, evaluation, due diligence, negotiation and award recommendations.
• Consolidate procurement needs where appropriate to improve efficiency and value for money.
• Ensure procurement activities comply with AYAN policies, approved thresholds, donor conditions and applicable requirements.
• Maintain complete procurement files with requisitions, quotations, evaluations, approvals, purchase orders, contracts and delivery evidence.
• Identify and manage actual or potential conflicts of interest and uphold confidentiality throughout procurement processes.
• Support procurement reviews, audits and investigations by providing accurate and complete documentation.
• Establish and maintain an approved supplier database and conduct proportionate supplier due diligence.
• Monitor supplier performance, delivery timelines, quality, pricing and contract obligations.
• Coordinate contract administration, amendments, renewals, close-out and resolution of supplier-performance issues.
• Promote fair access to procurement opportunities while safeguarding quality, competition and integrity.
• Coordinate with requesting teams on delivery, inspection, acceptance and distribution of goods and services.
• Work with Finance to confirm budget availability, payment documentation and timely supplier payment processing.
• Support inventory, asset, fleet and stores controls in coordination with responsible staff.
• Provide practical procurement guidance and training to Kampala and field teams.
• Prepare regular procurement status reports, contract trackers, savings analyses and management updates.
• Monitor procurement lead times, bottlenecks, supplier risks and compliance gaps and recommend corrective actions.
• Maintain a procurement risk register and support continuity planning for critical goods and services.

• Integrity
• Impartiality
• Confidentiality
• Strong planning
• Negotiation
• Commercial judgement
• Attention to detail
• Disciplined records management
• Ability to analyse quotations, costs, risks and supplier performance
• Clear communication
• Ability to work collaboratively with programme, finance and field teams
• Commitment to accountability
• Value for money
• Prevention of fraud and conflicts of interest
• Procurement documentation
• Evaluation processes
• Internal controls
• Ethical sourcing

• Bachelor’s degree in Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Commerce, Logistics or a related field.
• Professional procurement or supply-chain certification is an advantage.
• At least five years of progressive procurement experience, including competitive sourcing, contract management and supplier performance monitoring.
• Experience in a nonprofit, humanitarian, donor-funded or multi-location organization is highly desirable.
• Strong knowledge of procurement documentation, evaluation processes, internal controls and ethical sourcing.