Procurement Officer

Purpose of the Job

Coordinates and controls processes and participates in the procurement and ordering of goods and services through interaction and communication internally and externally on aspects pertaining to the availability of products and/or alternatives, pricing, quality, lead times and service delivery standards against agreed terms and conditions and, attends to specific administrative information processing and reporting requirements.

Key Performance Areas

Documentation and procedural applications

Co-ordinates and controls the application of procedures in respect of procurement and/ or purchasing sequences, to ensure laid down guidelines, procedures and controls are conformed, with during the requisition and processing of orders, by:

• Interacting with personnel across various end user departments in respect of specific requirements and priorities.
• Processing of information onto the system in accordance with the requisition and requests received from the user department including allocation of order numbers.
• Printing and obtaining the necessary approval for orders and issuing the order to the supplier and the user department.
• Upon receipt of a RFQ, or tender request, screen amongst others the following: authorization by the appropriate delegated official, use of brand names, splitting of requirements, compliance with SCM policies, laws and regulations, sufficient budget is available and that the commodity is correctly allocated to the correct budget vote, evaluation of criteria in addition to capturing FPQ and tender notices on the ERWAT website or other relevant platforms as required.
• Opening of tenders or FPQs as required and completing of bid opening form to provide evidence that all quotations and tenders have been received on time and are recorded as such.
• Assist with capturing administrative compliance; peruse the evaluation process/reports relating to RFQs and formal tenders when required.
• Communicating with the immediate superior on the status of specific orders and or possible steps necessary to place emergency orders as soon as possible.
• Upon request from the end user department or their supervisors follow up on outstanding deliveries based on orders placed.
• Liaise with the creditors department and end user department in order to facilitate payment to suppliers once goods/services have been delivered.
• Act as an entry point for Request for Proposals (RFPs) from vendors/suppliers with regards to their products, prices and service delivery standards
• Communicating the requirements of ERWAT’s policies to end users and suppliers.
• Keep record of all FPQs and documents in the storage, including both successful and unsuccessful bidders.
• Assist with internal and external audit requirements.
• Run CSD reports as and when required.
• Capture new vendors on the System and keep records of vendor documents.

Non-routine functions of Procurement Officer:

• Attendance of briefing sessions at head office. Participating in discussion at site meetings with Contractors.
• Perform market research of ERWAT goods and services upon request.
•  Liaise with contracts management to ensure correct application of contract management principles.
• Visiting premises of business short-listed of preferred suppliers to assess their capability of meeting requirements on request.
• Serve as a Secretariat or Member in Bid Specification Committee and or Bid Evaluation Committee.
• Assist with the preparation of Reports for Committees.
• Serve as Bid Adjudication Committee Secretariat when required.
• Support Specialist during negotiation with suppliers.

Management of Orders
  (Contracts and FPQs)

Communicating and establishing the capacity and capability of suppliers to meet specific requirements, to ensure suppliers/vendors satisfy the order requirements and delivery deadlines in accordance with the laid down terms and conditions, avoiding disruptions to service delivery, by:

• Obtaining quotations in accordance with guidelines stipulated in the Procurement Policy and procedures.
• On FPQs, evaluate submissions with/without user representative and recommend a supplier complying with the provisions of the laws and regulations governing Supply Chain Management as well as any administrative, mandatory or functionality criteria stated in the invitation to quote/bid.
• Process order with supplier as determined above, ensure that supplier receives and understands order.
• On contracts, process orders from quotations, requisitions, job cards and BoQs received from service providers.
• Handle ad-hoc emergency orders for equipment or parts to ensure that production/repairs/project tasks are not delayed.
• Ensure order terms and conditions are appropriate for the items ordered.
• Procure outstanding requisitions to ensure delivery or re-ordering of equipment.
• Checking quoted prices and specifications against requisitions/requirements of the Departments.
• Interacting with supplier representatives and resolving aspects pertaining to quality, discounts and delivery lead times.
• Obtaining samples of alternative/substitute products and forwarding to departments for approval prior to confirmation.
• Establishing the status of the order after approval through to delivery and communicating with the supplier on issues pertaining to short delivery and damages, once the procurement officer is informed of such an issue by the end user department.
• Communicating with the user departments situations where there is not sufficient budget available to place an order.
• Regular reporting on procurement activities, including updating of the procurement tracker.
• Advice on orders/procurement which is not economical, efficient and effective.

Monitoring and Compliance

Performance checks, not limited to the following, to confirm compliance with the SCM Policy and Procedures, and Laws and Regulations applicable to ERWAT in a formal written evaluation report templates for the various supply chain processes including FPQs and Formal tenders:

• Declaration of interest forms attached and completed where required (MBD forms).
• Up to date municipal account is not in arrears for more than 90 days.
• The tax matters of the bidder is compliant according to SARS.
• The functionality compliance has been fairly performed by screening the work performed based on the technical knowledge of the buyer.
• BBBEE certificates are screened to confirm that they are valid.
• Price point scoring is performed and the number of points earned for BBBEE contributor status level has been correctly added to the price points.
• Supplier registration on the CSD.
• Highest scoring bidder attended mandatory briefing session.
• Highest scoring bidder submitted all information indicated as mandatory.
• Completion and maintenance of register of tenders received in order to confirm that the highest scoring quote was received on or before the closing date of the respective tender
• Before ordering, ensure that procurement is in line with the procurement land and spend analysis and the contract is valid.
• Confirmation that items requested are included in the bill of quantities at the prices specified therein.

Performance of the following functions should nonconformance with specifications (standard of service or quality of delivered products) or terms and conditions of contracts be reported by the end user department:

• Communicate any non-conformance with Specialist for rectification.
• Should the supplier confirm compliance, the transaction will proceed.

Reporting and Recordkeeping

Performs specific administrative tasks/activities associated with the functionality, to ensure administrative reporting requirements and deadlines are adhered to and information made available to support the resolution of queries prior to processing supplier invoices by:

• Resolving queries on pricing/discounts, etc. referring to and making available necessary supporting documentation.
• Preparation and storage of documentation for audit purposes. A register is maintained of FPQs collected by the end user department from SCM for evaluation. An original record of opening forms is also maintained to confirm documents received from the system as an audit trail.
• Scanning and loading of orders with supporting documents onto the shared drive to enable payment by the creditors department.
• Supplier documentation filing for audit trail.

Stakeholder Relations

• Build professional relationships with suppliers to promote maximum availability of equipment and efficient service.
• Build professional relationships with customers/SCM stakeholders (end user departments).
• Attend to all internal and external audit queries and respond within set timelines.

 Minimum Requirements:
Minimum qualifications required

• National Diploma in Purchasing or Supply Chain or Internal Auditing or Accounting or equivalent (NQF Level 6)

Minimum operational experience required

• 5 years' experience in Purchasing or Supply Chain Management within the public sector.

• Knowledge and exposure in a Procurement or Finance System i.e. SAP, e-Venus, Solar.
• Experience in Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) within a Municipal Supply Chain environment.

Advantages

Experience in participating in Bid Committees.
Experience as a Secretariat in Bid Committees.