Public Procurement Expert

Job Description

The programme in brief:

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida, has awarded a 4-year framework agreement to FCG/Crown Agents for the planning and implementation of a global capacity development programme to support increased deployment of sustainable public procurement (SPP) practices in Sida’s partner countries.

The overall objective of the programme is for SPP to be used as a strategic tool for sustainable development and the achievement of Agenda 2030. The programme is expected to focus on providing hands-on support and mentorship to reform processes linked to SPP, making use of the following working methods:

• professional training to increase the practical knowledge of the partner organisations of tools and methods to implement and build commitment to SPP
• change process, mentorship and technical support customised and contextualised for hands-on support to partner organisations and their implementation of change processes linked to SPP practices
• peer-to-peer learning as a means to support exchanges of experiences of SPP
• outreach and partnership to foster a broad commitment for an increased deployment of SPP practices and to explore cooperation with different procurement initiatives and platforms.

Examples of change processes include the development of SPP policies, guidelines, standards or other tools, piloting the use of SPP in ongoing procurement processes or adding SPP to the curricula for procurement training programmes.

The design of the programme, including the change processes supported and working methods used differs between countries and partner organisations engaged in the programme. For each regional programme, an inception phase is used to assess needs and propose the strategic change processes, partner organisations, working methods and implementation arrangements for the subsequent regional programme.

The inception phase has just been completed for the Latin America region (Guatemala, Bolivia, Colombia), and we are now seeking a Country Mentor to support implementation of the programme in Guatemala. The person should ideally be based in Guatemala, but also experts residing in the region can be considered.

Implementation is expected to run for 18 months (subject to possible extension), starting in May 2022. The position is a part time contract, of 870 hours in total, i.e. on average 6 days per month.

The key tasks of the Country Mentor will be to:

• Mentor and provide technical support to partner organisations in Guatemala to implement change processes linked to SPP practices.
• Deliver training workshops on SPP and related topics. These will generally use materials provided by the Lead Technical Mentor, but adapted to the national context by the Country Mentor.
• Support partner organisations to engage in peer-to-peer learning and outreach activities.
• Report on progress in Guatemala through the programme’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning framework.

The Country Mentor will report to the Lead Technical Mentor for Latin America.

Minimum requirements include:

• Good knowledge of English.
• Adequate university degree (at least Bachelor’s degree) or equivalent adequate vocational education/training and 5 years for the purpose relevant professional experience in the past 10 years (with emphasis on institutional capacity development, procurement and/or sustainability)

Preferable, but not compulsory:

• Expertise and work experience in the area of public procurement and SPP on a national level.
• Expertise and work experience of pedagogical approaches for adult training and providing mentorship.
• Expertise and work experience of institutional capacity development in ODA-rated countries and government reforms.

About the Organization

FCG Sweden is the new face of ORGUT and SIPU International. Combining ORGUT and SIPU’s experience with that of the wider FCG Group gives our customers and partners access to a much broader selection of services and best practices from a wide range of sectors and countries. Together, we represent 40 years of Swedish expertise in international development consulting. We have a new name, but we are the same people, with the same values, passion and drive.

Building better livelihoods in developing regions and countries has always been the vision of ORGUT’s work, with core competence in value chain development in agriculture and forestry, water sector development, and sustainable land administration.

SIPU International has built a global reputation as a leader in sharing the best and most relevant parts of the Swedish model of public administration through consulting and training, with a mission to support the capacity of organisations as a way to develop democracy, grow the economy and foster an inclusive, equitable and enduring society.

FCG Sweden delivers a wide range of services including:

• Formulation and design of development programmes and intervention;
• Implementation and project management of multi-annual programmes and framework contracts;
• Grant and Challenge Fund Management;
• Results-based monitoring and evaluation services;

Areas of expertise:

• Civil Society
• Market Development
• Environment and Climate Change
• Water and Natural Resources
• Agriculture
• Forestry
• Land Administration
• Natural Resource Management
• Water Sector Services
• Good Governance and Public Administration
• Public Administration Reform
• Public Financial Management
• Local Government and Decentralisation
• Urban Development
• Gender Equality
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Training Programmes
• Fund Management

More information