Associate Director, Head of Procurement & Implementation

The Associate Director, Head of Procurement and Implementation, provides strategic and operational leadership for procurement activities across a multi-regional portfolio. The role leads and manages a team of procurement professionals and ensures procurement processes are efficient, transparent, and compliant with institutional policies and international best practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and manage a high-performing procurement team, ensuring capability development, accountability, and delivery against agreed objectives and KPIs.
• Promote and role model corporate behaviours and institutional values.
• Provide strategic procurement advice across the full project lifecycle, from concept design through implementation.
• Direct procurement operations across assigned regions, ensuring compliance with institutional policies, procedures, including the Bank’s PPRs, and international best practices.
• Establish, monitor and act on performance indicators and delivery metrics supporting PPAD scorecard outcomes.
• Establish and maintain robust procurement governance frameworks to ensure consistency, transparency, and accountability.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate procurement risks, ensuring appropriate controls and escalation mechanisms are in place from design through implementation.
• Review and approve procurement documentation, contracts, and variations, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and fiduciary integrity.
• Act as a change leader, driving the design and implementation of upstream (policy, strategy, planning) and downstream (implementation, contract management) procurement reforms.
• Lead and champion procurement transformation initiatives to enhance efficiency, transparency, and delivery outcomes.
• Drive the adoption and institutionalisation of leading Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) procurement best practices across the portfolio.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including senior management, clients, and co-financing institutions.
• Influence decision-making and ensure alignment on procurement strategies and outcomes.
• Monitor procurement performance and report on risks, compliance, and outcomes to senior management and governance bodies.
• Drive continuous improvement of procurement policies, processes, and tools to enhance operational effectiveness.
• Ensure all procurement documentation is clear, well-structured, and compliant with institutional standards, tailored to the audience and clearly articulated.
• Ensuring communications are clear, consistent, and accessible.

Requirements

• Strong understanding of procurement policies, governance frameworks, and international best practices, particularly within MDB/IFI environments.
• Demonstrable extensive practical experience in procurement and project implementation in developing countries or countries in transition, with a strong knowledge of risk management as well as best modern procurement practices.
• Proven experience leading procurement operations in complex, multi-project and multi-regional environments.
• Strong financial and commercial knowledge, including application of value-for-money principles.
• In-depth knowledge of internationally accepted forms of contract (for example, FIDIC/NEC etc).
• Proven experience in leading procurement reform and change initiatives.
• Proven ability to manage senior stakeholders and influence decision-making.
• Experience in leading and developing teams.
• Proven role model for collaboration and delivering effective solutions relating to both people and technical matters.
• Proven excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to deliver clear, concise and fit for purpose messages, tailored to diverse audiences and presented in a structured and streamlined manner.
• Proven stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships and collaborate effectively across diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrate people and team management skills, in a multi-cultural and geographically dispersed organisation.
• Proven strong analytical thinking, problem-solving, and sound judgment.
• High level of accountability and decision-making capability.
• Track record of mitigating conflicts and demonstrating balanced and inclusive behaviour.
• Ability to operate effectively in complex, fast-changing, and multicultural environments including the management competing priorities to support project delivery.
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills.
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability to changing duty stations in line with the Bank’s evolving business needs.
• Degree in Business, Finance, Law, Engineering, or related field.
• Professional certification (e.g. CIPS or equivalent) would be advantageous.

Skills

• UN Procurement Policies
• Governance Framework Analysis
• International Procurement Procedures
• MDB/IFI Procurement
• Project Implementation
• Risk Management
• Procurement Operations
• Multi-Project Management
• Multi-Regional Procurement
• Finance Knowledge
• Commercial Knowledge
• Value for Money Principles
• Contract Management
• FIDIC Conditions of Contract
• NEC Contracts
• Procurement Reforms
• Change Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Team Leadership
• Collaboration
• Written Communication
• Verbal Communication
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Relationship Management
• People Management
• Analytical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
• Conflict Mitigation
• Multicultural Environment Experience
• Project Delivery
• CIPS Certification

Languages

English