Consultant

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org

The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. We are not a bank in the ordinary sense but a unique partnership to reduce poverty and support development. The World Bank Group comprises five institutions managed by their member countries.

The Corporate Procurement Division, SPACP, is responsible for the procurement of goods, works, services and consulting to support the Word Bank Group’s offices worldwide and spends approximately $1.9 billion annually with a staff of 82 located both in Washington, DC and Chennai, India. Procurement personnel in SPACP are assigned to five (5) category teams and three (3) category support teams each reporting to a Team Leader. 

In performing its role, the Corporate Procurement Division provides high quality, customer-oriented services to the World Bank Group by: 

a) Providing best value procurement solutions, giving the WBG access to quality goods and services at the best price;

b) Assisting staff with procurement requirements through planning, solicitation, evaluation, supplier assessment, contracting and contract management and administration; 

c) Developing and maintaining policies and procedures related to the procurement of goods and services and guidelines and tools to help assure compliance with procurement rules, practices and techniques, regulations and procedures; and

d) Coordinating with staff in HQ and Country Offices on matters relating to procurement rules by providing assistance, advice, training and guidance when needed.

e) Developing and maintaining trusted relationships with key stakeholders both inside and external to the Bank Group.

The ETC position for the Corporate Procurement IT team is located at the World Bank’s headquarters office in Washington, D.C. These positions report to a Sr. Procurement Specialist / Category Head who in turn reports to the Chief, Corporate Procurement.

The ETC works with clients to develop annual procurement plans, develop and execute contracts, conduct needs assessment, review specifications, conduct RFPs/IFBs, perform contract administration, negotiations and dispute/conflict resolution. The position requires high level skills and relevant work experience in the field of category management and sourcing across a variety of industry sectors, as well as, contract management, dispute resolution, and managing interpersonal relationships and communication with key stakeholders and suppliers. This position for the category team requires in-depth knowledge of the category including, but not limited to the information technology industry and associated supplier market, methods of procurement, logistics, disposal, preventive maintenance, and support for IT services for some or all of the commodities related to the IT category.

The category includes, but is not limited to IT Infrastructure (Data Center & colocation service, Mid-High end servers and software, Data Back-up services), ERP software, IT Software and Services, familiarity with cloud based software services (XaaS), and other related IT services.

Due to the requirements of the job, this position may involve travel and frequent adjustments to the work schedule created by the time zone difference with many of the clients it supports.

Key accountabilities for these positions include:

• Conducts procurement, sourcing and category management relevant to the categories assigned and required by the World Bank Group in the US as well as internationally.

• Understands client’s needs, generates solicitations and manages sourcing process for assigned areas; collaborates with clients in developing procurement plans; carries out market research to identify sources of supply; reviews technical specifications for completeness, errors, omissions and competitive qualities; develops vendor pre-qualifying and evaluation criteria; and prepares contracts and conducts pre-bid or proposal conferences.

• Negotiates contract terms and conditions for the range of assigned sub-categories.

• Analyzes financial reports (cash flow statements, income statements, balance sheets) of major corporations considered for contract awards and conducts marketplace analysis.

• Plans and manages negotiation process, resolves purchase and contract issues.

• Analyses bids and proposals, prepares support documentation and procurement award recommendations.

• Conducts dispute and protest debriefings/meetings.

• Monitors vendor performance and ensures timely delivery and quality of services, expedites delivery as appropriate.

• Conducts research, trend analysis and benchmarking in international markets including category management.

• Leads/guides team located in Washington DC and located remotely in country offices performing complex procurements.

• Liaises with and makes presentations to procurement review committees.

• Undertakes contract administration to ensure compliance with Bank policy and contract terms. May provide guidance and direction to Project Managers on contract management issues.

• Has signature authority up to USD $500,000.

• Designs innovative solutions for complex solicitations for large dollar and/or high visibility contracts.

• May provide guidance/mentoring to more junior staff.

Work implies frequent interaction with the following:

• Bank Group staff at all levels, typically Business Unit Managers, Country Directors and Managers, Chief Administrative Officers, Legal Department Representatives, Resource Managers, Administrative Procurement Review Committee Members, Officers, and Project Task Leaders.

• Consultants and supplier representatives, typically sales representatives, heads of companies and VPs, account managers and commodity specialists, and technical representatives.

• MA/MS in Procurement, Business Administration, Law, or other relevant discipline and nationally/internationally recognized Professional Certification (CPSM, CIPS or equivalent) coupled with courses/certificates in procurement; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Minimum of 10 years relevant corporate experience.

• Extensive experience with a minimum of 7 years of experience conducting procurement, international sourcing, contracting, and category management, including category strategy and industry benchmarking, for some or all the categories assigned.

• Extensive experience with Information technology category.

• Proven experience assessing local market conditions and providing guidance to internal stakeholders.

• Exposure to cloud based software solutions (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS etc.).

• Experience in capacity building techniques in procurement, sourcing and category management.

• Proven experience in complex contract terms and conditions (e.g. international regulations, international financial institution issues, technology issues, indemnification, intellectual property, cultural issues, assignment, contract termination, etc.), and negotiation of contract terms and conditions.

• Working knowledge of operations research and quantitative methods approaches to measure supplier capacity and systems to produce and deliver goods and services as proposed.

• Extensive knowledge of and experience in applying public/private sector procurement procedures and practices and good understanding of sources of supply, market trends, pricing, etc.

• Excellent negotiating skills to shape agreements with vendors.

• Proven project management skills.

• Proven dispute resolution skills.

• Understanding of category management

• Exposure to emerging technologies, such as, Distributed Ledger Techs, AI, Machine learning, etc. will be beneficial

• Ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with clients and colleagues.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to function effectively in multi-disciplinary teams within a matrix management environment.

• Strong client service orientation.

• Other language skills [desired]