Policy LINK – Procurement and Subaward Specialist

USAID Feed the Future Policy LINK Project
Policy LINK is a global USAID Feed the Future (FtF) activity to advance leadership and collaboration for better policy systems. Issued as a cooperative agreement under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Resilience and Food Security’s Policy Analysis and Capacity Annual Program Statement, Policy LINK is a flexible global buy-in mechanism to accommodate buy-ins from USAID Missions, Bureaus, and Independent Operating Units.

In line with USAID’s vision of inclusive development, Policy LINK works with and through local actors to strengthen policy systems that advance agriculture and food security priorities. Unlike other policy activities that focus on developing specific policies, Policy LINK strengthens the leadership capacity of public and non-public (i.e., private sector, development agencies, research/academia, and community) actors and fosters collective action among them to transform policy systems. This locally led approach to policy systems strengthening helps countries develop social and economic policies for inclusive growth as well as a critical mass of informed citizens and institutions that can drive policy reform and programming without donor support.

USAID Feed the Future Bangladesh Policy LINK Agricultural Policy Activity
The USAID Feed the Future (FtF) Bangladesh Agricultural Policy Activity (or the “Policy Activity”) is a six-year (2020-2026) buy-in under Policy LINK, a global activity to advance leadership and collaboration for better policy systems. The Policy Activity has the goal of "strengthening the capacities of Bangladesh’s key agricultural actors and institutions, improving the policy environment, and cultivating the policy-making processes that will enable inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, strengthen resilience among people and systems, and support a well-nourished population, especially women, youths, and other vulnerable groups."

The Policy Activity advances USAID’s localization approach and empowers key system actors to address policy challenges and systemic impediments that limit growth within the agriculture sector in Bangladesh. In collaboration with five primary stakeholders—the government, the private sector, academia/research institutes, development agencies, and communities at the national and regional levels—the Policy Activity works to improve policy analysis, formulation, advocacy, and implementation. The Activity does so through three mutually reinforcing practice areas:

1. Facilitate complex policy dialogues: The Policy Activity uses a systems-based approach to improve the participation of diverse stakeholders (public and non-public) in policy processes to influence policy change. In this context, the “policy system” includes the set of institutions, including their relationships, interactions, and collective capacity, involved in policy formulation and implementation on specific agricultural policy pillars.
2. Improve sensitization on relevant agriculture acts, ordinances, rules, and statutory regulatory orders: The Policy Activity works with system actors to raise awareness of relevant acts, ordinances, rules, and standard regulatory orders among government service providers and regulators, as well as service recipients and clients (for example, seed dealers). The Activity supports senior government experts to conduct national and regional sensitization workshops targeting the government staff responsible for enacting policies, as well as community leaders, entrepreneurs, and development partners working on issues within the agricultural sector. This approach not only bridges knowledge gaps but also helps system actors build the relationships needed to work collaboratively toward agricultural growth.
3. Strengthen facilitative leadership and gender roles in policy systems: The Policy Activity offers facilitative leadership training to system actors and sector leaders who demonstrate a commitment to inclusive agricultural growth. These leaders will be critical for the sustained long-term growth of the sector. The Policy Activity also incorporates gender sensitization into its work, paving the way for more women to participate in policy processes.

Position Objectives
The Procurement and Subaward Specialist will play a pivotal role in executing general procurement and subaward management for the Policy Activity team in Bangladesh including design, implementation, and closeout. The position will ensure successfully planned and executed awards compliant with project policies, USAID regulations, values, budgets, and timelines, under the leadership of the Procurement and Subaward Manager.

The Procurement and Subaward Specialist will coordinate various aspects of design, execution, and monitoring of Policy LINK procurements, grants, subawards, and independent consultant agreements. This will include managing implementation trackers, working with technical colleagues to track procurement needs under different activities, and ensuring compliance and quality assurance of program processes and procedures. S/he will be expected to liaise with the operations and technical teams in the Policy LINK offices in Bangladesh as well as with the Policy LINK global team as necessary.

S/he will continually reinforce Policy LINK’s agreed-upon core purpose and principles, and ensure all decision-making is rooted in that purpose and those principles. S/he will contribute to foster a learning environment in which personal and team growth is supported, with a shared understanding that the “team” always comes before the “individual.”

Responsibilities
The Procurement and Subaward Specialist will be responsible for the following:

Procurement Management:

• Perform market research and price analysis to find item specifications and appropriate vendors. Conduct visits to suppliers and markets to evaluate potential vendors and gather information to support procurement decisions.
  
• Initiate activity procurements, taking the activity cycle flowchart; preparing solicitation documents, evaluating proposals, selecting suppliers, and creating purchase orders and other related documents in accordance with applicable USAID regulations and DAI policies.
  
• Maintain and update the procurement tracker, ensuring all data is current and accurately reflects ongoing and completed procurement activities.
  
• Collaborate with the Procurement and Subawards Manager to manage vendor contracts, monitor supplier performance, and ensure all procured goods comply with approved specifications and are delivered within stipulated timelines.
  
• Document the recruitment of hired consultants, agreement drafting, and other required documentation such as reference checks and restricted party screenings.
  
• Maintain updated independent consultant agreement tracker, flagging approaching award ceilings or period of performance end dates for supervisors.
  
• Ensure all records and documentation related to procurements are maintained accurately in SharePoint and TAMIS.

Subaward Management:

• In conjunction with the Procurement and Subaward Manager, oversee subaward management to ensure all subaward requirements are adhered to. Support in the development of program monitoring and evaluation of the process.
  
• Support subawarding process, issuance of RFA/RFQ, publication, preparation of solicitation documents, shortlisting, and application evaluation including Expression of Interest (EOIs), pre-application conferences, budgets, and proposals per USAID procurement guidelines.
  
• Conduct pre-application conferences, TEC coordination, subaward due diligence, effective budget negotiations, agreement execution, and signing ceremonies.
  
• Conduct partner assessment of internal control mechanisms, risk management, and adequacy and effectiveness of compliance protocols.
  
• Monitor subaward activity performance, cost analysis, budget progress, and fund availability. Conduct quarterly financial and compliance reviews with partners and share the monitoring visit findings and recommendations for improvement of current processes. Proactively flag issues to the Procurement and Subawards Manager.
  
• Support the Procurement and Subawards Manager with review of financial and program reports and milestone verification for submission to the Country Lead for approval.
  
• Ensure all records and documentation related to subaward processes are maintained accurately in SharePoint and TAMIS.
  
• Support Procurement and Subawards Manager to ensure that grants are closed out in compliance with project policies and procedures, collecting signed closeout letters, final reports, and any other specified final deliverables.
  
• Perform other tasks as assigned by supervisor when required based on evolving project needs.

Performance Criteria
Policy LINK Bangladesh is a performance-based project, highly dependent on individual and team core competencies. Each staff member will participate in an annual evaluation and receive feedback.

Reporting
The Procurement and Subaward Specialist will report directly to the Bangladesh Procurement and Subaward Manager.

Supervisory Responsibilities
The Procurement and Subaward Specialist will not have any supervisory responsibilities.

Qualifications Education:

• A university degree in accounting, finance, business management, public administration, or another relevant field.

Work Experience:

• 7+ years of relevant work experience on donor-funded programs (USAID preferred), with progressive responsibility in procurement, grants, and operations. Preference will be given to candidates that significant and demonstrated experience with grants on USAID programs.

Skills:

• Attention to detail.
  
• Effective communication with colleagues located within Bangladesh as well as in other Policy LINK offices.
  
• Ability to balance competing priorities.
  
• Agile and willing to accommodate work re-assignments.
  
• Ability to respond effectively to time sensitive demands & inquiries.
  
• Demonstrated strong problem-solving skills as well as exceptional customer relations (both internally & externally); demonstrates sound business judgment.
  
• Professional written and verbal proficiency in English and fluency in Bangla.
  
• Computer-based financial system and SharePoint folder management experience is a plus.

Please submit applications electronically via this website by –
Link: https://fs23.formsite.com/OLJTgx/trxmtxlfrt/index

Applications will be considered in the order received.

Candidate will be required to answer certain qualifying questions before uploading their CVs and cover letter to the application form for consideration.

Only candidates who are shortlisted for interviews will be contacted. No email enquires please.

The closing dates for applications is October 27, 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis so apply as soon as possible!