Category Associate

Logistics & Procurement

Overview

Support procurement activities for various categories, maximizing value for money.

You have:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of three years relevant experience in any of the listed categories.
• Knowledge of procurement practices and processes is desirable.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with experience in generating data-driven documents and responding to inquiries.
• Strong organizational skills, managing multiple tasks within tight deadlines.
• Ability to communicate effectively in a multicultural environment.
• Experience with MS Office applications and proficiency of technology and/or systems relevant to the functional area (e.g., SAP, R3, Admin Portal) is desirable.

Category Associate

Description

Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank consists of two entities – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and global challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.

Unit Overview: The Corporate Procurement Unit is responsible for the procurement of goods, works and services (including consulting services) to support the WBG’s 130+ offices around the world. Corporate Procurement manages an annual spend around USD 2B with around 25,000 vendors. The team has staff located in Washington, DC, Chennai, India and Sofia, Bulgaria. Corporate Procurement utilizes category management to achieve better outcomes, improved quality, greater savings, efficient use of resources, a better understanding of the market, and an increased focus on collaboration and innovation. Corporate Procurement focuses on three key principles: Commerciality, Risk Management, and Environmental, Social, and Governance outcomes. Categories of spend include: i) Corporate Services and Real Estate; ii) Human Resources and Professional Services; and iii) Technology. To learn more about Corporate Procurement, visit: CP website.

Roles and Responsibilities: The Procurement Associate (Category Associate) position is located at the Corporate Procurement team in Sofia, Bulgaria. This position reports to the Senior Procurement Specialist, who in turn reports to the Chief of Corporate Procurement.

The primary focus of this role will be on the Events category, which is part of the SCRE (Corporate Services and Real Estate) category family. Responsibilities include being a valued business partner to clients, understanding business needs, developing annual procurement plans, conducting internal (e.g., data-driven; category spend, client strategies, stakeholder analysis, and SWOT), and external analysis (e.g., market research & forecast, market share & trends, benchmarks, cost drivers), advising clients on market trends, and influencing change with the intent to maximize value for money while managing risks and maximizing impact on sustainability. The position for the category team requires knowledge of various categories, including but not limited to HRPS (Human Resources and Professional Services), TECH (Technology) and CSRE (Corporate Services and Real Estate).

Key accountability for this position includes: • Conducts procurement, sourcing, and category management activities required by the World Bank Group globally. • Understands client’s needs, generates solicitations, and manages bidding 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 and competitive qualities; develops vendor pre-qualifying and evaluation criteria; prepares contracts; and engages vendors in process discussions. • Negotiates contract terms and conditions for the assigned categories. • Category management of designated categories. • Monitors vendor commercial performance. • Conducts research, trend analysis and benchmarking in international markets including category management. • Liaises with clients in preparation and delivery of presentations to Procurement Committees. • Undertakes activities to ensure compliance with World Bank Groups’ policy. • Provides guidance and direction to Project Managers on commercial contract management issues. • Designs innovative solutions for medium to complex solicitations for large dollar and through a service risk-based approach. • Possesses an expert level understanding of commerciality and ability to demonstrate achieving value for money through strategic planning, solicitation, and negotiations. • Maximizes positive impact on sustainability (diversity, environment, social responsibility) through the sourcing process and category management. • Possesses a good understanding of risk management, analyses risks, and works with business partners to mitigate risks through sourcing and managing risks during category management. Due to the requirements of the job, this position may require frequent adjustments to the work schedule created by the time zone difference with many of the clients it supports and may also involve a limited amount of travel.

Note: This internal requisition is open to WBG and IMF staff only (including short-term and extended term consultants/ temporaries). External candidates are requested not to apply. In case an external candidate applies, their application will not be considered.

Selection Criteria

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience. • Minimum of three years relevant experience in any of the listed categories. • Knowledge of procurement practices and processes is desirable. • Knowledge and experience conducting procurements for a wide variety of categories and in category management. • Extensive knowledge and application of internal administrative and operational policies and procedures. • Ability to conduct a preliminary review of basic procurement documents and identify synergies or inconsistencies between various data sources and reach conclusions. • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with experience in generating data-driven documents and responding to inquiries. • Strong organizational skills, and ability to work skillfully in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment, managing multiple tasks within tight deadlines. • Effectively provide professional team support and ability to guide less experienced staff. • Ability to deal sensitively in a multicultural environment and build effective working relationships with clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders. • Experience with MS Office applications and proficiency of technology and/or systems relevant to the functional area (e.g., SAP, R3, Admin Portal) is desirable. General Competencies: • Understands basic concepts of Project Management, as they relate to the execution of tasks within a project. • Undertakes limited tactical negotiations or is involved in supporting others, under supervision, with larger projects. • Superior communication skills in English (verbal, written, and comprehension), and ability to resolve interpersonal conflict. • Cross-functional team player and ability to function effectively in multi-disciplinary teams within a matrix management environment, as well as an individual contributor. • Strong client service orientation. • Other language skills would be an asset.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.

Note: The selected candidate will be offered a one-year appointment, renewable at the discretion of the World Bank Group, and subject to a lifetime maximum ET appointment of three years. If an ET appointment ends before a full year, it is considered as a full year toward the lifetime maximum. Former and current ET staff who have completed all or any portion of their third-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.

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Potential interview questions

Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: worldbank.org