Procurement Officer

National Local Government Finance Committe

NATIONAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE COMMITTEE
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)
COUNTRY: MALAWI
NAME OF PROJECT: REGIONAL CLIMATE RESILIENCE PROGRAM FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 2 (RCRP)
PROJECT ID #: P181308
Assignment Title: PROCUREMENT OFFICER (1)
Reference No.: MW-NLGFC-509374-CS-INDV
Date of Issue: 8th September, 2025

1.0 Introduction
The Government of Malawi with support from the World Bank is implementing the Regional Climate Resilience Programme 2 (RCRP- 2). The programme development objective (PDO) is to strengthen the resilience to water-related climate shocks in Eastern and Southern African countries. The RCRP-2 is a 5-year programme (2024-2029) for rehabilitation of critical infrastructure and address the more chronic vulnerabilities in the by investing in critical infrastructure at national and district level; strengthening institutional frameworks and accountability; incorporating climate considerations into the planning, implementation, operation, and maintenance of new infrastructure; and strengthening community resilience and social protection system consistent with Series of Projects (SOP) approach. This will build a situation whereby people can live sustainably with the flood/drought risk, through a properly overseen and managed basin in terms of its competing uses.

The overarching Development Objective of the SOP will be achieved by:

  1. Strengthening participating countries and regional organizations’ capacity to manage disasters risk, including via improved national and regional early warning systems (EWS)
  2. Improving access to climate financing to finance climate adaptation investment,
  3. Mainstream climate resilience in water infrastructure planning, and generally in water institutions,
  4. Increase infrastructure resilience, including by improving Operation and Management (O&M) systems, with focus on large storage and flood risk management infrastructure.
  5. Improve community-level awareness and response including by establishing/strengthening adaptive social protection system

The National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) oversees implementation of the sub-components 2.2, 3.1 and 3.2 of the programme. The NGFC PIU reports to Project Coordination Unit domiciled at Department of Economic Planning and Development and will be responsible for the district-lead resilience building implemented through the local authorities. The NLGFC through sub-component 2.2, district-led resilience building, finances the execution and supervision functions at district level and selected key structural and non-structural interventions to manage flooding, improve land management, enhance emergency preparedness and response at district level. The sub-component mimics the Performance-Based Granting
funding mechanism and supports implementation of interventions in all the 28 local authorities

The National Local Government Finance Committee therefore invites applications from suitably qualified candidates to fill the positions of Procurement Officer to be part of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) positioned at National Local Government Finance Committee.

2.0 Scope of the Assignment
The Procurement Officer will be responsible for carrying out project procurement activities, record keeping and documentation in line with the World Bank Procurement Regulations including the planning, implementation and supervision of all procurement operations under the project.

Specifically, the Procurement Officer will perform the following duties:

  1. Coordinate the preparation and updating of Project’s Annual Procurement Plan, detailing contract packages for works, goods and services, the estimated cost for each package, the procurement or selection methods and processing times until completion of each procurement activity;
  2. Ensure that the World Bank System for Tracking Exchanges in Procurement (STEP) is updated and used in real time for the PIU and the local authorities;
  3. Timely procurement of goods, non-consulting services and works through preparation of all procurement documentation including Bidding Documents, Request for Quotations, Request for Bids, Procurement Notices, Bid Opening and Evaluation sessions and preparation of Bid Evaluation Reports;
  4. Using the World Bank’s Standard Procurement Documents to prepare project’s customized Bidding and Proposal Documents (RFB/RFP) for Goods and Works and Request for Proposals (RFP) for Consulting Assignments;
  5. Coordinate and ensure timely responses to clarifications sought by bidders or shortlisted consultants as may be required;
  6. Provide secretarial services to Shortlisting, technical/financial evaluation and during contract negotiation meetings;
  7. Coordinate responses to inquiries and communicate the results of the evaluation process to bidders or consultants, in keeping with appropriate guidelines;
  8. Prepare the General Procurement Notices (GPN), and Specific Procurement Notices (SPN), and Solicitations of Expression of Interests (SEOl), when required;
  9. In cases of procurement actions requiring World Bank “No Objection”, coordinate the submission of procurement documents to World Bank, monitor World Bank response time on issuing “No Objections” at different levels of the procurement process and follow-up accordingly;
  10. Preparation of evaluation reports, contracts, award notices and other procurement and contractual documents as required;
  11. Establish and maintain procedures for the receiving, inspecting, testing and acceptance of goods;
  12. Ensure compliance with procurement methods and prior review thresholds applicable to the Project;
  13. Ensure all procurement activities are carried out in accordance with the agreed procedures, including the Financing Agreement; the World Bank Procurement Regulations; and Government of Malawi Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act 2025, where applicable;
  14. Assist in timely payments to suppliers, contractors and consultants and also ensuring their contractual obligations such as bid guarantees, and performance guarantees;
  15. Establish and maintain a central procurement filing system, and ensure all related documents are included in the respective files;
  16. Assist with the maintenance and updating of procurement databases and contract register with complete “paper trail” of the procurement process;
  17. Establish a performance monitoring database for all suppliers and consultants, and ensure timely updates of the system;
  18. Preparation of Procurement Post Review registers, attending
    Procurement Post Review meetings and response to comments on issues raised;
  19. Preparation of monthly, Quarterly and annual procurement progress reports for the PIU and local authorities; and
  20. Carry out any other relevant periodic duties that may be assigned by the Deputy Project Coordinator from time to time.

3.0. Performance Criteria

The following performance criteria will be used to assess the performance of the Procurement Officer annually and based upon these assessments the contract with the Project may be continued or terminated:

  1. Quality and timeliness of procurement plans;
  2. Quality of documentation submitted for prior review;
  3. Quality of procurement filing;
  4. Quality of documentation submitted during post reviews;
  5. Number of red flags in STEP for the PIU and local authorities;
  6. Procurement progress rating during Implementation Support Mission; and
  7. Quality and timeliness of required reports.

4.0 Reporting Requirements

The Procurement Officer will be directly reporting to the NGFC Procurement Manager and to the Deputy Project Coordinator-RCRP, and their field offices (District) where the RCRP is implementing its activities.

The following are some of the required reports the Procurement officer will be expected to be preparing:

  1. Project annual Procurement Plan and periodic updates of the same
  2. Minutes of meetings held throughout the procurement process, including short-listing, evaluation, interview and negotiation and bid openings all duly signed by panel members/participating parties;
  3. Procurement Documents and Reports (Bidding documents, Request for Proposals, Evaluation Reports, Draft Contracts, etc.);
  4. Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annual and Annual procurement reports as inputs into the Project Management Reports (within 2 weeks from the end of the review period), and preparation of procurement reports during World Bank support missions; and
  5. Monthly timesheets to identify time spent.

5.0 Key Qualifications and Experience

The candidate should meet the following minimum qualifications:

BSc in Procurement/Supply Chain Management; or a professional qualification in procurement specifically level 6 of Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS); or any other relevant discipline (e.g. Business Administration) and those with Master’s Degree in Procurement or supply chain or related field will have added advantage;

  1. A minimum of six (6) years of post-qualification experience in procurement management in the public sector of which at least three (3) years’ work experience must be in a donor funded-project such as those funded by the World Bank or African Development Bank;
  2. Working knowledge of the Government of Malawi’s Public Procurement law and procedures including World Bank Procurement Regulations;
  3. Prior participation in short training courses on the World Bank and familiarity with procurement policies, evaluation procedures and reporting, as well as preparation of specific documents based on World Bank standards and models will be an advantage;
  4. Good computer skills and proficient in the use of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word and PowerPoint, etc.); and
  5. Highly motivated and enthusiastic person with excellent planning, analytical, communications and interpersonal skills as well as a high level of diplomacy.
  6. A candidate must be a member of MIPS

6.0 Duration of the Assignment
The Procurement Officer shall be recruited for a period of three (3) years, with the contract renewable annually subject to satisfactory performance, need and availability of funding.

7.0 Location of Employment
The Procurement Officer will be based at NLGFC in Lilongwe, but may be required to travel regularly to other relevant field offices where the RCRP2 is implementing its activities.

8. Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below in person by 19th September, 2025.

The IPDC Chairperson
National Local Government Finance Committee
Box 31162
Lilongwe 3
Malawi.
Attention: The Acting Procurement Specialist