Leveraging Investments for Transformational Water and Sanitation Systems (LIFT) project is a five-year cooperative agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) led by Mercy Corps and a consortium of partners including Tetra Tech International Development. Tetra Tech is currently accepting expressions of interest for a Contract Procurement Advisor. This position will be located in the Mercy Corps office in either Goma or Bukavu. The position is full-time with an expected duration of four years.

The Contract Procurement Advisor will support activities that improve the ability of WASH sector governing entities to design, manage, and enforce contracts and procurement processes. As a member of the Market Systems Delivery Team, the Advisor will interface with the Governance Team to identify and design types of contract models for water service provision and support the development of governing entities’ ability to manage procurement for infrastructure suppliers and water service providers. The Advisor will also interface directly with private sector actors in the water sector to ensure contract accountability mechanisms are well-understood, reasonable, and implementable. The Advisor will be responsible for the development of new contractual models with the Entités Territoriales Décentralisées (ETDs) and Associations des Usagers des Réseau d’Eau Potable (ASUREPs) and capacity building/training for both governing entities and water service providers.

Responsibilities:

* Support the organizational capacity assessment of governing entities for contracting and procurement.

* Support the development of a capacity building plan on contracts and procurement topics.

* Design capacity building workshops to address keys areas of weakness and build on areas of strength.

* Identify and evaluate various types of performance-based contract models for water service provision, including preparation of draft term sheets of legal instruments (partnership agreements, contracts, etc.).

* Support the development and implementation of accountability and business continuity mechanisms for service providers.

* Develop procurement templates, standard operating procedures, and draft contracts.

* Pre-qualify contractors and evaluate tender packages.

* Supervise bid evaluation committees, ensure committee members understand the evaluation process and the integrity of the competitive process, facilitate bidder debriefing, and exercise appropriate judgement and tact while ensuring the protection of confidential information.

* Assist with managing the administrative process throughout the duration of the preparation of all documentation until the contract is awarded.

* Develop and implement accountability and business continuity mechanisms for service providers.

* Liaise with international/local STTA providing guidance on specific improvement business areas.

Qualifications: 

* Possess a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, or other relevant field; Master’s degree, preferred.

* Must have 10 years of relevant professional experience. Minimum of 5 years in equivalent position with procurement and operations experience for large donor-funded projects.

* Strong knowledge of DRC government’s laws including procurement regulations and policies.

* Experience with Public-Private Partnership frameworks required; experience in the WASH sector is a plus.

* Strong communication and analytical skills, with the ability to write well-structured technical reports and to design and implement new contracting models.

* Must be computer literate (in Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.).

* Ability to work effectively in multi-cultural and multi-ethnic environment.

* Fluency in written and spoken French and/or Swahili is required; proficiency in English is preferred.