1.    Background
The Pan African University (PAU) is the culmination of continental initiatives of the Commission of the African Union to revitalize higher education and research in Africa, under the Second Decade of Education for Africa and the consolidated Plan of Action of Science and Technology for Africa. It will exemplify excellence, enhance the attractiveness and global competitiveness of African higher education and research and establish the African University at the core of Africa's development.

2.    Objective of the Consultancy:
The objective of the assignment is to support the procurement activities of the Pan African University in compliance with the AU procurement policies, standards, and procedures. The Consultant will be expected to facilitate the timely acquisition of quality goods and services by aforementioned procedures. The Consultant will be expected to facilitate the timely acquisition of quality goods and services by aforementioned procedures. The main objective of the consultancy is to provide responsive, effective, and quality expert procurement services to internal staff and project partners, while achieving best value for money, ensuring a competitive, fair and transparent process, and to support the overall planning and execution capacity of PAU Rectorate office.

3.    Scope of work
Under the direct supervision of the Senior Finance and Administration officer, the incumbent will undertake the following areas of work so as to achieve the objectives of AU-PAU: 
    In consultation with Business Units of AU-PAU, support in the preparation, updating, implementation, and monitoring of the procurement plan;
    Undertake the procurement of goods and services as per the internal procurement policies, manuals, and guidelines;
    Review specifications and Terms of Reference (TORs) to ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance with quality standards;
    Prepare bid documents required to facilitate procurement operations, including requests for quotation, requests for Expressions of Interest, Procurement Notices, Bidding documents, Tender Evaluation Reports, contracts, and other related documents;
    Participate in the evaluation of proposals and related tasks, as may be required, and as per internal procurement policies, manuals and guidelines;
    Draft, negotiate, and finalize contractual correspondence and documents until the award of contracts;
    Prepare monthly status reports on procurement activities in consultation with other procurement colleagues;
    Carry out regular market assessments to maintain accurate knowledge of market prices for most common goods and services;
    Capture procurement data and identify progress towards the achievement of procurement schedules, including updating and maintaining procurement records and filing system as per AU policy;
    Provide procurement advice to the AU-PAU internal team and project partners where applicable;
    Expeditiously follow up supply of goods and services and submit payment requests to the finance unit for action;
    Prepare minutes and reports of procurement committee meetings including obtaining the necessary AU-PAU internal approvals;
    Perform any other project-related procurement activities as may be requested by the AU-PAU Rector.
4.    Deliverable
The Consultant shall prepare monthly activities reports outlining procurements executed and status. At the end of each month the Consultant shall produce a report outlining the status of the implementation Procurement plan.

5.    Duration of the Assignment
The estimated duration of the assignment is six (6) months. The selected candidate should be available to undertake this assignment with minimum delay.

6.    Duty Station
The consultant will be based in PAU Rectorate in Yaounde, Cameroon.and will work within the stipulated working hours for the office with travel on specific assignments agreed with the AU-PAU Management. 

7.    Commencement date and period of implementation of the assignment
  The indicative start of the service is envisaged to by October 1st 2024. The service shall be completed within Six (6) calendar months from the date of signing the contract (effective date)

8.    Remuneration and Payment
•    Payments will be done on monthly basis after satisfactory report, strictly consistent and compliant with the deliverables.
•    No additional benefits except for DSA (Perdiem) when the consultant travels out of Cameroon to attend different meetings
(Any tax or other government obligation should be covered by the consultant)

9.    Supervision 
The Project Procurement Expert will be under the functional and administrative supervision of the Senior Finance and administration Officer but will work in consultation with all AU-PAU Units and staff. 

10.    Requirements

10.1    Educational Qualifications 
The successful candidate shall have a Bachelor’s degree in Procurement, Logistics, Business Management, Business Administration Supply Management, International Business, Public Administration or related/similar fields or any other related discipline with 5 years continuous experience in providing procurement, logistics or related program management services support for a public and/or private sector agency or program of considerable complexity and size of experience.  A Master’s degree will be an added advantage.

10.2    General professional experience
•    Experience in a procurement office environment is desirable;
•    A minimum of five (05) years of relevant work experience in logistics, procurement, administrative services or related areas is required;
•    Record of familiarization of institutions and mandates, procurement procedures and documentation of AU-PAU, AUC an added advantage;
•    Good knowledge of procurement processes, challenges and lessons on the continent and the country 

10.3    Specific professional experience
•    Experience in an international work environment is highly desirable. Specific knowledge and experience in the African Union Commission and/or other organizations (e.g. USDA, European Union; AfDB) procurement procedures will be an added advantage;
•    Experience in training, capacity building and improvement of procurement systems in an international organization or large institution;
•    Experience working with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system (such as SAP) or similar system is desirable; 
•    Good knowledge of standard procurement methods and procedures following UNCITRAL model law is desirable 
•    Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English with a working knowledge of the French language

10.4    Skills and Competencies 
•    Professionalism - Proven expertise procurement; demonstrated in-depth technical knowledge and proven analytical skills on issues related to sourcing of goods, services and works; 
•    Planning and organizing - Proven ability to plan and organize work within procurement; ability to make timely decisions; 
•    Communication - Effective written, oral and presentation skills, particularly ability to present information in a concise and accurate manner; ability to develop consensus among people with varying points of view. 
•    Teamwork - Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds with respect for diversity. 
•    Judgement/Decision-making - Good judgement and initiative, imagination and resourcefulness, energy and tact, ability to ensure an effective work structure to maximise productivity and achieve institution’s goals.
•    Proficiency in using the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) including excellent web navigation skills;
•    Excellent analytical skills and report writing.

10.5    Language requirement 
Proficiency in at least one of the AU working languages (English, French, Arabic, Swahili and Portuguese) is a must (oral and written);

11.    Evaluation and qualification Criteria:
The applications will be evaluated on the basis of the criteria set out above and marks awarded as follows:

The minimum technical qualification is 70.

The PAU Rectorate will invite the top 6 candidates who would have scored above 70% for oral interview.

12.1.    Gender Mainstreaming 

The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

13.    Submission of Applications

The AU-PAU now invites eligible Individual Consultants (“Consultants”) to submit the following documents in their application:

-    Detailed curriculum vitae
-    Letter of interest/ Cover letter
-    Copies of academic qualifications
-    Contact information for at least three professional references.
-    A brief financial proposal expressing the expected fee per month in francs CFA (XAF)
-    Copy of identification documents (s) e.g. national passport biodata page. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.

The proposal and supporting documents should be submitted in English/ French.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 30th September 2024. 

Interested applicants should send their proposal together with other supporting documents to the administrative assistant through email at PAURectorate@africa-union.org no later than 30/09/2024 at 23h30 Cameroon Time. 

PAN AFRICAN UNIVERSITY / UNIVERSITE PANAFRICAINE 
PAU RECTORATE / RECORAT DE L’UPA, 
Rue 1777 Joseph MBALLA ELOUMDEN – Nlongkak – Bastos 
Floor/Room number: BP: 5383 Yaoundé, Cameroun, 
BP: 5383 Yaoundé, Cameroun compound, Country: Cameroun 
Tele: Tel: +237 222 21 70 90 
Email: PAURectorate@africa-union.org

NB: The PAU-Rectorate has the right not to give a feedback on this publication