Principal Officer – Technical Services Zambia Public Procurement Authority

The Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) a body corporate and responsible for regulation of public procurement in Zambia invites applications from suitably qualified and experienced candidates for appointment into ZPPA’s establishment for the following positions:

A.      JOB TITLE: PRINCIPAL OFFICER – TECHNICAL SERVICES, ZPPA04 (1 POSITION)

1. PURPOSE

To advise superior, Management and Procuring Entities on general and technical risks arising from contract execution and infrastructure related procurements in order to ensure due compliance with technical specifications and procurement regulations and procedures.

2. STATEMENT OF MAIN DUTIES

Under the overall direction and guidance of the Manager – Technical Services, the job holder will be responsible for undertaking inspections and investigations to monitor due compliance with the Public Procurement Act No. 8 of 2020 and Regulations. The jobholder will specifically perform the following duties among others:

• Carry out procurement and performance audits of infrastructure related projects to ensure compliance from inception to project commissioning;
• Plans and undertakes investigations and inspections of infrastructure related procurements in Government Ministries, departments and parastatals to ensure due compliance with the Public Procurement Act and Regulations;
• Prepares contract audit reports with appropriate recommendations with the assistance of other team members and refers it to the Manager – Technical Services for management decision making;
• Facilitates planning and supervises the work of staff ensuring that they all contribute to the work of the unit;
• Analyses projects to determine if they are workable by assessing materials, costs and time requirements to assist decision-making;
• Supports, checks, monitors and evaluates performance of procuring entities on infrastructure related procurements and their activities to ensure that they conform to procurement procedures and regulations;
• Initiates and facilitates follow-up actions proposed in the reports by procurement entities within the time frame set or agreed upon and reports progress to superior;
• Obtains feedback from procuring entities on problems experienced with current procedures and standards and proposes changes to superior to make them more efficient and user friendly; and
• Performs other lawful duties assigned by superior from time to time.

3. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
4. Education: Full Grade 12 Certificate with at least five (5) credits or better.
5. Vocational or Professional Requirements: Candidates should have a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering or any related field.
6. Relevant Post Qualification Experience: Three (3) years post qualification experience in civil engineering practices. Knowledge in public procurement will be an added advantage.
4. OTHER SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
5. Good writing and oral communication skills;
6. Good interpersonal and analytical skills;
7. Ability to prepare and present technical reports; and
8. Must be a member of the Engineering Institute of Zambia with valid a practicing license.
5. TENURE

The position of the Principal Officer – Technical Services is on permanent and pensionable basis.