Procurement Expert at Cities for Infrastructure Growth Zambia

Cities and Infrastructure for Growth Zambia
Position: Procurement Expert
Location: Lusaka, Lusaka province and Lufwanyama, Copperbelt province, Zambia
Start Date: Immediate
Contract: 20 Days (January / February 2020 at 3 or 4 days / week) with possibility to extend contract on a similar basis for project implementation

About Cities and Infrastructure for Growth Zambia (CIGZambia):

Cities and Infrastructure for Growth Zambia (CIGZambia) is a facility set up with the objective of providing high quality independent technical advice and assistance to Zambian government bodies and private sector organisations engaged in projects and programmes that will help harness the potential of Zambia’s cities and towns to act as drivers for economic growth and job creation.

CIGZambia is, in addition, charged with delivering on its objectives in a manner that as far as possible:

• promotes increased climate resilience in Zambia and that reduces the threat that climate change presents;
• advances inclusivity and ensures, in particular, that women and poor and vulnerable communities benefit significantly from the programmes that it helps to implement.

In carrying out its work, the programme also seeks to promote sustainable capacity development.

CIGZambia supports the development of alternative sources of renewable energy generation within Zambia as a critical enabler to future growth in the Zambian economy, providing additional energy at a competitive cost and reducing the high reliance on generation from hydro sources, which are susceptible to the effects of climate change.

About the Role

The Agro Luswishi Zambia Ltd project is a greenfield development which aims to establish an industrial sized farm, as well as several hundred medium sized and small holder out-grower type farms on their site of approximately 7,800 hectares in the Lufwanyama District of the Copperbelt. The proposed farm project will also incorporate significant refrigerated warehousing, agro-processing and social facilities as well as modern housing. These refrigerated warehousing and an extensive irrigation infrastructure will finally require up to 18MW power supply, scaled up from 5MW through the project implementation stages. The designated site predominantly comprises natural forest land, most of which requires to be cleared to enable the farms to be constructed. The project is being developed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Agro Luswishi Zambia Ltd, (‘the client’), jointly owned by Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Zambia Limited and Tahal Group of Israel.

CIGZambia is seeking a Procurement Expert to join a team of experts that will design and procure an off-grid power supply under a long-term power purchase agreement with the SPV (leveraging its shareholders) to provide the initial power supply for the project, before a transmission line is constructed. This power supply infrastructure is expected to comprise a combination of solar, battery and other renewable energy technology to be connected to a substation which will also be constructed on the Agro Luswishi site. The selected developer will be requested to develop the required infrastructure at their own cost, and to provide power at the lowest possible tariff to operations of the SPV. The procurement process should comply with local and international best practice and be consistent with Zambian public procurement legislation.

Reporting to the Project Leader, this role will play a critical role in achieving CIGZambia objectives to support the Zambian Government in developing projects that lead to sustainable job and wealth creation, investment in infrastructure, improved climate resilience and best practice in environmental management and social inclusion.

Project Responsibilities

• As a key project team member, the Procurement Expert is expected to:
  • understand the wider context of the project and the technical and commercial requirements of the client;
  • design a pre-qualification framework for potential bidders to establish their eligibility to participate in the full tender process, taking guidance from the client;
  • manage a pre-qualification process, and make recommendations to the client on eligible parties to participate in the full tender process;
  • in conjunction with the project team, prepare technical and commercial criteria that must be addressed by tenderers in their bid submissions;
  • prepare tender documents in conjunction with technical and legal advisors, subject to sign-off by the client;
  • respond to technical queries from tenderers before the bid submission date in accordance with the bid rules;
  • develop a tender evaluation framework;
  • ensure that bids are received and evaluated in accordance with agreed protocols and timelines.



• The Procurement Expert should demonstrate that the process followed is consistent with local and international best practice, and compliant with the procurement standards specified by the client (expected to incorporate Zambian public procurement standards);


• The Procurement Expert should have knowledge of and liaise with the procurement department of the client, as well as the Zambia Public Procurement Authority and other regulators and public authorities, to the extent required for efficient project implementation;


• The Procurement Expert will, together with the CIGZambia project team and the client, and subject to tender evaluation rules, provide a ranking of potential bidders based on the various bid submissions and the agreed tender evaluation framework.

The Procurement Expert is expected to work within a multi-disciplinary team (including technical, financial and legal experts) to provide balanced analysis of the different procurement options and practical suggestions on how best to meet the client’s requirements in securing a competitive power solution.

Key Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

• Qualification should be a minimum of Master’s degree level in a relevant discipline;


• Practical experience in engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) of renewable energy projects, with various technology mix, would be an added advantage;


• Familiarity with power purchase agreements;


• At least 10 years’ work experience working at a senior level in a procurement department (reputable private sector organisation, NGO or Government);


• Ability to prepare detailed pre-qualification and tender documents;


• Knowledge of international contracting frameworks (e.g. FIDIC);


• Knowledge of Zambian public procurement processes;


• Experience of financial instruments used in procurement processes (guarantees, Letter of Credit etc.);


• Experience in project managing competitive procurement processes;


• Experience in developing communication protocols with potential bidders under international competitive procurement processes;


• Demonstrable skills in written and verbal communication and proven report writing skills to high professional standards;


• Experience in recommending logical and practical solutions in the area of procurement for technically complex projects;


• Experience in evaluation of tenders, establishment of tender evaluation committees and monitoring and evaluation of performance of successful bidders in a project environment;


• Strong project management and communication skills.

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