MINISTRY OF LANDS, HOUSING AND COUNRY PLANNING

SIERRA LEONE LAND ADMINISTRATION PROJECT (P177031)

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT – PROCURMENT SPECIALIST 

Background

The Government of Sierra Leone with support from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank is implementing the Sierra Leone Land Administration Project (SLLAP), financed through a US$ 41.1 million grant. The proposed Project Development Objective (PDO) is to establish an efficient and accessible land administration system.

The SLLAP will be implementing those parts of the National Land Policy 2015 (NLP) that relate to Land Administration. Currently land in the Provinces is administered through various customary tenure arrangements and land in the Western Area has a system that includes freehold tenure under Statutory Law as seen in most formal systems around the world. In the Western Area, the existing systems rely on a system of registration of instruments (or deeds) at the Office of the Administration and Registrar General (OARG) overseen by the Attorney General under the Ministry of Justice, with boundaries documented through a Cadastral Survey methodology described in the Land Survey Act and administered by the Director of Surveys and Lands within the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning (MLHCP). In 2022, the National Land Commission Act and the Customary Land Rights Act were passed, and they will be implemented with support from the project. The development of a new law that will introduce a Land Title Registration system is included within the NLP, but this has not yet been drafted.

SLLAP will support real estate land property markets for both the private and public sectors. It will assist the work of real estate agents, notaries, licensed surveyors, and lawyers and help build the private sector in these disciplines. It will improve the transparency and security of property rights, which will help address the use of real estate in Sierra Leone and its use for collateral and mortgage purpose. It will speed-up the real estate transaction processes and aim to reduce transaction costs as well as protecting property rights of vulnerable groups, women, and customary communities. Another focus is to improve the efficiency of state property management and would continue supporting the various real estate privatization programs in the country. Many of these goals would be supported by making real estate market information accessible through information technology and linkage with e-Government initiatives.

Following years of civil turmoil between 1991 and 2002, much of the capacity to manage the land administration system was significantly reduced, with particular impact on the cadastral surveying profession, which is now particularly in need of modernizing and bringing up to professional standards.

The PDO will be delivered through the following project components:

Component 1: Institutional Development and Legal Reform: This component seeks to strengthen Sierra Leone’s institutional framework for land administration by supporting the establishment of the National Lands Commission (NLC). The project will support the funding required for office building or renovations (both at the headquarter and district level), organizational development plans and strategies, operational support (vehicles, furniture, equipment), capacity building, assessments, drafting and consultations for relevant land policies, laws, and regulations and public awareness raising.

Component 2: Land Information System: The component supports the overall development of a digital land information system (LIS) in Sierra Leone. The project will finance the required ICT equipment (servers, computers, internet etc.), design and development of a digital LIS with automated land administration processes (which need to be reviewed and simplified); the digitization of land records and cadastral maps and base mapping; and the establishment of a geodetic network.

Component 3: Recording and Registration of Land Tenure Rights

The primary focus of this component is to improve the quality and completeness of the records of land tenure rights and the ease and security with which those rights can be transferred whether by inheritance, sale or lease, or for some other third-party rights. The component will finance survey and registration work in customary areas and linking deeds records and maps in the Western Area.

Component 4:  Project Management 

This component will finance all expenses required to ensure efficient and transparent project management and coordination. This will entail in particular the financing of hiring of staff for Project Coordination Unit (PCU), operational costs (vehicles, fuel, equipment, workshops, etc.), M&E studies (customer surveys, mid-term review, implementation and completion report), and safeguards studies (social and environmental).

Component 5: Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC): Zero-sum component to mitigate situations of urgent need and allow for the rapid reallocation of funding in the event of a natural disaster or crisis

Objective of the Assignment:

The objective of the assignment is to engage a Procurement Specialist to lead procurement related services within the PCU of SLLAP. The Procurement Specialist will work closely with other PCU officers and relevant ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) staff to carry out timely and prudent procurement practices consistent with the World Bank procurement regulations for borrowers and Sierra Leone’s procurement laws.

Scope of the Assignment:

The Procurement Specialist (PS) shall provide support to the PCU within the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning (MLHCP) in the preparation/updating of the procurement plan in the required format for submission to the World Bank; and also shall provide procurement advice to the PCU and SLLAP partners to ensure that procurement of all works, goods and services are undertaken in accordance with the approved Procurement Plan. In the preparation of the procurement plan, the specialist shall ensure that the contract packaging is effective for project implementation and meets the World Bank criteria.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

The PS shall carry out the following tasks and responsibilities through the application of sound professional practices and methods;

• Implement procurement based on the guidelines and procedures for the conduct of procurement under World Bank funded projects, and the government regulations for the procurement of goods, works and services under the Public Procurement Act 2016 (PPA) of Sierra Leone;
• Set up and utilize a simple procurement management tracking system that would monitor the implementation of procurement activities and support the timely provision of regular credible updates and responses to queries; establish and maintain a central procurement filing system, and ensure all related documents are included in the respective files, to ensure ease of retrieval of information and the ease of following the paper trail of procurement by independent external auditors or authorized agents;
• Using the World Bank’s Standard bidding documents, prepare customized Bidding Documents and Request for Proposals (RFP). These should include standardized forms to be used for International and Local Shopping Methods;
• In consultation with the project implementing partners, prepare and update the Project’s Annual Procurement Plan detailing contract packages for goods, works and services, the estimated cost for each package, the procurement or selection methods and processing times till completion of each procurement activity;
• Monitor procurement implementation and update the procurement plans prepared at the beginning of the financial year, for the procurement of goods and works, and the procurement of consultants’ services, annually and whenever it becomes necessary to do so;
• Prepare the General Procurement Notice (GPN), and also Specific Procurement Notices (SPNs) and Expressions of Interest (EOIs) whenever required;
• Establish a register of qualified suppliers and consultants and periodically update this register per advertisements and requests for expressions of interest;
• In consultation with the implementation partners and technical officers, coordinate the preparation of Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the preparation of Requests for Proposals (RFPs) on consulting assignments, and specifications for the preparation of bidding documents for goods and works activities, using standard documentation agreed with the funding agencies, and also participating in evaluation of expressions of interest for shortlists and pre-qualification of suppliers and contractors where necessary;
• Carry out all procurement processes, including those for International and National Competitive Bidding procedures, ensuring compliance with agreed procurement methods’ threshold, prior review requirements specific to the project, and agreed aggregate threshold amounts for less competitive procurement methods;
• Receiving and participating in bid opening sessions, evaluating goods and works bids and consultants’ proposals and ensuring that the appropriate guidelines are followed to arrive at the recommendations for award to suppliers, contractors and consultants;
• In case of procurement actions requiring IDA “no objection”, use Systematic Tracking of Exchanges in Procurement (STEP) to submit the request and monitor IDA response time on issuing “no objections” at different levels of the procurement process and follow-up accordingly;
• Coordinate response to inquiries, and communicate result of the evaluation process to the applicants, in response to guidelines;
• Prepare minutes of the Evaluation Panel meetings, and also prepare the requests for “no objection”, and coordinate arrangements for the negotiation process, where necessary;
• Prepare the final contracts, and ensure timely distribution of all relevant procurement and contract documents to all stakeholders (Technical Officers, Consultants, Suppliers Contractors and the World Bank);
• Establish a performance monitoring database for all suppliers, contractors, consultants, and ensure efficiency and timeliness in the delivery of outputs from the services providers;
• Carry out any other relevant periodic duties that may be assigned by the leadership of the Project.

Performance Criteria :

The following performance criteria will be used to assess the performance of the Procurement Specialist at regular interval and based upon which the contract may be continued or reviewed after Post Procurement Assessments are done laying emphasis on quality control and assurance:

• Quality of documentation prepared and submitted for prior and post reviews;
• Meeting deadlines as indicated in the activity schedule roadmaps on STEP;
• Adhering to the World Bank Procurement Regulations and National laws.

• Line Management

The PS shall report directly to the Project Coordinator of the SLLAP Project at MLHCP.

Duration of the services 

The duration of the assignment is for an initial period of one (1) year, including a three month probation and upon performance an extension can be granted.

Minimum Education and Experience: 

• A minimum Master’s degree in Procurement and/or Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Development Management, Social Sciences or a related field;
• At least ten (10) years professional experience in procurement and minimum of five (5) years’ experience as a procurement specialist in handling, managing or overseeing procurement for World Bank, or other international donor funded or administered projects;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, sound judgment, communication skills, training experience, ability to identify and resolve policy and operational constraints;
• Demonstrated computer skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office;
• Integrity and Confidentiality;
• Very good report writing and presentation skills;

Reporting and time schedules

The Specialist will prepare Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annual and Annual procurement reports as inputs into the Project Management Reports and, in addition, prepares other reports, as and when needed.

Interested and suitably qualified persons are encouraged to submit their Cover Letters and CV’s on or before the 6th of November, 2023 at 4:00pm, using the following email address: sllapprocurement@gmail.com, copying alphajohcham@yahoo.com, mayatbah@gmail.com, aburaymond@yahoo.com joejoe7787@yahoo.com