Senior Officer, Procurement

About the Organization

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the largest humanitarian network in the world, bringing together 191 National Societies. Its mission is to help prevent and reduce human suffering, support dignity, and promote peace by facilitating humanitarian action before, during, and after disasters, health emergencies, and other crises.

IFRC is part of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, alongside its National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Its work is guided by the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

The organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and operates through regional offices across Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas, as well as country cluster and country delegations worldwide.

IFRC maintains a strict zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and misconduct, including financial misconduct. It also follows strong child safeguarding standards.

Role Purpose

The Senior Procurement Officer will strengthen procurement operations in the Dubai Logistics Hub by managing tactical and operational sourcing of goods and services. The role reports into the wider global procurement structure and is responsible for guiding the regional procurement team in a demanding supply chain environment.

This position carries accountability for procurement performance, including the achievement of agreed objectives and KPIs. It covers sourcing, procurement planning, execution, and vendor management, with a focus on ensuring value for money, building a reliable supplier base, and managing risk and complexity across the value chain.

Key Responsibilities

The role involves leading procurement delivery in coordination with global and regional stakeholders, ensuring that procurement activities support programme needs, emergency response requirements, and operational plans.

• Apply the procurement strategy in close partnership with the global procurement function.
• Align regional procurement activity with programme delivery, including long-term initiatives and emergency operations.
• Deliver procurement services that balance user needs, quality, and cost effectiveness.
• Identify and act on opportunities to reduce sourcing and procurement costs.
• Support procurement planning with operational teams.
• Build and maintain a strong supplier network across the region.
• Prepare sourcing plans aligned with global direction and regional demand.
• Negotiate and put in place frame agreements for short- and long-term needs.
• Manage vendor performance to drive consistent supplier quality.
• Advise regional and country leadership on sourcing strategy implementation.
• Work with national society procurement focal points to ensure policy compliance and efficient, value-driven procurement.
• Oversee procurement risk management using appropriate matrices and reporting tools.
• Support adoption of procurement procedures and proper ERP use so global guidelines are understood and applied locally.
• Promote environmentally and socially responsible procurement practices in line with IFRC policy.
• Lead quality assurance for procurement handled by country offices within policy thresholds.
• Recruit, develop, coach, and retain a high-performing procurement team.
• Build talent pipelines and support individual development and career planning.
• Assess capability gaps within the regional procurement team and implement development plans.
• Set procurement KPIs and report performance regularly to management.
• Provide technical oversight to procurement staff in country offices and support policy compliance.
• Offer expert advice across the regional network to ensure efficient and cost-effective procurement services.
• Coordinate procurement with national societies and partner national societies to support a more integrated Red Cross and Red Crescent supply chain.
• Maintain strong working relationships across IFRC offices, network colleagues, partners, and service users.
• Strengthen cross-functional collaboration to reduce risk and improve supply chain solutions.
• Support relationship-building with humanitarian partners and users to keep logistics services effective and efficient.

Education and Experience

• A university degree in business, economics, engineering, IT, or another relevant field is required, though equivalent professional experience may also be accepted.
• A professional procurement qualification is strongly preferred.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in managing complex procurement operations, including high-volume procurement, is required.
• At least 3 of those years should be at international level.
• Experience in combining tactical and operational procurement is required.
• Experience from the commercial sector is preferred.
• Prior knowledge of the Red Cross or Red Crescent environment is an advantage.

Knowledge, Skills, and Languages

• Strong understanding of international procurement practices, including legal considerations, is required.
• Excellent problem-solving ability is needed.
• The role requires the ability to assess procurement impact at both operational and institutional levels.
• Strong commercial judgement and negotiation capability are essential.
• The selected candidate must be able to manage multiple priorities and work under tight deadlines.
• Comfort working in a matrix structure is important.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work across cultures and functions are required.
• The role demands the ability to deliver efficient procurement in a demanding environment.
• Ability to interpret and synthesize complex data is required.
• A broad awareness of humanitarian issues, disaster recovery, and related organizational contexts is preferred.
• Previous experience with ERP systems is required.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required, along with a good command of one additional IFRC official language: French, Spanish, or Arabic.

Values and Competencies

Expected values include respect for diversity, integrity, professionalism, and accountability. Core competencies include communication, collaboration and teamwork, sound judgement and decision-making, relationship management with national societies and customers, creativity and innovation, and building trust.

Additional Conditions

All employment offers are conditional on satisfactory references and screening. This includes prior professional conduct checks and criminal record review. The organization will request conduct references from all previous employers covering the past 5 years, including employers participating in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

Candidates will be subject to the organization’s Code of Conduct and safeguarding requirements if appointed or engaged in the role.