Head of Procurement and Contracting

About the Organization

GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) is a German development agency operating in Ethiopia, working on topics such as governance, migration, peace, security, and gender.

Job Summary

The Head of Procurement and Contracting will lead the Procurement & Contract Unit of the Social Transformation Cluster, ensuring timely and high-quality procurement and contract management in line with GIZ and donor requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, develop and technically supervise the Procurement & Contract Unit of the Social Transformation Cluster in line with GIZ and other donor requirements
• Ensure the timely and high-quality preparation of service and financing contracts in full compliance with GIZ’s procurement rules and regulations
• Act as a proactive internal service provider to project teams by providing strategic advice on procurement strategies, contract modalities and implementation arrangements
• Coordinate closely with stakeholders in the GIZ country office, headquarters, and within the Social Transformation Cluster to ensure a smooth delivery of procured services
• Support the assessment of partner capacities and eligibility for financing arrangements
• Own and continuously improve procurement workflows within the Social Transformation Cluster, with a strong focus on standardization, service orientation and transparency
• Design, maintain, and further develop cluster-internal procurement-related systems and data structures, including contract databases, monitoring and reporting tools
• Drive capacity building within the Procurement & Contract Unit and the Social Transformation Cluster

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in business administration, management, finance, law, or a related field
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in the management of procurement and goods and services at central office level or comparable organizational levels
• Fluency in English (oral and written)

Required Skills and Competencies

• Proven hands-on experience in end-to-end procurement and contract management in compliance with institutional and donor regulations, including planning, amendments, and contract closure
• Solid experience in coordinating complex procurement processes with multiple stakeholders, including international procurement requirements (e.g. customs, tax, imports)
• Demonstrated ability to advise technical teams and managers on procurement strategies, contract modalities, financing options (including grants), and risk mitigation
• Strong experience working with procurement software and digital procurement workflows
• Experience in contributing to process optimization, digitalization, and continuous improvement initiatives
• Leadership experience (technical and/or disciplinary), combined with strong capacity-building skills in supporting teams and partners on procurement policies, systems, and tools
• A proactive, pragmatic, solution-oriented mindset with a strong sense of ownership for both service quality and continuous improvement
• International professional or academic experience is considered an asset
• Development-oriented
• Ability to develop long-term influence strategies based on program evidence
• Strong coordination and networking skills
• Business Development
• Communication

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates shall submit their motivation letter along with their non-returnable recent CV via: recruitment-ethiopia@giz.de. Please make sure you mention the vacancy number and position title Your Full Name_ Head of Procurement and Contracting #088/2026 in the subject line of your E-Mail application.