A CALL FOR APPLICATION: Logistics And Procurement Officer | ALIGN – Advancing Local Innovations For Adolescent Health & Nutrition

Position Title: Logistics and Procurement Officer | ALIGN – Advancing Local Innovations for Adolescent Health & Nutrition

Contract Type:Consultancy

Duration: 14 months

Eligibility and Geographic Scope : Kenya, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (with occasional travel to target countries)

Reports To: Project Manager – ALIGN at The Youth Café

Mode of Engagement: Hybrid/online

Project: ALIGN – Advancing Local Innovations for Adolescent Health & Nutrition

Collaborates With: Finance and Admin Officer, Consortium Partners, CSOs, YLOs, and donor representatives

About the Project

ALIGN is an initiative funded by the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents (GFF) and administered by the World Bank. The project aims to improve adolescent health and nutrition outcomes by empowering local civil society organisations (CSOs) and youth-led organisations (YLOs) to adapt, scale, and integrate proven, community-driven innovations into national health systems across up to 12 African countries.

A two-member consortium implements the project. Action Against Hunger USA (ACF USA) serves as the prime recipient and leads overall programme management and fiduciary responsibility. The Youth Café (TYC) is the youth-focused implementing partner responsible for youth engagement, sub-grant portfolio management, community-of-practice facilitation, and evidence-based advocacy. The Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) serves as the technical knowledge and research partner. Together, the consortium bridges the gap between local civil society innovation and national-level systems change in adolescent health and nutrition.

Project Components

Component 1: Strengthening CSO and YLO Capacities for Networking and Enabling Pathways to Scale

This component strengthens the organisational and technical capacity of CSOs and YLOs to co-design, expand, and integrate high-quality adolescent health and nutrition innovations into public systems. It delivers Technical Support Packages covering baseline capacity assessments, tailored technical assistance and mentorship in programme design and grant management, policy dialogue facilitation, and the establishment of youth engagement mechanisms such as youth councils and social listening channels. It establishes and manages a Cross-Country Community of Practice (CoP) that connects local innovators with technical experts, policymakers, and partners through peer learning platforms, stakeholder convenings, structured knowledge exchange, and the documentation and dissemination of lessons on scaling and health system integration.

Component 2: Supporting CSOs and YLOs to Effectively Engage Government Entities in Adolescent Health and Nutrition

This component provides sub-grants to eligible CSOs and YLOs across up to 12 countries to scale proven adolescent health and nutrition innovations. It covers all grant management and administration activities, including the development of an Operational Manual, formation of a technical selection committee, targeted country-level outreach to attract strong applicants, sub-grantee selection, and compliance and fiduciary management. It focuses on sub-project implementation supporting CSOs to identify and scale promising interventions, conduct sensitisation workshops, execute awareness and communications campaigns, and carry out periodic adaptive sub-project reviews.

Component 3: Generating Evidence and Influencing Policy

This component builds a robust evidence base and uses it to drive policy change and sustainable scale. It covers operational research and M&E: conducting mixed-method studies on performance and cost-effectiveness, strengthening CSO and YLO monitoring systems, and piloting adolescent feedback mechanisms such as SMS polling and social listening. It covers knowledge management and advocacy: documenting successful co-design models, producing policy briefs and academic papers, and engaging with national and global decision-making forums to advocate for policy integration and financing.

The Youth Café's Role in ALIGN

As a consortium partner, The Youth Café leads youth engagement, sub-grant portfolio management, Community of Practice facilitation, and evidence-based advocacy across the project. TYC is specifically responsible for ensuring that adolescent voices and youth-led innovations are at the centre of the project's policy influence and systems integration work. TYC's ALIGN team is based in Nairobi with responsibility for country-level coordination across all target countries.

Staff recruited under ALIGN will operate within TYC's administrative and programmatic structure, in close coordination with ACF USA and ENN. All positions are governed by TYC's human resources policies, the World Bank's Environmental and Social Framework requirements, and the safeguarding and labour standards set out in the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP). Each staff member assigned to ALIGN is expected to support TYC's designated Environmental and Social Focal Point and to uphold TYC's and ACF USA's safeguarding, anti-discrimination, and gender equality policies throughout implementation.

Note to Applicants

The position for which you are applying is part of The Youth Café's ALIGN project team. This background document is a standard introduction provided with all ALIGN Terms of Reference and should be read together with the specific position description that follows. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate in their application how their experience relates to the project's three-component structure and to TYC's specific implementation responsibilities as described above.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

 1. Procurement Planning and Management

  • Develop and maintain a comprehensive Annual Procurement Plan covering all goods, services, and works required across the three ALIGN components and associated workplan activities.

  •    Prepare all tender documents, including Requests for Quotations (RFQs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), evaluation criteria, and bid evaluation reports in compliance with applicable donor procurement regulations.

  •  Manage competitive bidding processes for all significant procurements: evaluate bids against pre-agreed criteria, prepare evaluation reports, and submit award recommendations to the Project Manager with full supporting documentation.

  •  Ensure the procurement of Component 1 technical assistance inputs; consultancy services for baseline capacity assessments, TA training delivery, and co-design workshop facilitation and follow applicable procurement thresholds and selection methods.

  • Manage procurement requirements for Component 3 operational research and knowledge management outputs: research tools, data collection equipment, mixed-method study consultancies, publication and dissemination services, and materials for global advocacy events.

  • Maintain a supplier and vendor database, conduct periodic market surveys, and ensure value for money across all procurement decisions and contract awards.

  •   Ensure every procurement decision maintains a complete, chronological audit trail from initial requisition through to payment authorisation, consistently with TYC's Donor Compliance Matrix and World Bank financial management requirements.

 2. Logistics and Event Coordination

  • Coordinate all logistical arrangements for Component 1 and Component 2 activities: stakeholder convenings, Community of Practice webinars and in-person workshops, thematic sprints and lab-storms, sensitisation workshops, and sub-grantee capacity building events across up to 12 countries.

  • Manage travel logistics for TYC ALIGN staff and consortium partners: flight bookings, ground transport, accommodation, visa facilitation, and per diem processing in accordance with TYC's travel policy and donor-approved rates.

  • Coordinate venue procurement and event logistics for the annual CoP learning exchange, policy dialogue events, and any global advocacy forum participation.

  •  Maintain a live Logistics Tracker covering all upcoming project events, travel requests, delivery schedules, and equipment movements, sharing weekly updates with the Project Manager and Project Officer.

  •  Ensure timely delivery of goods and services to all project sites and sub-grantee locations, managing customs clearance and last-mile logistics where required.

3. Compliance, Documentation and Audit Readiness

  • Maintain complete, well-organised procurement and logistics records for every transaction, consistently with the document management standards set out in TYC's Internal Audit Policy and the records retention requirements applicable to GFF-funded activities.

  • Ensure all procurement documentation is maintained in a format and level of detail that fully supports external audits, donor supervision missions, and World Bank post-reviews.

  • Prepare quarterly procurement and logistics reports summarising procurement status against the Annual Procurement Plan, expenditure against budget, and any compliance issues or corrective actions for the Project Manager's review.

  • Support TYC's Internal Auditor and external auditors during periodic audits by providing timely access to all procurement files, contracts, evaluation reports, and supplier payment records.

  • Ensure all procurement archives are properly structured for end-of-project financial closure by April 2028, consistent with the project's minimum two-year post-closure records retention obligation.

4. Vendor Management and Contract Administration

  • Develop and maintain professional relationships with suppliers, service providers, venue operators, and travel agents across all TYC ALIGN operating locations.

  • Negotiate contract terms and service level agreements to ensure value for money, quality assurance, and compliance with donor standards.

  • Monitor supplier and consultant performance against contract deliverables and milestones, maintaining a performance log and escalating unresolved performance issues to the Project Manager.

  • Ensure all contracts and service agreements include appropriate provisions for donor   compliance requirements: anti-corruption declarations, safeguarding obligations consistent with the ESCP, non-engagement with sanctioned entities, and data protection requirements.

  • Coordinate closely with the Finance and Admin Officer on contract payment schedules, invoice verification, goods received notes, and supplier payment processing to ensure payments are authorised and disbursed in a timely and documented manner.

 Deliverables

  • Annual procurement and logistics plan by July 2026

  • Quarterly procurement and logistics reports

  • Bid/tender documentation and evaluation reports

  • Event and workshop logistics coordination records

  • Documentation of procurement processes and supplier contracts

  • Audit-ready procurement and logistics files

  • End-of-project procurement and logistics summary report by May 2028

Qualifications and Experience

  • Bachelor's degree in Procurement, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related field.

  • Minimum 3 years of experience in procurement and logistics management within international development or humanitarian projects.

  • Demonstrated knowledge of international donor procurement frameworks and standards applicable to multi-country development projects.

  • Proven experience preparing tender documents, conducting competitive bid processes, and producing evaluation reports to donor-compliant standards.

  • Strong vendor management and contract negotiation skills with a track record of achieving value for money.

  • Experience managing event and travel logistics for multi-country, multi-stakeholder programmes.

  • Applicants must hold a valid work permit or be legally authorised to work in their country of residence at the time of application. The Youth Café will not sponsor or facilitate work permits for this assignment.

  • High level of accuracy, organisation, and attention to detail in maintaining procurement records and audit trails.

  • Excellent written and spoken English.

Duration and Compensation

Duration: 14 months

Compensation: Competitive salary aligned with donor budget provisions

Payment Schedule: Monthly, upon submission of deliverables and timesheets

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit:

  • A cover letter of not more than one page setting out your suitability for the role and confirming availability from 1 July 2026.

  • An updated CV of not more than four pages.

  • Contact details for two professional referees (referees will not be contacted without prior notification to the candidate) 

Email applications to: human.resource@theyouthcafe.com   

cc:admin.compliance@theyouthcafe.com

Subject Line: Logistics and Procurement Officer – ALIGN Project

Deadline for submission: 30th June 2026 .Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Equal Opportunity 

The Youth Café is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion and strongly encourages applications from women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.