Director, Procurement and Contracting

ACIAR is seeking a collaborative and credible leader who can provide clear, practical advice, on complex procurement and contract management. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound judgement, a strong service focus and the ability to build trusted relationships across the agency.

They will be comfortable leading through change, influencing senior stakeholders, improving systems and practices over time, and strengthen organisational capability within a hybrid procurement model that balances central expertise with distributed business area capacities.

Reporting to the General Manager, Corporate (GMC), the Director, Procurement and Contracting leads ACIAR's central procurement and contract management function. The role provides specialist strategic advice and ensures procurement, contract management and related legal matters are managed in accordance with legislative requirements, governance frameworks and probity principles.

The Director is responsible for procurement and contract management policy, frameworks, governance and continuous improvement across the agency, and coordinates access to procurement related legal advice where required. The role supports ACIAR staff to achieve compliant, value-for-money outcomes in line with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

Drawing on strong Commonwealth procurement and contract management experience, the Director will provide strategic leadership, build organisational capability and foster a culture of sound procurement, contract management and risk management practices across ACIAR.

This role provides a unique opportunity to support procurement and contract management activities across both domestic and international research partnerships, requiring practical judgment and innovative solutions within the Commonwealth framework.

As part of ACIAR's evolving procurement operating model, the successful candidate will shape and lead a small but vital agency-wide function, embedding a practical, risk-based and service-oriented approach to procurement and contract management.

The Director will help ensure procurement activities support ACIAR's operational needs, strategic priorities and public sector obligations.

Under the broad direction of the General Manager, Corporate, the Director, Procurement and Contracting will: 

1. Lead ACIAR’s procurement, contract management and procurement legal coordination function, providing strategic direction, managing a small specialist team, building organisational capability, and ensuring frameworks, policies and practices support compliant, risk-based and fit-for-purpose outcomes.
2. Provide authoritative technical and strategic advice to the Executive and business areas on complex procurement, contract management and related legal matters, including tenders, panels, contracts, probity, risk and compliance with legislative and policy requirements.
3. Design and embed risk-based procurement and contract management approaches that support value for money, meet Commonwealth Procurement Rules and enable ACIAR to deliver its corporate and program objectives.
4. Influence and work collaboratively with program areas and corporate enabling functions to align procurement activity with budgets, strategic priorities, the corporate plan and annual procurement planning.
5. Provide stewardship of procurement and contract management reporting, assurance and documentation, including AusTender reporting, corporate procurement records, Questions on Notice and other internal or external reporting requirements.
6. Contribute to agency governance through the development and maintenance of ACIAR delegations, CEO Instructions, procedural rules and related governance documents.

• Australian Citizenship - our successful candidate must be an Australian citizen.
• Security clearance - our successful candidate will be required to obtain and maintain a Baseline security clearance.
• Employment with ACIAR is subject to the successful candidate meeting all relevant Australian Public Service employment requirements, including citizenship, security and pre-employment checks. The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to the APS Values, APS Code of Conduct, workplace health and safety, diversity and inclusion, and culturally respectful ways of working.

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is a statutory agency within the Australian Government’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio. It operates under the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Act 1982. ACIAR invests in collaborative research and knowledge-sharing partnerships to improve the livelihoods and resilience of smallholder farming, fishing and forestry communities in Africa, South Asia and the Indo-Pacific. We work with governments and institutions to grow food more efficiently, increase food system resilience, improve human nutrition, empower women and girls, reduce poverty, and manage natural resources sustainably. Our partnerships prioritise economic, social and environmental benefits for partner countries, and contribute to the development of our international and Australian partner institutions’ research, policy and leadership capabilities. Further information on our current projects, programs and priorities can be found at https://www.aciar.gov.au/. It’s important to note that ACIAR are responsible for commissioning research, not undertaking research.