Commercial Associate

Who we are

Pure Harvest is an agri-tech start-up based here in the UAE. We develop tech-enabled, controlled environment farms to grow and sell delicious plants in the local markets where we operate. We supply a range of elite restaurants & hotels and supermarkets, and our products are selling out across the UAE. Our brand is associated with delicious produce, and we are quickly building a loyal and vocal customer base. We are now expanding into new crops (strawberries and leafy greens) and new geographies (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait). Technology, data, and innovation are core to our ethos, and our mission is to revolutionise agriculture in the region. We are passionate about what we do and are committed to resource efficiency and overcoming the challenges associated with food import dependence, water scarcity, and sustainability.

Purpose

You are responsible for the procurement and contract management process for the business. Your main target is to ensure all procurement needs are catered for including but limited to development of RFP packages, managing the tender, evaluate, award process, managing internal approvals of purchase commitment, managing awarded purchases and ensuring project is delivered within timeline and budget with the highest quality standards. Your role is truly dynamic + demanding – you are a key member of the expansion team and work closely with the management to overcome existing challenges and build a successful business. You will analyse data to make decisions relevant to your workstream and/ or to inform decisions made by the broader leadership.

You enjoy challenges, are flexible, can work long/ irregular hours (when required), and you can deal with ambiguity/ ever-changing demands on your time & productive capacity. You are willing to travel between project locations and spend time on-project sites as needed.

Fundamental responsibilities

• Develop and issue RFP’s (requests for proposals) and run tender process to procure various project services and equipment working alongside the technical and construction team
• Qualify and select relevant construction partners or equipment suppliers based on overall project strategy
• Breaking-down components of facilities and evaluate supply chain to source materials or services which can be procured locally/alternative markets
• Engage with procurement committee, company leadership, and board of directors to align procurement strategies and execute
• Negotiating with suppliers to achieve the best total cost of ownership for all Company capital projects
• Coordinate the efforts between project stakeholders and vendors to ensure successful delivery of projects- on time, on budget and to the highest possible quality standards
• Troubleshoot any challenges or roadblocks to project success (timeline, cost, quality).
• Regularly visit or temporarily relocate to project site as needed to ensure complete commercial management
• Preparation of and reporting on contract and subcontract documentation;
• Management of payments and reporting on cash flow forecasts and other contractual KPIs
• Preparation and negotiation of contractual claims.
• Manage closeout process; and
• Develop feasibility and investment-decision budgets
• Manage and report on-going project budget updates.

Competencies

PROBLEM SOLVING:

• Ability to frame complicated problems/ situations.
• Mastery over large datasets and ability to leverage information to derive insights.
• Ability to dig deep into a problem and invest time and effort to fully understand.
• Make decisions based on data-driven rigorous analysis.
• Ability to think creatively “out of the box” with a track record of providing and executing solutions technically and commercially acceptable.
• Strong sense of logic and sanity-check. You eliminate excuses and own outcomes.

COORDINATION, PROJECT MANAGEMENT & EXECUTION:

• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders of across different industries and skill levels.
• Extremely organized and attentions to detail allowing for work to be easily audited and reviewed.
• Master communicator and team player. Regularly update working groups with latest developments to keep everyone in sync.
• Ability to simplify and map out vague/complex processes into actionable workplan and manage/iterate on workplan through-out execution.
• “Scrappy”; able to develop and workout solutions with limited information using common sense. No task is beneath you.
• Measured risk-taking and admitting when you fail (along with the reasons why). You then learn from failures to improve your performance & decision-making and you acquire respect.

TASK-TO-PROJECT OWNERSHIP:

• Complete ownership over your work and ability to work independently without the need for regular supervision. You are known for being self-managing and resourceful.
• Owning-up to problems imposed on you despite not being your fault.
• Highly self-motivated. You prioritize aggressively and stay focused on the few things that will have the biggest impact on the business.
• Outcomes orientation. You do not stop with roadblocks, you ensure that you’re delivering on the desired outcome. You win when the company wins.
• Sensitive to time pressure and able to judge what is “good enough” to be delivered immediately versus striving for perfection.

PERSONALITY

• Strong character able to stand-up for both yourself and the organization. You do what’s right first and you don’t take ‘no’ or ‘inshallah’ for an answer.  
• You are gritty and don’t shy away from challenges… you’re highly ambitious and you grow with each victory.
• A force of positivity for your team and for the company.
• Humble character and team-player.
• Intellectually curious, eager to learn and grow.
• Demonstration of commitment to the company’s success
• Strong ability to work under pressure and potentially long working hours.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3-5 years' experience in procurement, commercial construction, contract management, strategic sourcing or similar.
• Experience in procurement and contracts management.
• Experience in high-tech controlled-environment agriculture is a plus.
• Fluent in English, other languages: Arabic is a plus.
• Mastery of MS Office (Excel, Power Point, Project).  Be able to prepare & present your own work.

Additional information

Please note before applying: our people define our success, and we take hiring seriously.  Interviewing with Pure Harvest may include video and phone interviews and/or off-site interviews.  Though not required, we highly recommend that you submit a cover letter that outlines the key attributes of your candidacy & demonstrates that you understand and are qualified for this unique/ challenging role.  Also, we complete both formal and informal reference checks for all hires.  Please be prepared to submit references upon request.                                 
Although we are unable to follow-up with each-and-every applicant, we do our absolute best to conduct a systematic hiring process for candidates with whom we identify a potential fit.