Procurement Manager, Emerging Technology & Digital Innovation

About the role

The Procurement Manager, Emerging Technology and Digital Innovation Procurement supports fast-moving technology sourcing needs across IRC, focusing on early-stage digital innovation, pilots, proofs of concept, trials and emerging tools. The role acts as the day-to-day procurement focal point for these requests, keeping procurement discipline, vendor due diligence, risk review, documentation and compliance intact. It is a full-time, on-site management position in Nairobi.

Key responsibilities

• Provide hands-on sourcing support for pilots, trials, proofs of concept, small-scale SaaS, emerging vendors and startup-style tools, following the IT category strategy and the Senior Category Manager, IT.
• Run early market scans, support requirement gathering, supplier identification, RFI/RFQ/RFP preparation, evaluation, award recommendations and contract finalization.
• Build a lightweight, repeatable procurement pathway for pilots, trials and proofs of concept, with checklists, decision tools, approval checkpoints and documentation requirements.
• Support AI-enabled tools by applying IRC's AI assessment requirements, coordinating with the AI Governance and Risk Committee and escalating high-risk requests.
• Coordinate vendor risk assessments and due diligence across cybersecurity, privacy, legal, donor compliance, sanctions screening, financial viability, implementation and integration risks, and ensure procurement files are audit-ready.
• Maintain a list of emerging technology tools and vendors with status, approved use cases, business owners and contract details, and reduce shadow IT and unmanaged spend.
• Negotiate and review commercial terms for NDAs, pilot agreements, SaaS agreements, subscriptions, licenses, cloud services and renewals, including pricing models and data protection, IP and exit clauses.
• Engage stakeholders and help business teams turn technical needs into clear scopes, evaluation criteria and vendor questions.

Required profile

• Degree in Supply Chain Management, Procurement or a related field.
• Management level, full-time, on-site in Nairobi.