Sandra Velovska
Function: Procurement
Industry: Legal
Category: Professional Services
Level of responsibility: CEO
Procurement system: Other
About me
Unique expertise in procurement procedures (both public and private sector), offering legal procurement guidance to contracting authorities and economic operators
- Leading positions: Procurement Consultant at the Council of Europe Development Bank Project; Legal and Procurement Consultant at the Global Fund Project (Ministry of Health), Procurement Officer at World Bank-funded project “Emergency Rapid Covid-19” (Ministry of labor and social politics) Outsourcing Procurement Consultant - Fund for Innovations and Technology Development Skopje
- Key Expert positions: Senior Non-Key Procurement EU Prag Expert – EU and GOPA Partners “Technical Assistance EU for Municipalities”; Social Entrepreneurship Legal Issues Expert – EPTISA/OSB; Procurement EU Prag Expert at POLICY ANSWERS - WEsteRn BalkanS), funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program, training and mentoring for EU-PRAG procurements
- Business Law: commercial law, employment, benefits and immigration, contract management, due diligence, feasibility studies, licensing, foreign investments, contracting and negotiations, mergers, and acquisitions, energy efficiency, procurement, public-private partnerships development
- Procurement and Public-Private Partnerships: 14 years working on bidding procedures, procurement claims, and disputes implemented under Macedonia Law, EU-prag, World Bank, and EBRD. Ex-member, alternate, and adviser of the Joint Procurement Agreement Steering Committee under the Joint Procurement Agreement for medical countermeasures - 2020, harmonized national procurement legislation and national urgent import regulations for drugs and medical equipment with EU legislation.
- IVLP Exchange Alumni - 2024, International Visitor Leadership Program – US Department of State -Transparency and Accountability in Government – A Multi-Regional Project
Work Experience
Attorney At Law
Ivanovski Jovikj and Partners Law Firm
July 2011 - Present (13 years, 7 months) | Skopje
• Overall legal representation of foreign and domestic enterprises in Macedonia
• Preparing bidding documents on behalf of foreign clients according to national procurement legislation, World Bank, EU Prag, and EBRD procurement rules
• Preparing procurement claims and representing in procurement debriefings/disputes under national procurement legislation, World Bank, EU Prag, and EBRD procurement rules
• FIDIC contract management
• Due diligence investigation
• Feasibility study preparation
• Regulatory and licensing compliance
• Construction Legislation
• Developing company policy and position on commercial and employment issues
• Assists management with general contracts, third-party agreements, consortium agreements and vendor-supplier relationships
• Brings and pursues lawsuits, including drafting/arguing pre-trial motions, handling depositions, and participating in the trial
• Ensures compliance with trademarks, patents, intellectual property, and trade secrets
• Ensures compliance with personal data protection
• Provides legal advice and handles all legal processes, including mergers/acquisitions, corporate law, antitrust, securities, and trademarks
• Provides necessary methods to protect the company from legal risks
• Negotiates business transactions
• Keeps management abreast of all new laws and regulations that may have implications for the Company
Outsourcing Procurement Consultant
Fund for Innovation and Technological Development
November 2021 - Present (3 years, 3 months) | Skopje
• Preparing tender documentation and publishing procurement calls under Macedonian procurement legislation
• Asses and evaluates tenders from potential suppliers
• Maintaining relationships with suppliers while continually scouting for additional vendors
• Evaluating spending operations while seeking ways to improve and enhance the quality of products purchased and the timeliness of deliveries
• Communicating with management regularly regarding the efficient flow of goods and services affecting the organization
• Working closely with the company legal department to make sure contracts and terms are favorable
• Ensure that procurement policies and processes are in place to meet business objectives and operational needs in terms of price, quality, and delivery targets which enables the company to function and compete effectively in the market
• Create and review opportunities to implement best practice purchasing policies, processes, and procedures to aid and improve business performance and deliver the best value and business savings
• Ensure procurement policy, guidelines, and any associated documents are in place and updated when required
• Negotiate and manage contract terms with suppliers to ensure value for money, quality standards, and delivery terms with technical and operational input from stakeholders and colleagues
• Managing and resolving claims, disputes, and contract issues related to procurement activities
Senior Non-Key Procurement Expert
GOPA Partners/EU4M -Technical Assistance EU for Municipalities
October 2023 - Present (1 year, 4 months) | Skopje
• Ad-hoc support to grant beneficiaries on procurement cases under the grant projects
• Specific training (or coaching) provided to grantees and their sub-grant schemes
• Support the preparation of municipal staff for the BJN certification (repetitorium)
• EU PRAG procurement training developed including examination
• EU PRAG procurement training provided to municipal staff, and examination conducted
• Training materials for distribution to participants and other municipal staff
• Train-the-trainers programme developed, and implemented
• Minutes of meetings, training evaluation, contribution to (bi-annual) project reports
• Harmonizing EU PRAG legislation with national legislation in aim to establish an efficient remedy system for submitting complaints to the contracting authority in EU PRAG procedures
EU Prag Procurement Expert
POLICY ANSWERS R&I POLICY in the WEsteRn BalkanS - Horizon Europe
February 2023 - Present (2 years) | Skopje
• Drafting, helping coordinate calls for tenders/calls for proposals in line with EU PRAG standard best practices;
• Managing calls for tenders/call for proposals (e.g. publication, organization of and assistance to evaluation boards, selection process, contract/grant award and signature);
• Claims and Appeals Response Management
• Contract drafting and management
• Interfacing with relevant stakeholders, including project officers, the finance department, economic operators, and auditors.
Procurement Officer
Ministry of Labour and Social Politics/World Bank-funded project - “Emergency Rapid Covid-19”
January 2021 - December 2022 (1 year, 11 months) | Skopje
• Manage overall procurement process and contribute to the financial review, ensuring expenses reported are in line with budget, as well as ensure quality management in two aspects: quality assurance and quality control of the products
• Assistance with the development of specifications based on end-user requirements (market research before the commencement of the procurement procedure)
• Advice to MoH and MLSP to improve the quality of requests; issue invitations to bid, request for quotations, and requests for proposals, as appropriate; evaluate offers for compliance with requirements;
• Preparation of appropriate bidding documentation and forms, including short-lists, prepares purchase orders/service contracts and amendments, ensuring that all specifications, terms, and conditions are according to the World Bank standards and in compliance with the national law;
• Liaison with contractors/suppliers to ensure timely delivery. Liaise with end-users, contractors, and suppliers on quality deficiencies and the appropriateness of goods
• Evaluation of contractors’/ suppliers’
• Review, analyze, and respond to claims, grievances, and appeals raised by suppliers or bidders regarding procurement decisions
• Ensure that all responses comply with World Bank procurement guidelines and standards, aiming to address the concerns fairly and transparently
• Conduct thorough debriefings for unsuccessful bidders, clearly explaining the reasons for selection decisions, evaluations, and scoring.
Procurement and PPP Consultant
PIU - Ministry of Health/Council of Europe Development Bank
June 2017 - April 2023 (5 years, 10 months) | Skopje
• Implementing national and international bidding procedures including FIDIC contract management
• Handle all claims and disputes related to bid awarding decisions, procurement contracts, FIDIC contracts, including reviewing, analyzing, and investigating the issues to identify solutions and negotiate fair settlements
• Act as a liaison between procurement, legal, finance, and other relevant departments to gather insights and provide updates on claims and disputes
• Coordinate administrative procedures between state bodies and municipalities
• Negotiate pricing contracts with subcontractors and suppliers
• Ensure compliance with project budgets and provide analysis of deviations
• Identify the gaps /needs for PPP in healthcare service delivery
• Support the MoH in designing PPP strategies for addressing the identified gaps
• Support the MoH in designing and planning PPP projects in secondary healthcare involving private
Sector
• Assist the MoH in finalizing bid documents for procurement and contract management including contract design, monitoring framework, and development of key performance indicators
• Monitoring PPP projects
• PPP Liaison with the Ministry of Economy to ensure adherence to norms and provide inputs to MoH as required for revision and submission of final PPPs
Social Entrepreneurship Legal Issues Expert
EPTISA in consortium with OSB and Expertise France
May 2017 - November 2017 (6 months) | Skopje
• Design and implement activities on legal issues, related to legal forms of performing commercial activities within the CSO sector, under the current legal framework, generating profit to create job opportunities for socially vulnerable groups.
• Find the best solutions, at the lowest costs, for registration/reregistration of CSOs, taking into consideration their current status
• Apply the individual approach to each training participant/representative of chosen CSOs.
• Provide input for written reports related to legal forms of “social enterprises”, under the current legal framework.
Legal and Procurement Consultant
Global Fund Project Implementation Unit/Ministry of Health
January 2010 - May 2017 (7 years, 4 months) | Skopje
The Global Fund-funded project was implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Macedonia, the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, and 20 key-stake holders – secondary recipients of the fund (“SR”) (civil organizations and public institutions.
• Organizes tendering procedures assuring competitiveness, transparency, and quality by the Public Procurement Law and guidelines of the Global Fund
• Provides advice and legal support on behalf of the grant portfolio manager of the Global Fund related to the implementation of the national legislation in legal and procurement matters;
• Claims and Appeals Response Management
• Procurement Contract Management
• Evaluate the procurements capacities of the SRs-civil organization and prepare a procurement assessment report with conclusions from the conducted capacity evaluation of the SRs-civil organization
• Prepares and/or reviews legal and material contracts, agreements, and overall legal documentation about the program implementation
• Advises on a broad range of legal and regulatory issues (permissions and licenses issued by Governmental Bodies)
• Provides legal assistance during the process of financial management of the program – payments upon contracts and payments based on decisions for working groups and committees
• Prepares and amends constantly the overall HR documentation
In-House Lawyer and Attorney at Law
Telecommunication operator CABLETEL Group Bulgaria - now A1 Telecommunication operator
June 2007 - December 2009 (2 years, 6 months) | Skopje
• Due diligence - performing a comprehensive appraisal of the business undertaken by the Cabletel Group buyers, to establish the assets and liabilities and evaluate the commercial potential of more than 20 small and medium cable TV operators (limited liability companies);
• Acquisition and merger of 13 small and medium cable TV operators into Cablete Group Skopje;
• Introducing overall labor and HR procedures within the company
Education
State Office of Industrial Property of the Republic of Macedonia, Intellectual Property Exam
Certified IP specialist and representative
2017 - 2018
Macedonian Attorney’s Bar Chamber, Skopje, Macedonia
Attorney at Law/Attorney Exam
2007 - 2007
Ministry of Justice, Skopje, Macedonia
Bar Exam
2005 - 2005
University St. Cyril and Methodius Skopje, Faculty of Law
BA in Law
1999 - 2003
Skills
Acquisitions
Administration
Business Case
Compliance
Due Diligence
E-procurement
Government Procurement
M&A due diligence
Mentoring
Mergers
Negotiation
Networking
Outsourcing
Private & Public Sectors
Procurement
Procurement Contracts
Procurement Outsourcing
Program Management
Purchase Contracts
Purchasing Negotiations
Regulatory Affairs
Tender & Bid Management
Tender Development
Tender Evaluation
Tender Management
Tender Packages
Tender Preparation
Tender Process
Tender Writing
Tendering
Training
Vendor Management