Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Chief of Procurement, the Procurement Associate provides support to UN Women in the administration and implementation of regulations, rules, policies, strategies and guidelines regarding procurement and related services, inter alia travel, ensuring effectiveness and efficiency, integrity, transparency and quality of service. The incumbent is expected to cooperate effectively and efficiently with the staff of the UN Women Procurement Section, other staff of the Division of Management and Administrative Services and UN Women HQ Divisions and Sub Regional Offices and smaller offices in the field. The Procurement Associate provides operational support in relation to procurement, travel and similar services to ensure smooth operations, optimal and consistent service levels and to help build internal capacity in the key area of procurement. In addition, the Procurement Associate constantly monitors, optimizes and readjusts the business procedures related to his/her field of work taking into account changes in the operating environment as and when those occur.

The incumbent supports the Division of Management and Administrative Services in providing sound advice on procurement and related services consistent with UN WOMEN regulations and rules to ensure that the organization procures goods and services effectively and efficiently.

The Procurement Associate interacts with functional counterparts in other UN agencies, and participates in inter-office meetings at the operational level. The incumbent may receive guidance from UNDP’s Office of Legal and Procurement Support, as required.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:
  • Supports implementation of UN Women’s procurement strategies.
  • Organizes procurement processes entrusted to the procurement Section at UN Women Headquarters
  • Ensures effective and efficient provision of UN Women HQ operations support and administrative services
Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Chief of Procurement:

Supports implementation of UN Women’s procurement strategies, focusing on achieving the following results:
  • Full compliance of procurement activities with UN WOMEN regulations and rules, policies, strategies and business procedures, inter alia, sourcing, supplier selection and evaluation, quality management, customer relations management, e-procurement introduction and supplier performance management.
  • Full compliance with reporting and other requirements as required under the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (other) or similar and/or as per accepted audit recommendations.
  • Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing, including training on the job assistance to colleagues at HQ and in the offices worldwide as requested.
  • Researches and retrieve data from internal and external resources and various resources as required preparing reports.
  • Timely and well-researched responses to queries regarding procurement issues/cases; solutions proposed to resolve issues with guidance from the Procurement Unit, as needed.
Organizes procurement processes entrusted to the Procurement Section at UN Women headquarters, focusing on achieving the following results:
  • Awareness of agreed procurement plans for UN Women Headquarters; monitoring of their implementation.
  • Organization of procurement processes including preparation and conduct of FRQs, ITBs or RFPs, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their evaluation, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance with UN/UN Women rules and regulations.
  • Review of procurement requests; preparation of submissions to the Procurement Committee (AMRC).
  • As second officer, as Secretary to the AMRC organize and schedule meetings; review submissions for completeness and quality control, and distribute to Committee members; preparation of agendas and minutes; preparation of proposals for submission to Executive Director.
Ensures effective and efficient provision of Procurement and Travel support to HQ, SRO in the organisation’s ERP system (ATLAS) and CPO focusing on achieving the following results:
  • Review vendor information and ensure its compliance with organisation policies and requirements.
  • Based on compliance, create new vendors in ATLAS. Review procurement contracts and raise Purchase Orders (POs) in Atlas for all projects managed by headquarters (HQ)
  • Review Special Service Agreements (SSA) and create POs in ATLAS for payment processing.
  • Review and amend all PO requests from UN Women Sub-Regional and Project Country Offices for those POs where the total value exceeds the pre-defined thresholds, ensure the required documentation has been provided and submit for approval.
  • For any such PO related to procurement, ensure the procurement procedures applied and related documentation are compliant with organisation policy.
  • Receive and review travel requests and other forms for further processing.
  • For any such PO related to travel, ensure that the travel entitlement calculation and other requirements have been fulfilled before submitting for approval.
  • Provide advice and information related to the procurement module in ATLA, procurement policies and related business procedures.
  • Provide assistance in problem-solving relating to the procurement process within ATLAS.
  • Propose guideline adjustments if felt necessary.
  • Conduct annual PO closure exercise by generating reports from ATLAS in coordination with the project managers.
  • Cooperate in the collection of documents and information required by auditors and other entities and upon approval by the chief of section.
  • Perform any other tasks and duties the institution may reasonably request in relation to its mandate.
Impact of Results:
  • The key results have an impact on the overall efficiency of UN Women in procurement and success in implementation of operational strategies and compliance with applicable standards (IPSAS); moreover, they shall safeguard the procurement principles of the organisation which are transparency, integrity and fairness. Advice and support to UN Women Field Offices helps build the reputation of UN Women, and well-organised transparent procurement processes ensure client satisfaction and timely delivery of UN Women activities. The information provided facilitates decision-making of management and facilitates internal and external audits.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles:
  • Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
  • Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
  • Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.
Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:
  • Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity
Organizational Awareness:
  • Demonstrating corporate knowledge and sound judgment
Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:
  • Self-development, initiative-taking
Working in Teams:
  • Acting as a team player and facilitating team work
Communicating Information and Ideas:
  • Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively
Self-management and Emotional intelligence:
  • Creating synergies through self-control

Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:
  • Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others
Functional:
  • Solid knowledge of UN/ UN Women rules, regulations, guidelines and procedures as relate to procurement, assets management and facilities management.
  • Familiarity with Internal Control Framework principles as relates to procurement.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of procurement principles applicable to UN Women.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of the procurement process, including planning, solicitation methods and evaluation, contractor appraisal evaluation and negotiation of offers, management of the contract and contractor, payment conditions, risk assessment.
  • Ability to extract, interpret data and resolve operational problems.
  • Solid knowledge of automated procurement systems.
  • Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering and implementation of new systems.
  • Strong computer skills; excellent knowledge of office software packages (e.g. MS Word, Excel, etc), including statistical reports and computer graphics for report writing; advanced knowledge in use of spreadsheets and database packages
  • Knowledge of relevant Atlas modules and processes, as required for the position.
  • Solid English drafting skills for reports and correspondence.
Behavioral:
  • Effective at multi-tasking.
  • Good analytical and problem-solving skills.
  • Strong organizational and planning skills.
  • Strong focus on client service; ensuring impact and results for client.
  • Produces quality outputs in a timely manner.
  • Actively shares knowledge and information with clients and colleagues.
  • Actively works toward personal learning and development in assets and facilities management, and other operations functions.
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
  • Ability to work well under pressure, and to meet deadlines.
  • Contributes effectively in team-based activities.
  • Works positively to build team morale and consensus.
  • Displays positive and constructive attitude.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Completion of secondary education required. Specialized training in procurement an advantage.
  • University degree or equivalent in Business or Public Administration is an asset.
Experience:
  • Minimum of 6 years experience of progressively responsible administrative, procurement or related experience at the national or international level.
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc)
  • Experience in handling web-based management systems.
  • Completion of UN Administrative Support Assessment Test (ASAT)
Language Requirements:
  • Fluency in English.
  • Knowledge of another UN language is an asset.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.