Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works 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.

Under the overall guidance of Deputy Director of DMA and under the direct supervision of the Chief of Procurement Section, the Procurement Consultant will support the review and development of new or existing policies and procedures in line with business requirements. S/he will act as advisory body and provide strategic and authoritative advice to UN-Women personnel on the interpretation and application of procurement policies and procedures. The Procurement Consultant function is a comprehension of capacity development activities to support the Organization and procurement reform, creating benchmark with other UN Agencies. The Procurement Consultant is expected to provide solutions to a wide spectrum of complex issues related to procurement, promote a collaborative, client-focused, quality and results-oriented approach in the section, work in close collaboration with internal and external stakeholders both at Headquarters and field levels for the successful delivery of procurement services.

The services will be delivered remotely and the consultant will be expected to be onsite and within UN Women’s Headquarter offices, Department of Management and Administration (DMA) Procurement Section when health and safety regulation guidelines allow for on-campus work operations.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Ensure the development and implementation of operational strategies:

• Ensure review and development of new or existing policies in line with UN Women’s Strategic Plan and business requirements, and as supported by related operations strategies;
• Assist Headquarters and Regional/ Multi-Country and Country Offices in the development of procurement strategies in collaboration with supply chain stakeholders;
• Support oversight of existing policies affecting procurement and assess business needs related to their implementation;
• Formulate organization-wide system requirements for reporting, oversight and other business requirements;
• Develop appropriate procurement tools or guiding materials for standardization and knowledge sharing purposes;
• Develop new and harmonize existing policies to ensure benchmarking with other UN system agencies looking for innovative approaches among international organizations;
• Lead internal consultation prior to the policy proposals and organize peer reviews to ensure relevance of the proposed policies and procedures;
• Deliver on cost reduction through the identification, development, and execution of strategic sourcing initiatives;
• Act as advisory body to provide strategic advice to UN Women personnel on the interpretation and application of procurement policies and procedures.

2. Conduct review and standardization of the procurement management processes:

• Reinforce the procurement processes by creating benchmarks and review of supply chain cycles and micro-processes;
• Support in establishing and implementation of control systems for procurement processes including organization of Invitation to Bid/Request For Proposal/Request For Quotations (RFQ, ITB, or RFP) throughout the procurement processes. Take action where standards or regulations are not met;
• Provide quality management support to Headquarters and Regional/ Multi-Country and Country Offices in regard to the standardization of solicitation documents and relevant annexes for use in e-sourcing;
• Harmonize procurement services where relevant in relation to joint procurement with other UN agencies in line with the UN reform.

3. Review and develop new or existing policies, procedures, systems and tools in line with business requirements:

• Support the review and design of all procurement processes, in relation to existing and newly adopted policies;
• Provide inputs on simplification and streamlining of procedures and processes while maintaining compliance with regulations and rules;
• Create models, matrices, tools, and workflows for all common procurement functions with intense collaboration with all stakeholders;
• Ensure processes, tools and templates are available in a user friendly and timely manner and posted in the procurement intranet;
• Ensure that activities for knowledge management - thematic groups, websites and other tools, which support the group - are current and sufficiently robust for the intended purpose;
• Ensure that policies and processes are supported by appropriate tools, templates and learning activities;
• Ensure compliance with UN-Women regulations, rules, policies, and procedures.

4. Build effective management relationship with internal and external stakeholders:

• Coordinate access to information and follow up on all audit activities and observation for headquarters and Regional/ Multi-Country and Country Offices for the procurement function organization-wide;
• Provide support in addressing with questions the section receives frequently from internal UN Women stakeholders, other UN Agencies, donors and member states;
• Propose and/or initiate changes and improvements on policies and procedures based on information and recommendations received from relevant stakeholders, including on alignment with existing and new e-systems;
• Work closely with team members ensuring performance and alignment of individual and team goals with procurement objectives, and provide appropriate coaching to enable a productive, innovative, and challenging working environment.

5. Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

• Ensure a compendium of learning programs available to staff that includes recognized certification programs and programs customized to UN Women procurement training needs (i.e.: contract management, e-procurement, ERP etc.);
• Ensure that the learning program leverages e-learning tools and other distance learning modalities that are cost effective and appropriate for the learning needs and outreach of the Procurement Section organization-wide;
• Ensure timely reporting on all training and outreach activities;
• Provide specific support and trainings to UN Women at Headquarters and Regional/ Multi-Country and Country Offices;
• Elaborate and carry out a training plan for the section, focusing on collective as well as individual activities according to the necessities of the section and available resources;
• Synthesize lessons learned and best practices in the procurement of global and specialized goods and services;
• Make regular contributions to the Procurement Community Network and other learning networks;
• Provide leadership in the establishment of a reputation as the “Centre of Excellence”, which shares best procurement practices with other business unit;
• Supplement the operational capacity of Procurement Operations Support Section (as and when required).

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

• Strong knowledge of procurement systems and processes, particularly in the UN system is an asset;
• Ability to provide policy advice and support;
• Ability to process, analyze and synthesize complex, technical information;
• Proven ability to support the development of high-quality knowledge and training materials, and to train technical teams;
• Ability to handle confidential information;
• Good negotiating skills;
• Strong IT skills.

Required Skills and Experience