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.

Through the Regional Office (RO) for Americas and the Caribbean, country offices (COs) and multi-country office (MCO) across the region, UN Women builds on a long history of support to governments, civil society and other actors to deliver for women and girls. We advocate for and enhance accountability to enhance women’s political participation and prevent and respond effectively to violence against women. Our economic empowerment programmes seek greater economic security and rights particularly for marginalized groups of women.  Other programmes in the region involve partnering with women in their efforts to engage in peace and reconstruction efforts and push for gender equality (GE) provisions integral to preparing for, mitigating, and responding to disasters and emergencies.  To bolster gender-responsive budgeting and public planning, we assist efforts to monitor the different impacts of budget and policy choices on women and men and to mainstream gender considerations across sector.

Under the overall guidance of the Chief of Procurement in Headquarters and the daily supervision of the Operations Manager of ACRO, facilitates the management of procurement and promotes a strategic approach to sourcing within the Region in all areas from procurement process of goods and services, procurement contracts, long-term agreements, lease agreements.  This facilitation role is designed to add value and effectiveness to the management of procurement within the Region while in no way creating an added layer of bureaucracy between the field and HQ, and all accountabilities and duties must reflect this overarching principle.  In effect the incumbent acts as the interface between the field and HQ on several procurement areas.

The Procurement Specialist will ensure that procurement process in the Region are in line with UN Women goals, plans and strategies and in compliance with applicable procurement policies and guidelines.  The incumbent will assist the Regional Procurement Review Committee in ensuring compliance of procurement within the Region with corporate standards.  The incumbent also supports the implementation of strategic procurement initiatives within the Region including e-procurement, e-travel, etc.  S/he will keep the Regional Director aware of procurement issues within the Region requiring Regional Office attention and keep the Regional Direct abreast of procurement and compliance issues.

1.  Lead the monitoring and implementation of the procurement strategies in the region

• Ensure full compliance of procurement activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and strategies; implementation of the effective internal control, proper functioning of a client-oriented procurement management system;
• Develop and implement regional procurement and contract strategy;
• Oversee and implement procurement business processes mapping and elaboration/establishment of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in Procurement, control of the workflows in procurement;
• Develop and implement proposals of cost saving and reduction strategies in consultation with office management;
• Provide information for formulation and implementation of strategic procurement in the Region including tendering processes and evaluation, contract management, legal considerations and payment conditions, sourcing strategy, supplier selection and evaluation & quality management;
• Conduct periodic expenditure analyses to support the development of regional management strategy, which shall account for establishment of long term/strategic relationships with key suppliers for recurring supplies and services;
• Work closely with the HQ procurement section, RO sections and Country offices to ensure alignment in procurement practices;
• Lead the procurement regional network and provide technical support and guidance to procurement focal points in the region;
• Lead UN Women’s regional engagement on common back office procurement service expansions and joint services with other agencies in the region.

2.  Organize procurement processes for the Regional Office, Country Office and UN Women programmes implemented in the region at regional and country level

• Develop annual workplans and budget for the region, technically support the implementation of procurement plans in the country offices; review and monitor the implementation of the plans leading the Procurement Plan regional Task Team;
• Organize competitive and complex procurement processes for the Region including preparation and conduct of RFQs, ITBs or RFPs, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, evaluation, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance with UN Women rules and regulations;
• Prepare and issue RO’s long term agreements (LTAs) for goods and services;
• Prepare Purchase orders and contracts in and outside Atlas and preparation of Recurring Purchase orders for contracting of goods and services. Procurement Buyer profile in Atlas;
• Review procurement processes conducted by RO, country offices and programmes and project; monitor and provide guidance to regional submission to the Procurement Review Committee (PRC); Act secretariat for the PRC;
• Implement of the internal control system to ensures that Purchase orders are duly prepared and dispatched;
• Monitor and track procurement progress and compliance across the region.  Present of researched information on procurement in the RO and COs;
• Organize of joint procurement processes for the UN Agencies in line with the UN reform.

3.  Oversee implementation of sourcing strategy and preparation of the Institutional and Professional Contracts, in the region:

• Develop and update rosters of suppliers, implementation of supplier selection and evaluation;
• Verify and control the supporting documents in respect of the Institutional and Professional Contracts for the RO;
• Ensure preparation, clearance and issuance of the Institutional and Professional Contracts, in due time.

4.  Provide Administrative and Procurement Support to the RO’s Programme Team and Implementing Partners (IPs):

• Provide Administrative and Procurement Support in the preparation of programme work plans and budgets, as well as the programme implementation arrangements;
• Provide capacity building and trainings on Procurement processes to the Implementing Partners (IPs), as support to programme implementation;
• Gather and compile updated data and information for the procurement policies and guidelines;
• Support the RO Programme team in procurement data tracking and reporting.

5.  Ensure facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the RO:

• Organize trainings for the operations/ projects staff on Procurement;
• Manage the regional community of practice and information dissemination

6.   Manage procurement process for the Argentina Country Office

• Plan and update procurement planning quarterly for the CO.
• Organize and implement procurement processes in the CO.

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely coordination, facilitation and implementation of procurement activities based on procurement plans and available budget.
• All procurement services and administration are provided in compliance with UN Women rules, regulations and policies.
• Procurement of goods and services are properly planned and executed in a timely manner ensuring Value for Money of UN Women investments.
• Timely and quality processing of purchase orders.
• Timely delivery of services by procurement team and the regional buyers’ network.
• Timely and quality advice to the RO and COs in the region.

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

• Has a strong understanding of the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position;
• Possesses knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
• Client- oriented. Strong problem solving skills; Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external clients;
• Ability to gather and present information on best practices in organizational change;
• Knowledge of Data gathering and implementation of management systems;
• Ability to supervise information and procurement databases update;
• Strong procurement intelligence analysis skills.

Education and certification:      

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, HR, or related field is required;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• Procurement Certification from an internationally recognized provider such as CIPS (level 3) is an asset;

Experience:     

•  At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in procurement. administration or related at the national or international level;
• Proficiency in using computers and standard office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
• Experience in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is an asset;
• Experience leading a team or a regional network is an asset.

Language Requirements:         

• Fluency in English and Spanish is required;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset;
• Working knowledge of French is an asset.

Other requirements:

Applicants cannot be a public servant from the State, Departmental Government, State Entity and Decentralized services, whatever the nature of the link (paid or not), or hired under any modality by said state public persons.

HOW TO APPLY:

Application:

Applications consists of one attachment that include a completed and signed, UN Women Personal History Form (P11) together with an updated CV.  Applications without the completed P11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. The electronic version of the P11 can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment.

UN Women is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

If you are experiencing difficulties with online job applications, please contact jobs.help@undp.org.

Note:  Only short-listed qualified candidates will be contacted.