UN WOMEN Jobs - 75015- UN Women: Procurement Associate

UN Women: Procurement Associate

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA Local

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

24-Oct-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

GS-7

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP 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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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 the Chief of Procurement, and direct supervision of the Procurement Specialist, the Procurement Associate serves as a focal point in the execution of procurement and travel related services to the programme and executive director’s offices at HQ and provision of Field Support, with effectiveness, transparency and integrity.

The incumbent will foster client-focused, quality and results-oriented approach in the section. The procurement Associate will work in close collaboration with the operations, programme and project teams in the field offices and HQs staff for resolving complex procurement-related issues and information delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Administer and implement the operational strategies:

Ensure Full compliance of procurement activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and strategies; implementation of the effective internal control framework, proper functioning of a client-oriented procurement management system;
Map Procurement business processes and elaborate on the content of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in Procurement as required;
Elaborate on proposals and implementation cost saving and reduction strategies, sourcing strategy, supplier selection and evaluation, quality management, e-procurement introduction and conducting e-tendering and all other relevant macro-micro processes;
Provide researched information for formulation and implementation of contract strategy and strategic procurement including tendering processes and evaluation, managing the contract and contractor, legal considerations and payment conditions;
Implement improvement agenda for procurement policy and operations, covering areas such as development of working templates and guidelines and their maintenance.

Organize procurement processes:

Provide administrative and coordination support on preparation of procurement plans for programmes/projects and their implementation monitoring;
Organize procurement processes including preparation and conduct of Request for Quotations (RFQs), Invitation to Bids (ITBs) or Request for Proposals (RFPs), receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their evaluation, submissions of proposed vendor selection process to be reviewed by the Procurement Review Committee, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance with UN Women regulations and rules;
Prepare Purchase Orders (POs) and contracts in and outside of the ERP system (Atlas), contracting of services and complex goods with attention to threshold, vendors’ creation in Atlas;
Implement the internal control system which ensures that Purchase orders are duly prepared and dispatched and facilitate contract signatures. Timely corrective actions on Purchase Orders with data quality issues.

Organize logistics for meetings and duty travel:

Organize travel including purchase of tickets, Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) calculation, PO preparation for staff members and meeting participants;
Submit staff and others information to be uploaded in the ERP System’s Travel and Expense module (T&E) for travel requests to be created in ATLAS T&E;
Create PO for travel done outside T&E and ensure payment is done on time;
Ensure timely, efficient and appropriate processing of DSA, tickets and terminal allowances for assigned mission or events;
Facilitate the selection, preparation of contract and payment to vendor for conference services and other events in an effective and efficient manner.

Provide administrative support to Supply chain Management:

Determine whether the supply chain activities needed for smooth project execution is present; takes appropriate action to inform relevant internal stakeholders if activities will not meet specific needs of the organization;
Prompt internal stakeholders to meet corporate deadlines for reporting and meeting corporate standards in Supply Chain operations;
Keep customers/clients up-to-date about progress in the Supply Chain activities;
Carry out non-standard sourcing activities and identifies potential suppliers regionally and internationally;
Prepare standard solicitation documents using corporate templates for procurement further to formal methods of solicitation;
Consider total cost of procurement, incl. acquisition costs, storage and inventory, supplier lock-in/switching costs, etc. and supports decision-making with clear value for money based analysis;
Keep abreast of and responds to change in the supplier base, supply markets and operational circumstances of UN Women.

Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

Support the development of training materials, webinars and other educational materials;
Keep up to date and further develop Procurement Section intranet and website for better reach out;
Assist field offices in development of solicitation documents; conducting evaluations and provide quality check and/or oversee the procurement activities of field offices;
Coach and act as mentor to other colleagues, sharing knowledge and expertise in Procurement services;
Organize trainings for the operations/ projects staff on Procurement;
Synthesize lessons learnt and best practices in Procurement;
Contribute to information management and circulate procurement related information to UN Women clients and within the organization;
Develop appropriate contract management / internal procurement tools or guiding materials for standardization and knowledge sharing purposes;
Facilitate procurement community network as focal point to moderate the community debates;
Support the review and analysis of the Procurement Review Committees meeting minutes to identify strategic improvement goals for the regional and country offices procurement units;
Perform back up duties within the procurement team as needed to maintain optimum performance level during the absence of any other procurement team members.

Impact of Results:

The key results have an impact on the overall organization’s efficiency in procurement and administration and success in the implementation of operations strategies. Accurate analysis and presentation of information, well-organized transparent procurement and administration processes ensure client satisfaction and timely delivery of UN Women programmes/projects. The information provided facilitates decision making of the management and learning capacity building and development of standardization of tools, systems, template including policies and procedures.

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

Ability to analyze general information and select materials in support of partnership;
Ability to Maintain information databases;
Ability to perform a broad range of specialized activities related to contract and procurement management, including organization and conduct of procurement processes, implementation of contract and sourcing strategies;
Sound knowledge of financial rules and regulations;
Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new system.
Ability to focus on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexity.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Secondary education;
University Degree in Business or Public Administration would be desirable, but it is not a requirement;
Specialized Training in Procurement would be a strong asset;
Candidates who do not have a university degree or an accredited certification in the field of procurement will be required to complete the Global General Service Test (GGST) or UN Administrative Support Assessment Test (ASAT) – formerly known as the UN Clerical Test.

Experience:

7 years of relevant work experience at the national or international level, with at least 5 years of progressively responsible hands-on, transactional procurement experience;
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.), advance knowledge of automated procurement systems, experience in handling of web based management systems;
Experience in the procurement module of an ERP system such as PeopleSoft would be a strong asset;

Languages:

Proficiency in oral and written English is required;
Knowledge of other UN Language will be an asset.

Notes:

GS fixed-term appointment (FTA) and temporary appointment (TA) positions located in New York are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York.

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, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.