Background

The Central Procurement Unit (CPU) provides procurement support services for UNDP business units by centrally coordinating all procurement transactions over $5K. It serves the following Central Bureaus (CBx): BMS, BPPS, BERA and Crisis Bureau ensuring cost and time efficiency, required compliance and added value to clients.

Those CBx identify procurement needs and make decisions, while CPU provides procurement services and guides the client through the process and decides on the best sourcing strategy. Routing procurement requests through CPU will lead to a quicker turn-around time, and a higher quality, cost effective outcome.

The objective of this vacancy is to build a Roster of junior professionals to facilitate the possibility of fast-track and immediate engaging of rostered and pre-selected individuals under the External Consultancy contract modality once needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Tasks and Deliverables:

  • Provide support to CPU Buyers in assisting clients with procurement planning, contract management, and complex procurement processes, conducted by CPU;
  • Assist CPU buyers in conducting supply market analysis of requirements received in CPU in order to understand how the market works, the direction, the competitiveness of the market, the key suppliers and the value that suppliers place on the organization;
  • Assist with procurement activities and identify most suitable procurement strategies to meet the identified equipment and service needs;
  • Provide inputs to assist CPU in determining opportunities for consolidating and standardizing requirements from various offices;
  • Provide inputs to assist CPU in determining feasibility of developing comprehensive supply mechanism such as LTAs, etc. to meet the identified needs;
  • Identify opportunities for leveraging supply markets on the basis of consolidated needs;
  • Assist CPU buyers with specific procurement processes including preparation and conduct of RFQs, ITBs or RFPs, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their evaluation, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance with UNDP rules and regulations;
  • Liaise with technical managers, as directed by CPU buyers, to review TOR and provide support to the technical evaluations;
  • Assist with specific contractual issues and monitoring;
  • Assist CPU buyers with the preparation of submissions to the Contract, Asset and Procurement Committee (CAP) and Advisory Committee on Procurement (ACP).

Competencies

. Competencies:

Functional Competencies:        

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

  • Researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing thing;
  • Documents innovative strategies and new approaches.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

  • Understands the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position;
  • Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
  • Identifies new and better approaches to work processes and incorporates same in own work;
  • Strives to keep job knowledge up-to-date through self-directed study and other means of learning;
  • Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.

 

Design and Implementation of Management Systems

  • Uses information/databases/other management systems;
  • Provides inputs to the development of simple system components;
  • Makes recommendations related to work procedures and implementation of management systems.

Client Orientation:

  • Reports to internal and external clients in a timely and appropriate fashion;
  • Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines;
  • Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external clients;
  • Responds to client needs promptly.

Core Competencies:

  • Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
  • Self-development, initiative-taking;
  • Acting as a team player and facilitating team work;
  • Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
  • Creating synergies through self-control;
  • Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.

Payment modality

  • The successful consultant will receive a lump sum contract. Payments will be made at the end of each month based upon outputs and upon acceptance of the deliverables/certification of satisfactory completion by the technical manager. The contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost of components.
  • The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hour working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

Institutional arrangement

  • The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the Head of Central Procurement Unit, as delegated to CPU buyers, PSU/OSO, BMS and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

Required Skills and Experience

I.  Academic Qualifications:

  • At least, Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Public Administration, or related field, required.
  • UNDP Procurement Certification programme (e.g. CIPS certification) or equivalent Procurement certification is an asset.

II. Years of experience:

  • At least 2 years of professional hands-on experience with procurement processes, required.
  • Hands-on experience with multilateral organizations’ procurement processes, will be an asset.
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Power BI etc.), required.
  • Advance knowledge of automated procurement systems, experience in handling of web-based management systems is an asset.
  • Proven client management professional experience will be an asset.
  • Proven international team work experience will be an asset.

III.  Language:

  • Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

APPLICATION

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

  • Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;
  • For local applicants only: (applying within the US only and in possession of US Citizenship, Green Card or G4 Visa) must submit a copy of one of these documents when applying in the same file.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer:

The selection of the best offer from the shortlisted candidates will be based on a Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and experienced will be weighted a maximum of 700 points and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 300 points out of 1000 points.

Having received the quantum core out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation

Technical Criteria weight: 70%

Financial Criteria weight: 30%

Technical Evaluation (700 points, Weight 70%)

All applicants will be initially screened against the minimum qualification requirements as specified above.

Responsive candidates (longlisted) will then be further evaluated against the following criteria:

Desk review of technical criteria as evident in the submitted application:

  • UNDP Procurement Certification programme or equivalent Procurement certification. Weight: 10%, Max. 70 points (CIPS 2 or equivalent – 50 points; CIPS 3 or equivalent – 60 points; CIPS 4 or equivalent – 70 points)
  • Relevance of professional hands-on experience with procurement processes, Weight: 30%, Max. 210 points (2-3 years – 100 points, 4-5 years – 160 points, more than 5 years - 210 points)
  • Hands-on experience with multilateral organizations’ procurement processes. Weight: 10%, Max. 70 points (1 year – 40 points; 2-3 years – 60 points, more than 3 years -70 points)
  • Proven client management professional experience. Weight: 10%, Max. 70 points (1 year – 40 points; 2-3 years – 60 points, more than 3 years -70 points)
  • Proven international team work experience. Weight: 10%, Max. 70 points (1 year – 40 points; 2-3 years – 60 points, more than 3 years -70 points)
  • Interview: Weight: 30%, Max. 210 points

The maximum points that can be achieved in the desk review is 490 points.

Only those applicants obtaining a minimum of 343 points (70% of points obtainable in the desk review) will be considered for an interview.

The total obtainable score on the interview is 210 points bringing the total points for the technical evaluation to a maximum of 700 points. Candidates obtaining less than 147 points during the interview (70% of points obtainable during the interview) will be disqualified.
Only those candidates who obtain a total technical score of 490 points and above on the technical evaluation will be considered for financial evaluation and will be asked to submit a financial proposal.

 

Financial evaluation (300 points, Weight 30%)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

For the General Conditions of contracts for the Services of Individual Contractors, see http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.

 

Travel Expenses

  • In the event that the UNDP decides to engage an individual through this roster under the Consulting modality:  
    • UNDP will assume the cost of a round-flight most economy class to join Duty Station (NYC).
    • UNDP will facilitate the G4 Visa for international applicants.