Administrative and Procurement Assistant

Contract

This is a NPSA-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education. More about NPSA-5 contracts.

Background

Within the context of SDG Financing, UNDP has launched the Sustainable Finance Hub, which is a finance and innovation platform that draws on a critical mass of UNDP expertise, initiatives, and partnerships to support the mobilization and leveraging of resources for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and lead the implementation of the new UNDP private sector strategy. As part of UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, development finance has a central role to play in delivering support to the UN member-countries, in leveraging new sources of capital, offsetting high debt burdens, and in innovating for long term solutions to challenges around climate change, disaster resilience, and fragile ecosystems.

The Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) is the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Policy Center mandated to leverage the role of the private sector in development. The IICPSD was established in Istanbul, Turkey on the basis of the Partnership Framework Agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the United Nations Development Program in March 2011. The Center is one of the five global thematic centers of UNDP, advocating and facilitating the contribution of the private sector to human development and inclusive growth through the following thematic priority areas:

• Private Sector Engagement through South-South Cooperation for the SDGs

• Private Sector Engagement in Skills Development and SDG Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab

• Impact Investment

• Private Sector Resilience and Crisis Response

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Deputy Director, Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development, the Administrative and Procurement Assistant will be supporting the coordination and implementation of project procurement, travel and HR management strategies, financial and budgetary management, organization of meetings and events, compilation and maintenance of project records, supporting partnership development and project reporting exercises and other related duties as may be required by the Supervisor. The Administrative and Procurement Assistant will work closely with the Sustainable Finance Hub Project Management Support Team (PMST).

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of and reporting directly to the Deputy Director, Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development, the Administrative and Procurement Assistant will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following key functions:

1) Efficient and effective administrative and logistical support: - Assisting the Administrative Associate in the coordination and creation of travel requests in the system. - Assisting the Administrative Associate with the travel agencies on the ticket reservations, issuance, amendment, and cancellation as may be required. - Keeping abreast of updates/changes in the Travel and Expense Module and making new/updated information available to staff. - Assisting the Administrative Associate in the organization of national and international conferences, workshops, retreats, missions as well as high-level and working level meetings, including venue reservation, arrangement of catering, ICT and interpretation services, etc.

2) Daily office management and coordination: - Assisting the Administrative Associate in arranging shipment of goods, publications and correspondence as may be required. - Assisting the Administrative Associate in the drafting of routine correspondence, memoranda, reports, and meeting minutes in accordance with the diplomatic protocol and established procedures. - Assisting the Administrative Associate in the preparation of informal translations and acting as interpreter when necessary. - Maintaining contact list of strategic partners. - Assisting in the facilitation of timely documents submission for visa and residence permit issuance by the Turkish MFA. - Assisting in the onboarding of newcomers by sharing relevant information.

3) Ensuring effective implementation of operational strategies with primary focus on procurement processes: - Ensuring full compliance of administrative, logistics activities and procurement activities with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and strategies. - Assisting in the recruitment of personnel (ICs, NPSAs, UNVs, interns, etc.) as may be required. - Supporting the preparation of procurement plans and their implementation. -Supporting the organization of procurement processes including drafting of TORs/RFQ/RFPs and facilitating internal approvals, collecting quotations for micro-purchases of simple goods, works and services and their timely submission for contract / PO issuance. - Collecting and verifying necessary information for the creation of Atlas Vendor profiles. - Creating Vendors and Travel Profiles in ATLAS. - Supporting the preparation of submissions to the Contract, Asset and Procurement Committee (CAP) and (Regional) Advisory Committee on Procurement (R/ACP). - Supporting the implementation of the internal control system which ensures that Purchase orders are duly prepared and dispatched. - Maintaining data on all contracts and taking timely actions for the renewals. - Researching information for formulation and implementation of contract strategy and strategic procurement in the Unit including tendering processes and evaluation. - Ensuring timely response to the identified bottlenecks and operational issues. - Assisting in the collection of relevant data inputs in response to HQ requests. - Backstopping other team members and performing other duties related to this position as may be required by Supervisor.

Competencies

Core:

Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadlineThink Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedbackAdapt with Agility:LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confidentEngage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationshipsEnable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Thematic Area

Name

Definition

Business Management

Operations Management

Ability to effectively plan, organize and oversee the Organization’s business processes in order to convert its assets into the best results in the most efficient manner.

Business Management

Project Management

Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Procurement

Procurement Management

The ability to acquire goods, services or works from an outside external source. Procurement or project management experience is required at the national and/or international level.

Finance

Budget Management

Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.

HR

Recruitment Design and Management

Knowledge of, ability to design and manage end to end recruitment processes.

Business Development

Knowledge Generation

Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

Required Skills and Experience

• Secondary Education with at least five (5) years of relevant professional experience in administration, logistics, operations, procurement, or project management OR Bachelor’s degree with at least two (2) years of relevant professional experience in administration, logistics, operations, procurement, or project management is required.
• At least five (5) years of relevant professional experience in administration, logistics, operations, procurement, or project management with secondary education OR At least two (2) years of relevant professional experience in administration, logistics, operations, procurement or project management with Bachelor’s degree is required.
• Proficiency in IT software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills are required.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver on the assigned tasks in a timely and accurate manner is required.

• People Management – Ability to improve performance and satisfaction

  Communication – Ability to listen, adapt, persuade, and transform

  Delivery – Ability to get things done while exercising good judgementCore Competencies:

  Innovation – Ability to make new and useful ideas work

  Leadership – Ability to persuade others to follow

• Demonstrated experience with organization of travel, events, conferences, and high-level meetings is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of travel/ administration/procurement/HR rules and regulations for international development organizations is highly desirable.
• Previous work experience with the UN/UNDP on administrative, HR, procurement and operational matters is desirable.
• Experience with ERP systems, such as Atlas/PeopleSoft is desirable.
• Excellent communications skills, ability work in a multi-cultural teams and client orientation is highly desirable.
• Fluency in English and Turkish (both oral and written) is required.
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.
• Additional certification in project management and/ or procurement