Procurement Assistant – Monitoring and Compliance

Organizational Setting

FAO Afghanistan is investing, across all 34 provinces, in resilience reinforcing actions that focus on protecting agriculture livelihoods and local ecosystems, boosting local production of nutritious foods and cash-incomes, and safeguarding critical agriculture sectoral development gains achieved over the past couple of decades through revitalizing rural markets and economy. In 2022-2023, FAO will, under the life-saving assistance Outcome (1) of the UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF), focus on the following four priority actions: (i) Safeguarding Wheat Seed Security, (ii) Enhancing Local Production of Nutritious Food, (iii) Livestock Protection and Dairy Sector Support, and (iv) Restoring Irrigation Structures to Boost Cash Incomes. Additionally, FAO will contribute towards resilience building activities under Outcome 2 of the TEF.

Reporting Lines

The Procurement Assistant – Monitoring and Compliance will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, the direct supervision of the International Procurement Officer and technical guidance of CSLP in the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Headquarters.

Technical Focus

Performs a wide range of routine administrative and control functions in support of FAO's procurement services. S/he contributes to timely and efficient procurement operations.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Coordinate annual procurement plan preparation. Follow up with the concerned Managers for timely entries of the procurement plan. • Enter the procurement-related data in the procurement plan (Procurement To Complete). • Arrange for regular updates of the procurement plan. Perform analysis of the “planned vis-à-vis actual” timelines for major procurement steps and report the findings/results. • Raise system Purchase Requisitions for all incoming procurement requests; • Assist in updating the local vendor database on the local shared drive, run reports and verify data related to all local/regional vendors recorded or to be recorded in the GRMS vendor sites / database in FAO Afghanistan; • Regularly contact local/regional registered vendors to ensure that contacts and other information re their scope of activities are duly updated; • At the request of the IPO, arrange for meetings with local/regional vendors at the FAO office; • Under the direction IPO, draft correspondence related to general relations with local vendors; • Provide regularly (at least twice a year) an updated report of registered vendors’ status to the FAOR and IPO; • Maintain physical and electronic files of the Procurement Unit including committing documents and relevant correspondence; • Identify, sort and attach incoming correspondence and documents to files, where relevant; • Utilize the electronic tracking sheet to ascertain status of procurement actions, extract data on procurement and answer any query on this specific subject based on data indicated in the tracking sheet and physical files; • On an electronic "Procure to Pay" (P2P) tracking sheet, maintain data input of all procurement actions to ensure stored data accurately and correctly reflect procurement status; • Search for specific references on committing documents and correspondence, either manually or by using the computerized data, handle vague and unclear requests requiring detailed knowledge of codes and cross-referencing; • Periodically remove non-current files of the Procurement Unit and send them to appropriate registry including the initiation of necessary correspondence to perform such activities; • Monitor on regular basis the filing system and ensure that all documents are correctly filed; • Obtain from Buyers and record and file on both paper and electronically vital and important emails (or system communications) as necessary; • Provide information on request, regarding status of committing documents to Requester or other stakeholders with prior concurrence of IPO. Deal with all queries on status of procurement actions; • Provide regularly (monthly) updated Procurement Reports (P2P tracking sheet, local vendor roster) to the IPO for review/clearance and further official circulation to FAOR and other internal stakeholders, as directed by IPO; • Perform any other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University (Bachelor) degree in business, administration, procurement, accounting, economics or closely related field. • Three (3) years of experience in administrative, accounting and/ or procurement support work. • Working knowledge (level C) of English and the local languages (Pashto and/or Dari). • National of Afghanistan.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building Effective Relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Very good knowledge of the corporate computerized systems; • Good knowledge of procurement regulations and procedures; • Good knowledge of FAO's administrative policies and procedures; • Knowledge / Experience of UN working procedures in addressing the vendor management issues would be preferred; • Ability to organize work - maturity, tact and high sense of responsibility, ability to work harmoniously with people of different national and cultural background; • Previous experience with the UN is considered a strong asset; • Strong professional command of Microsoft Office, in particular Word and Excel.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances. Subject to certain exemptions, vaccination against COVID-19 will in principle be required. Vaccination status will be verified as part of the medical clearance process.