Procurement Associate G6

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WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status, physical or mental disability.

ABOUT WFP

Nicaragua is a lower-middle-income country that ranks 126th in the 2019 human development index. Located in a hot spot for natural disasters, Nicaragua ranks as the 21st country at the highest risk in the United Nations World Risk Report due to its high exposure to hazards and its limited coping capacities. On November 3, Nicaragua was impacted by Hurricane Eta, which made its landfall as category 4, generating catastrophic and life-threatening floods and landslides. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Iota formed, hitting Nicaragua as category 5 on 16 November and bringing devastating effects countrywide. The heavy winds, flash flooding, landslides and raising rivers, left communities under water and destroyed houses, medical centres, education buildings and water and road infrastructure. Twenty-one lives were lost to Iota; and material damages add up to USD 743 million, 6.2% of the gross domestic product. According to government preliminary assessments, 3 million people were exposed to the destructive impacts of Eta and Iota and 56 out of 153 municipalities in the country were affected. This is in line with WFP’s 72-hour Emergency Food Security Assessment, which also indicates that 169,000 people need humanitarian assistance. The most affected areas were some of the poorest, including indigenous communities in RACCN. The Caribbean Coast comprises 322 indigenous communities, located alongside riverbanks, with high poverty rates, limited access to basic services and fragile infrastructure. About 40% live in poverty and many more can be easily thrown below the poverty line, being highly vulnerable to food insecurity. Their situation is dire, as they have lost their homes and livelihoods, leaving them in urgent need of food assistance and hindering their opportunities to recover in the medium and longer term.

In line with its mandate of saving lives, WFP has been on the frontline of the response, complementing Government efforts, under the leadership of the National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation, and Response (SINAPRED). Currently, WFP is responding to the needs generated by Hurricanes Eta and Iota through its Strategic Outcome 4, delivering a two-pronged approach, focused on both on shock responsive social protection programmes and livelihood support, as the response is now evolving into the recovery phase, with affected populations seeking assistance to resume their productive activities. The response lies at the intersection of the humanitarian-development nexus, therefore going beyond immediate food assistance and setting the basis for early recovery, so that affected populations can get back on track and transition towards self-reliance.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This job is found in Managua, Nicaragua. Job holder reports to the Senior Procurement Associate. At this level, Job holder demonstrate responsibility and initiative to respond independently to queries and problems with only general guidance. There is a requirement to use judgment in dealing with unforeseen problems on a daily basis. Job holders have a level of expertise and knowledge to adapt and contribute to the development of systems and processes in order to continually improve the level of support provided. Job holders supervise, provide technical advice, coach and coordinate a team of support staff.

JOB PURPOSE

To provide coordination, administrative services and research to support the efficient and effective procurement services.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Provide operational coordination and administrative services, to support procurement projects and activities, following standard processes and contributing to the effective procurement of goods and services. 2. Identify and recommend potential suppliers, and compile data/documents to support the selection of suppliers, ensuring standard processes are followed. 3. Review, record and prioritise purchasing requests, and provide support to requisitioners, in order to support the procurement of appropriate goods and services, at lowest cost to WFP. 4. Contribute to negotiations with new suppliers on terms and conditions of orders, alongside a senior officer, in order to obtain the best terms and lowest costs for WFP. 5. Prepare Purchase Orders, contracts and any supporting documentation for approval by the appropriate stakeholder, and approve purchases within delegated authority, to enable the swift purchase of goods and services. 6. Resolve issues related to delivered goods, using initiative, liaising with all parties and following standard processes, to ensure timely and accurate resolution of problems. 7. Research, collect and analyse data in order to produce reports to enable informed decision-making by Procurement Officers, and consistency of information presented to stakeholders. 8. Manage updates and further develop databases and records, to ensure information is accurate, organised, and available for others to access, and supports reporting requirements. 9. Maintain relationships with internal counterparts, to support the alignment of procurement activities with wider programmes and ensure a coherent approach to meeting food assistance needs. 10. Supervise the work of support staff, providing practical advice and guidance, to ensure individual and team objectives are delivered to agreed standards and deadlines. 11. Follow standard emergency preparedness practices to support WFP to quickly respond and deploy food and needed resources to affected areas at the onset of the crisis.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Coaches team in the most effective ways to communicate WFP’s Strategic Objectives to WFP team and partners in the field.
• Be a force for positive change: Implements new methods or tools to improve team’s work processes and productivity.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Maps team’s activities and tasks to specific successes in beneficiary communities to showcase positive impact.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Explains to teammates how each unit contributes to the overall WFP mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Identifies skill development opportunities such as training modules or on-the-job experiences for self, colleagues and direct reports.
• Create an inclusive culture: Facilitates team building activities to build rapport in own unit.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Facilitates the pairing of junior colleagues with coaches within own team.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Proactively anticipates potential challenges and develops mitigation plans to ensure that team meets goals and targets.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Identifies opportunities to be creative in own work and to help team be more innovative and accurate in their respective tasks and areas of work.
• Focus on getting results: Monitors team’s deliverables and provides feedback to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and accurately.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Provides accurate guidance to team on expected responsibilities and tasks, whilst also upholding own commitment to the team.
• Be Decisive: Sets an example and provides guidance to junior team members on when to escalate issues when faced with challenging issues in the workplace or in the field.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Facilitates partnerships with other WFP units to accomplish missions in the field.
• Build strong external partnerships: Sets an example and provides guidance to team on how to build relationships with external partners.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Articulates to colleagues or direct reports the value of contributing to other WFP teams and agency partnerships in fulfilling WFP’s goals and objectives.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Organizes, monitors, and prioritizes own and team’s efforts to ensure that they will fulfill the needs of internal and external partners.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability Name Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level Tendering and Contracting Displays basic understanding of processes to support the contracting/tendering implementation at WFP by collecting necessary information. Vendor Management Leverages basic understanding of business needs to define vendor requirements and selection criteria. Commodity and Product/Service Intelligence Appropriately handles products/services based on an understanding of sources, technologies, properties, and public procurement principles/practices. Systems & Reporting Demonstrates strong understanding of procurement systems, Corporate operating System and tools to conduct range of analyses and generate reports to drive decision making. Ethics and Compliance Maintains accurate records of activities in line with compliance standards to increase ease of response to basic audit queries.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area. Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and Spanish.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Demonstrated familiarity with locally purchased commodities/goods/services (e.g., cash based, in-kind donations). • Experience conducting supplier research and coordinating with retailers, wholesalers and traders. • Demonstrated knowledge of procurement processes and linkages with other operations (e.g., logistics).

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

POSITION: Procurement Assistant G6

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Fixed Term

DUTY STATION: Managua

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Candidates can send their applications through the E-Recruitment platform. Please attach only the CV and cover letter, as additional documents will be requested as needed.

Deadline for applications: February 25th, 2022, at 5:00 p.m.

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Applicants must be citizens or legal residents of Nicaragua.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.