Procurement Officer P3 - Venezuela, Caracas

Logistics & Procurement

Overview

Lead and provide technical oversight on procurement operations in Venezuela.

You have:

• Advanced University degree in Economics, Commerce, Business Administration, Engineering, Legal or Accounting or equivalent relevant field.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in end-to-end Procurement roles, including experience with Goods & Services and Food Procurement to an international context.
• Fluency (level C) in English and Spanish is required.
• Experience communicating and coordinating with UN agencies or large international conglomerates.
• Experience working with food commodity markets including freight markets and related market intelligence.
• Experience working with vendors.
• Experience with budgeting, pipelines and related issues in WFP Corporate Systems.

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WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

On April 19, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the city of Caracas, Venezuela between the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the World Food Program (WFP) in which WFP undertook to establish - among others - an office that allows food assistance to be carried out in the national territory. On April 27, the Executive Director approved the creation of a Country Office and on April 30, the WFP arrived to start operations and establish a new office in the city of Caracas and a logistics center in Maracaibo.

WFP is implementing a large-scale school meals programme in Venezuela that will progressively expand operations to reach up to 1.5 million beneficiaries by June 2023. Community Engagement activities are amongst the top priorities of WFP Venezuela to ensure beneficiaries and their communities are active participants in the design, implementation and monitoring of the school-meals programme, and that their rights and protection are considered in all decisions taken by WFP.

JOB PURPOSE

You will lead on or provide technical advice and oversight to procurement field operations of moderate complexity, partnering with the key supply chain functions to ensure an integrated supply chain approach to meeting the food assistance needs of beneficiaries.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Consolidate and analyse data from which to inform Country sourcing strategies or plan specialist procurement initiatives that support effective and cost optimising purchase decisions. 2. Provide oversight, guidance and support with / to Country Offices with relatively straight forward procurement needs (moderate value commodities, delivering programmes of a similar nature) on implementing best practice procurement policies and procedures, ensuring a strategic, forward purchasing approach to procurement in compliance with wider WFP policies, standards and regulations. 3. Lead the implementation of procurement projects of moderate complexity or manage operational activities for a Country Office (e.g. issue tenders, evaluate offers and negotiate/award contracts), to ensure successful procurement of food and non-food commodities or services. 4. Collate information and draft appropriate responses to recommendations to support auditing of procurement activities and ensure conformity with compliance rules. 5. Identify, develop and maintain strong relationships with all relevant suppliers and vendors to enable WFP to maximise the value of the service delivered. 6. Manage and coordinate effective relationships with inspection and superintendent firms to ensure quality control, specification conformity, volume assessment, monitoring and verification of deliveries. 7. Work in close collaboration with cross functional counterparts to align procurement activities and promote an integrated supply-chain approach to food assistance. 8. Coordinate and prepare accurate and timely reports of procurement activities to contribute to a WFP wide view that enables informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders, leading to performance optimization. 9. Manage individual procurement officers or small procurement teams ensuring appropriate development and enable high performance. 10. Build capacity of WFP staff and external partners to take a strategic and proactive approach to the procurement of food and non-food commodities and services e.g., through provision of training sessions. 11. Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations and guidance and monitor the management of procurement specific risks. 12. Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food assistance needs. 13. Other as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Advanced University degree in Economics, Commerce, Business Administration, Engineering, Legal or Accounting or other relevant field, or First University degree with an additional relevant work experience and/or training/courses.

Experience: At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in end-to-end Procurement roles, ideally including both Goods & Services and Food Procurement in an international context.

Language:

• Fluency (level C) in English and Spanish is required.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Experience communicating and coordinating with UN agencies/ large international conglomerates.
• Experience working with food commodity markets (incl. experience with freight markets) as well as goods and services needed in support of WFP’s Operations and its related market intelligence.
• Experience working with vendors.
• Experience with budgeting, pipelines and related issues in WFP Corporate Systems.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Mobility is, and continues to be, a core contractual requirement in WFP. The selected candidate will be employed on a fixed-term as well as a rotational contract with a probationary period of one year.

WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, pension plan and medical insurance. For more details, please visit icsc.un.org.

This is an International Professional position that is open to all nationalities. Nationals of the country where the position is based are not eligible to apply.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Deadline to receive applications is Sunday, 18 July 2021 (11.59pm CET)

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Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

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.

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Potential interview questions

Added 5 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: wfp.org