UN Women: Procurement Associate

Contract

This is a GS-7 contract. This kind of contract is known as General Service and related categories. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about GS-7 contracts.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Division of Management and Administration (DMA) is responsible for the planning, allocation and management of financial, human and administrative resources including information communications and technology, the effective and efficient delivery of essential operations services in UN Women, continuous development and improvement in operations, policies and methods to align with UN Women and stakeholders’ evolving business needs and advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of the UN Women overall mission, strategy and plans of actions.

Under the overall guidance of Deputy Director of DMA and under the direct supervision of the Chief of Procurement and Travel Section, the Procurement Associate ensures execution of transparent and efficient procurement services and processes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations. The Procurement Associate promotes a client-focused, quality and results- oriented approach and support: (i) compliance with UN Women policies and regulations; (ii) effective systems to support programme delivery and growth; (iii) accountability to organizational values and principles; and (iv) an enabling workplace environment in which staff potential is maximized. The Procurement Associate also works in collaboration with operations staff in other UN Agencies, UN Women Country Offices (CO) and Multi-Country Offices (MCO), UN Women Regional Office (RO) and HQ staff and Government officials to successfully deliver procurement services.

Duties and Responsibilities

Implement procurement strategies in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and strategies

• Contribute to the review and development of new or existing policies in line with UN-Women’s Strategic Plan and business requirements and as supported by related operations strategies;
• Prepare procurement related reports and analyses; research and draft responses to enquiries for clearance by the Procurement Specialist in HQ;
• Support with oversight of existing policies affecting procurement and assess business needs related to their implementation;
• Coordinate the implementation of corporate procurement management policies and strategies in support of cost saving and operations;
• Provide advice and technical support on Procurement related issues;
• Follow up with internal and external audits.
• Contribute to the development of new policies and ensure benchmarking with other UN system agencies looking for innovative approaches among international organizations;
• Provide coordination support in internal consultations of new policy proposals and organize peer reviews to ensure relevance of the proposed policies and procedures.

Conduct reviews for the standardization of the procurement management processes

• Review procurement plans received from business units to ensure that responsibilities are adequately designated; time and resources estimates are adequate;
• Facilitate the management of procurement plans organization wide as well as coordination and consolidation of the organization’s requirement to identify the need for the establishment of Long Term Agreements (LTAs);
• Reinforce the procurement processes by creating benchmarks and review of supply chain cycles and micro-processes;
• Participate in the establishment and implementation of control systems for procurement processes including organization of Invitation to Bid/Request For Proposal/Request For Quotations (RFQ, ITB, or RFP) throughout the procurement processes. Provide advice for action where standards or regulations are not met;
• Provide quality management support to headquarters and Regional/ Multi-Country and Country Offices in regard to the establishment of solicitation document e.g. review of solicitation document and relevant annexes for quality purpose, when required.

Contribute technical inputs to developing and enhancement of new or existing procedures, systems and tools in line with business requirements:

• Facilitate the review and design of procurement processes, in relation to existing and newly adopted policies;
• Simplify and streamline the procedures and processes while maintaining compliance with regulations and rules;
• Create models, matrices, tools, and workflows for all common procurement functions with intense collaboration with all stakeholders;
• Ensure processes, tools and templates are available in a user friendly and timely manner and posted in the procurement intranet;
• Identify the needs and establish strategic agreement with parties which result in efficiencies in line with financial and forecasting requirements;
• Ensure that activities for knowledge management; thematic groups, websites and other tools, which support the group, are current and sufficiently robust for the intended purpose;
• Ensure that policies and processes are supported by appropriate tools, templates and learning activities;
• Contribute to the implementation of an effective internal control framework to ensure compliance with UN-Women regulations, rules, policies, and procedures.

Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing

• Manage the compendium of learning programs available to staff that includes recognized certification programs and programs customized to UN-Women procurement training needs (i.e.: contract management, e-procurement, etc.);
• Ensure that the learning program leverages e-learning tools and other distance learning modalities that are cost effective and appropriate for the learning needs and outreach of the Procurement Section organization wide;
• Provide timely reporting on all training and outreach activities;
• Provide specific support and trainings to UN-Women at headquarters and Regional/ Multi-Country and Country Offices;
• Synthesize lessons learned and best practices in the procurement of global and specialized goods and services;
• Contribute to the Procurement Community Network and other learning networks;
• Provide substantive inputs which contribute to the establishment of a reputation as the “Centre of Excellence,” which shares best procurement practices with other business unit.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely coordination, facilitation and implementation of procurement activities based on procurement plans and available budget
• Timely and quality processing of purchase orders
• Timely delivery of services by administration team
• Proper and accurate maintenance of files and databases, documents are easily retrievable
• Timely organization of logistics activities
• Timely and quality advice to the RO and COs in the region

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Strong knowledge of procurement processes and systems
• Ability to provide procurement related support and advice
• Strong knowledge in the use of spreadsheets and database packages
• Ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines
• Ability to extract and interpret data
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work
• Strong IT and web-based management skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required;
• Specialized training in Procurement, or a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in Business Administration or related field is an asset;
• Procurement Certification from an internationally recognized provider such as CIPS (level 3) is an asset;
• Willingness to take UN Women internal procurement certifications is required.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in procurement, information technology, administration or related area at the national or international level is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required;
• Experience in handling of web-based management systems, such as Quantum ERP, Oracle or similar, is an asset;
• Experience in management and implementation of ERP systems and procurement applications is an asset;
• Experience with UN organizations, international bodies or institutions is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English required.

Application:

GS fixed-term appointment (FTA) positions located in New York are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa, which was acquired on account of their employment in the UN system based in New York.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)