Procurement Senior Officer

The UNOPS Africa Regional Office, based in Nairobi, Kenya, oversees the delivery of over 250 projects across 40 countries, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected settings. Supported by more than 1,000 personnel across five multi-country offices—spanning North, West, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Horn of Africa—the office advances national priorities through strategic initiatives in Climate Action, Health, Infrastructure, Peace and Security, Middle-Income Country Support, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The Regional Office provides strategic leadership, operational support, and oversight in key areas including Partnerships, Communications, Management and Oversight, Infrastructure and Project Management, Health and Safety, and Security. By promoting excellence in project delivery, fostering knowledge sharing, and driving continuous improvement, the office contributes to sustainable infrastructure, transparent resource management, and a better quality of life for communities across the continent.

Since 1999, the Central Africa Multi-Country Office (CAMCO), headquartered in Kinshasa, DRC, has partnered with UN agencies, international organizations, and governments in 15 Central African nations. CAMCO provides fund management, technical assistance, and capacity-building across critical sectors—infrastructure, health, education, governance, procurement, and environmental protection—while working with national and local authorities to secure local ownership and sustainable impact. The diverse portfolio spans rural-community empowerment, road rehabilitation, and peace consolidation in the DRC and CAR through Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes, alongside wide-ranging procurement and human-resource services. Recent initiatives include drinking-water systems in Cameroon, mining-sector capacity-building, health-system support in the DRC, and infrastructure development in Madagascar, funded by a broad array of international partners. Together, these projects advance regional stability, resilient infrastructure, and improved livelihoods throughout Central Africa.

The Procurement Senior Officer is responsible for developing and implementing strategic and effective procurement services reflecting best practices in international public procurement; compliance with UNOPS procurement rules and regulations; appropriate risk management; and obtaining the best value for money for the acquisition of goods, services and contracting of works. The role analyzes and interprets relevant rules and regulations and provides advice and solutions to a wide spectrum of complex issues related to procurement. 

The Procurement Senior Officer has a deep understanding of procurement policy and processes, as well as their application to appropriate situations. In addition to responsibility for the deliverables of the work team, the role focuses on strategic relationship building and demand management, mainly related to aggregation and dealing with complex organization structures, preparation of business cases and understanding of the supply market, as well as sharing knowledge with projects in order to achieve reductions of costs and savings.

By role-modelling the highest degrees of personal and professional ethics, the Procurement Senior Officer maintains a collaborative, quality-driven, client-focused and results-oriented approach to their procurement role. S/he works in close cooperation with the office leadership and project managers, reporting to management on central issues related to procurement activities.

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Le responsable principal des achats est chargé d'élaborer et de mettre en œuvre des services d'achat stratégiques et efficaces reflétant les meilleures pratiques en matière de passation de marchés publics internationaux ; la conformité aux règles et règlements de l'UNOPS en matière d'achats ; une gestion appropriée des risques ; et l'obtention du meilleur rapport qualité-prix pour l'acquisition de biens, de services et la passation de contrats de travaux. Le rôle consiste à analyser et interpréter les règles et règlements pertinents et à fournir des conseils et des solutions à un large éventail de questions complexes liées aux achats. Le responsable principal des achats possède une compréhension approfondie des politiques et processus d'achat, ainsi que de leur application aux situations appropriées. En plus de la responsabilité des produits de l'équipe de travail, le rôle se concentre sur l'établissement de relations stratégiques et la gestion de la demande, principalement liées à l'agrégation et au traitement de structures organisationnelles complexes, à la préparation d'analyses de rentabilisation et à la compréhension du marché de l'offre, ainsi qu'au partage des connaissances avec les projets afin de réaliser des réductions de coûts et des économies. En donnant l'exemple des plus hauts degrés d'éthique personnelle et professionnelle, le responsable principal des achats maintient une approche collaborative, axée sur la qualité, le client et les résultats dans son rôle d'achat. Il travaille en étroite collaboration avec la direction du bureau et les chefs de projet, rendant compte à la direction des questions centrales liées aux activités d'achat.

1. Procurement Operations

• Execute procurement activities in accordance with UNOPS rules, regulations, policies and strategic frameworks.
• Maintain a client-focused procurement management system, supported by effective internal controls. 
• Collaborate with project managers to review procurement plans and develop fit-for-purpose strategies that incorporate sustainability and value-for-money principles.
• Implement or support all phases of the procurement lifecycle, including strategic planning; pre-purchasing; requirements definition; sourcing; solicitation; management of submissions; evaluation; review and award; post-purchasing; contract finalization and issuance; logistics; and contract management. 
• Develop and manage rosters of suppliers.

1. Opérations d'achat

• Exécuter les activités d'achat conformément aux règles, règlements, politiques et cadres stratégiques de l'UNOPS.
• Maintenir un système de gestion des achats axé sur le client, soutenu par des contrôles internes efficaces.
• Collaborer avec les chefs de projet pour examiner les plans d'achat et élaborer des stratégies adaptées intégrant les principes de durabilité et de rapport qualité-prix.
• Mettre en œuvre ou soutenir toutes les phases du cycle de vie des achats, y compris la planification stratégique ; le pré-achat ; la définition des besoins ; le sourçage ; la sollicitation ; la gestion des soumissions ; l'évaluation ; l'examen et l'attribution ; le post-achat ; la finalisation et l'émission des contrats ; la logistique ; et la gestion des contrats.
• Développer et gérer des répertoires de fournisseurs.

2. Procurement Process Management

• Prepare procurement plans on time and as expected.
• Monitor implementation of procurement plans for alignment with project timelines and strategic objectives.
• Review and validate requirements to ensure clarity, completeness and suitability from a procurement standpoint.
• Follow guidelines for embedding sustainability across the procurement process.
• Coordinate the end-to-end solicitation process, including Requests for Quote (RFQs), Invitations to Bid (ITBs), and Requests for Proposal (RFPs) in line with UNOPS policies.
• Coordinate the receipt and evaluation of quotations, bids and proposals.
• Participate in the negotiation of conditions of contracts in full compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations. 
• Prepare submissions to the Contract and Property Committees (CPCs)
• Enter and update supplier information in the UNOPS ERP system - oneUNOPS (oU).
• Monitor contractor performance and certification of completed work for compliance with contractual terms and payment.
• Provide advice, remedial action, or solutions to project managers on procurement issues.
• Draft Long Term Agreements (LTAs) and/or service or works contracts and other instruments when necessary, and create purchase orders (POs) in the ERP system

2. Gestion du processus d'achat

• Préparer les plans d'achat dans les délais et comme prévu.
• Surveiller la mise en œuvre des plans d'achat pour assurer l'alignement avec les délais du projet et les objectifs stratégiques.
• Examiner et valider les exigences pour s'assurer de leur clarté, de leur exhaustivité et de leur pertinence du point de vue des achats.
• Suivre les directives pour l'intégration de la durabilité tout au long du processus d'achat.
• Coordonner l'ensemble du processus de sollicitation, y compris les demandes de prix (RFQ), les appels d'offres (ITB) et les demandes de propositions (RFP) conformément aux politiques de l'UNOPS.
• Coordonner la réception et l'évaluation des devis, des offres et des propositions.
• Participer à la négociation des conditions des contrats en pleine conformité avec les règles et règlements de l'UNOPS.
• Préparer les soumissions aux comités des contrats et de la propriété (CPC).
• Saisir et mettre à jour les informations relatives aux fournisseurs dans le système ERP de l'UNOPS - oneUNOPS (oU).
• Surveiller la performance des entrepreneurs et la certification des travaux terminés pour vérifier la conformité aux termes contractuels et au paiement.
• Fournir des conseils, des mesures correctives ou des solutions aux chefs de projet sur les questions d'achat.
• Rédiger des accords à long terme (LTA) et/ou des contrats de service ou de travaux et d'autres instruments si nécessaire, et créer des bons de commande (PO) dans le système ERP.

3. Use of E-Procurement Tools

• Utilize the e-sourcing module in line with goals and standards set by the Procurement Group.

3. Utilisation des outils d'e-procurement

• Utiliser le module d'e-sourcing conformément aux objectifs et normes fixés par le Groupe des achats.

4. Knowledge Building and Knowledge Sharing

• Organize, facilitate or deliver training and learning initiatives for personnel on procurement.
• Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice by synthesizing lessons learned and disseminating best practices in procurement.
• Collect and productively utilize feedback, ideas and internal knowledge about processes and best practices.

4. Renforcement et partage des connaissances

• Organiser, faciliter ou dispenser des initiatives de formation et d'apprentissage pour le personnel sur les achats.
• Fournir des contributions judicieuses aux réseaux de connaissances et aux communautés de pratique en synthétisant les leçons apprises et en diffusant les meilleures pratiques en matière d'achats.
• Recueillir et utiliser de manière productive les commentaires, les idées et les connaissances internes sur les processus et les meilleures pratiques.

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 4 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 2 years of relevant experience is required

Desired:

• A globally or nationally recognized professional certificate or membership (e.g. CIPS) is desired.

Exigée :

• Diplôme de licence (ou équivalent) dans n'importe quelle discipline avec 4 ans d'expérience pertinente OU

• Diplôme de master (ou équivalent) dans n'importe quelle discipline avec 2 ans d'expérience pertinente est exigé

Souhaitée :

• Un certificat professionnel ou une adhésion reconnu à l'échelle mondiale ou nationale (par exemple, CIPS) est souhaité.

Required:

• Relevant experience is work in advising on and implementing policies and procedures to deliver a range of complex procurement programmes and strategies within international/ multi-national organizations, or related areas. 

• Experience in the use of collaboration and productivity tools (e.g. MS Office, G-Suite, etc) and web-based management systems is required.

Desired:

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

• Experience managing a small team

Exigée :

• L'expérience pertinente consiste à conseiller sur et à mettre en œuvre des politiques et des procédures pour livrer une gamme de programmes et de stratégies d'achat complexes au sein d'organisations internationales/multinationales, ou dans des domaines connexes.

• L'expérience dans l'utilisation d'outils de collaboration et de productivité (par exemple MS Office, G-Suite, etc.) et de systèmes de gestion basés sur le Web est exigée.

Souhaité :

• L'expérience de travail dans des environnements multiculturels ou des organisations du système des Nations Unies dans un pays en développement est souhaitée.

• Une expérience dans des contextes de développement ou humanitaires est souhaitée.

• Expérience de la gestion d'une petite équipe

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.