Supply Officer

Before submitting an application, UNHCR staff members intending to apply to this Job Opening are requested to consult the Recruitment and Assignments Policy (RAP, UNHCR/HCP/2017/2 and the Recruitment and Assignments Administrative Instruction (RAAI), UNHCR/AI/2017/7 OF 15 August 2017.

Supply Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Supply Officer takes on the role of leading, coordinating and supervising supply activities within an office. The incumbent maintains contact with other UN agencies, NGOs, government partners and commercial contractors in the area to facilitate the operation. The incumbent directly supervises professional and general service staff in the office, and reports to the Head of Office at the same level as the Programme and Administration functions.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Accountability

- UNHCR has an effective local supply chain that enables the office to meet the needs of persons of concern.
- UNHCR delivers timely and quality goods and services to persons of concern.
- The office has a supply chain infrastructure that is robust and flexible enough to accommodate the needs of the operation and that enables timely emergency responses.
- The office has effective partners to support supply activities.
- The offices' supply chain is optimised and aligned with the operations' evolving needs and management systems.

Responsibility

Strategy

- Contribute to development of a supply chain strategy, structure and budget that is aligned with the global strategy and inserted in the operations plans.
- Prepare plans for delivery of relief items according to UNHCR's short and medium term requirements.
- Contribute to planning and development an effective procurement strategy for the geographical area of responsibility taking into account the procurement of important commodities and services in advance. Use procurement planning tools to their best effect to produce realistic procurement plans.
- Draw up plans for the disposal and replacement of old and obsolete assets.
- Ensure adequate capacity to respond to an emergency and develop contingency plans for the supply function as part of the operational plan.
- Determine the criteria and profile for the location's supply workforce.

Operational Support

- Identify partners for supply chain projects based on objectives, priorities, strengths and resources of the implementing partner and/or contractor, according to criteria consistent with UNHCR rules and regulations.
- Implement supply operations in the field based on interpretations of the situation and conclusions to how the operation can be best implemented.
- Resolve difficulties in the local supply chain by finding solutions to problems and bottlenecks, and provide regular reports on supply chain activities, the status of requests and the availability of items in the supply chain.
- Develop relevant contacts and build constructive relations with government authorities, implementing partners, UN agencies and others, to foster mutual cooperation for the timely delivery of relief items avoiding bottlenecks.
- Coordinate, manage and support all activities pertaining to the supply chain function including planning, sourcing, transport, shipping, customs clearance, warehousing, asset and fleet management in the operation. Apply distribution control techniques to optimise stock levels.
- Coordinate activities of implementing partners and/or contractors performing supply related activities, and ensure that they understand and adhere to relevant UNHCR rules and procedures.
- Maintain an up-to-date overview of the location's supply chain capacity and preparedness, as well as, that of its partners to ensure that adequate capacity exist also to cover emergencies.

Infrastructure Support

- Coordinate, manage and support the procurement process to ensure timely, cost-effective and adequate delivery of commodities and services to support operational needs.
- Identify, assess and select vendors based on their capability for delivering commodities and services. Maintain vendor and item master databases.
- Implement effective asset and fleet management that regularly monitors the asset/fleet pool, saves cost and safeguards the investment of the organisation.
- Analyse the quality of commodities and services delivered in relation to the needs of the location and established quality standards. Establish a local quality assurance process.

Business Support

- Analyse the existing infrastructure and ensure that it is optimally aligned with the operational needs.
- Disseminate, promote commitment to and monitor compliance with UNHCR's global policies, standards and guidance on supply chain management.
- Monitor the quality and accuracy of supply chain related data in relevant business systems. Compile and analyse statistical information, identify trends and developments in supply chain related matters that will assist in decision making.
- Set up and adapt standard supply chain structures to the local environment that are consistent with the operational needs. Ensure effective information flow in the supply chain and adapt process and documents to the prevailing environment.
- Establish and maintain an efficient and skilled workforce that is capable of supporting on-going operations.
- Any other responsibility deemed necessary or as delegated by the Supervisor in order to meet the level of service required by the organisation.

Authority

- Allocate resources in compliance with the resources allocation framework and determine the location's supply chain structure (including the location of warehouses, staff, trans-shipment points and other infrastructure).
- Determine shipment methods, routes and delivery schedules to meet demand in the most timely and cost-effective manner.
- Award, approve and terminate local contracts and frame-agreements in accordance with delegated authorities, as well as, relevant UNHCR regulations, rules and procedures.
- Enforce local compliance with relevant UNHCR regulations, rules and procedures related to supply chain.
- Approve the criteria and profile for the location's supply chain workforce within standards established by UNHCR.
- Appraise the performance of supervised staff.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

- Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in Social Science, Economics, Business Administration, Marketing or a related field.
- Minimum of 6 years previous relevant professional job experience.
- Fluency in English with working knowledge of another relevant UN language.

(In offices where the working language is not English, excellent knowledge of working language of duty station and working knowledge of English.)

***For National Officer positions, very good knowledge of local language and local institutions is essential.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES

- Completion of UNHCR learning programmes or specific training relevant to functions of the position such as the Supply Chain Learning Programme (SCLP).
- Other UN procurement and logistics training - such as IAPSO and UNPD.
- Knowledge and working experience of PeopleSoft/MSRP Supply Chain applications. C001L3 - Accountability Level 3
C002L3 - Teamwork & Collaboration Level 3
C003L3 - Communication Level 3
C004L3 - Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 3
C005L3 - Client & Result Orientation Level 3
C006L3 - Organizational Awareness Level 3
M001L3 - Empowering and Building Trust Level 3
M002L3 - Managing Performance Level 3
M006L3 - Managing Resources Level 3
X001L3 - Analytical Thinking Level 3
X005L3 - Planning and Organizing Level 3

Before applying to this position, we strongly encourage colleagues to read the country specific FAQs information leaflets which can be found  on the Intranet under Staff Resources > Duty of Care. The information leaflets are specifically designed to answer some of the key questions potential applicants might have before deciding to apply. 

The incumbent coordinates and supervises the implementation of all supply activities (Planning, Sourcing, Delivery, Asset Management and Support Implementation).

A sound knowledge of existing UNHCR Supply Chain Tools and Policies is imperative.  Other UN procurement and logistics training are desirable. 

The candidate must also be conversant with PeopleSoft/MSRP Supply Chain applications. 

The incumbent liaises with other UN agencies, implementing partners and government departments and fully participates in the logistics cluster meetings for coordination of activities. Good negotiation skills are needed.

Fluency in French is essential. Good working knowledge in English is also required as more and more reports, internal as well as external, are requested in English. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hosts some 565,573 refugees as of 30 June 2017 countrywide (including 245,052 Rwandan refugees, 102,403 CAR refugees, 43,737 Burundian refugees and 80,775 South Sudanese refugees).  The South Sudan crisis, which started in 2016, led to more than 80,775 refugees arriving in DRC mainly in remote border areas in Haut-Uele province (Aba town, Dungu and Faradje territories) and in Ituri province (Aru territory). The DRC operation anticipates that more South Sudanese refugees mainly from the Equator region in South Sudan may flee to DRC in the coming months.  The number of Congolese refugees living in other countries reaches 539,106 (South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania), and voluntary returns are expected in 2017, under the framework of the DRC Peace and Security Framework - Addis Ababa peace agreement.  This framework is a regional initiative promoting the voluntary return and the reintegration of displaced people in the region, including refugees.  DRC also hosts some 3.7 million IDPs located as follows: 1.7 million in Kasai provinces, 883,000 in North Kivu province, 422,000 in South Kivu province, 370,000 in Tanganyika province, 210,000 in Ituri province, 147,000 in Maniema province, 96,000 in Haut-Katanga province, 64,000 in Haut-Lomami province and 16,000 in Lualaba province. Following recent clashes in Kasai provinces, UNOCHA records another half a million IDPs.  As lead Protection Cluster, UNHCR continues to play a key role supporting the DRC Government in implementing a durable solutions strategy in order to help end the circle of protracted displacement in the country. The Regional Office in Kinshasa supervises and provides support to 4 sub-offices and 14 field offices/units within the Country.  It also oversees operations in Gabon, Sao & Principe and the Republic of Congo which provides support to more than 55,000 people of concern.
The Supply Officer will report to the Assistant Regional Representative (Supply). 
His/her primary responsibility will be to lead, coordinate and supervise supply activities within the DRC Operation. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country in Africa, and as a result is quite diverse.  Living conditions therefore vary between UNHCR duty stations, with all usual amenities present in the capital Kinshasa, but only very basic conditions in remote duty stations in the provinces, where, for instance, there may be no guarantee of public power supply nor running water.  Accommodation is very expensive in Kinshasa. There are several Supermarkets in town but consumer items are generally very expensive (as everything is imported). For food, local markets offer a much cheaper alternative.  Kinshasa is considered family duty station effective 1 January 2015, despite the fact that most facilities and amenities are still basic.

The unit of currency is the Congolese Franc. The US dollar is the other preferred currency. It may be impossible to exchange traveller¿s checks away from the capital city. Credit cards are usually accepted in major hotels only in Kinshasa. In larger towns and cities (e.g. Kinshasa, Goma, Bukavu, Kisangani), it is recommended to open US Dollar bank accounts, while in other places, banks may be absent (including ATMs) and payments will be processed in cash.

In addition to French, there are four major spoken languages in DRC, namely Lingala, Kikongo, Tshiluba and Swahili. Kinshasa is a security level 2 duty station. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Please note that the closing date for all vacancies in the September 2017 Compendium is Monday 6 November 2017 (midnight Geneva time).