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Re-advertisement - UN Women: Procurement Associate

New York City

  • Organization: UNWOMEN - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
  • Location: New York City
  • Grade: Administrative support - GS-6, General Service - No need for Higher Education - Locally recruited position
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Administrative support
    • Procurement
    • Women's Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
  • Closing Date: Closed

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.

Under the overall guidance of the Chief of Procurement, and daily supervision of the Procurement Specialist, 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. She/he also works in collaboration with operations staff in other UN Agencies, UN Women Regional Office (RO) and HQ staff and Government officials to successfully deliver procurement services.

The incumbent supports the Division of Management and Administrative Services in providing sound advice on procurement and related services consistent with UN Women regulations and rules to ensure that the organization procures goods and services effectively and efficiently. The Procurement Associate interacts with functional counterparts in other UN agencies, and participates in inter-office meetings at the operational level. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide administrative support in the implementation of UN Women’s procurement strategies in full compliance with UN Women’s regulations, rules, policies, and business procedures:

  • Provide substantive inputs to procurement related reports and analyses; research and draft responses to enquiries for clearance by the Procurement Specialist;
  • Provide substantive inputs to the implementation of procurement management policies and strategies on cost saving and reduction;
  • Follow up with internal and external audits;
  • Contribute to the development of sourcing strategies.

Organize procurement processes entrusted to the Procurement Section at UN Women Headquarters:

  • Provide administrative support to sourcing, supplier selection and evaluation, quality management, customer relations management, e-procurement introduction and supplier performance management;
  • Remain aware of agreed procurement plans for UN Women Headquarters; monitor their implementation;
  • Organize procurement processes including preparation and conduct of RFQs, ITBs or RFPs, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their evaluation, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance with UN Women rules and regulations;
  • Review procurement requests; prepare submissions to the Procurement Review Committee (PRC);
  • Assist field offices in development of solicitation documents; conduct evaluations and perform the quality assurance for the procurement activities of field offices;
  • Perform back up duties within the procurement team as needed to maintain optimum performance level during the absence of any other procurement team members.

Ensure effective and efficient provision of technical Procurement and Travel support in the organization’s ERP system (ATLAS) in full compliance with UN Women’s rules, regulations, policies, and business procedures:

  • Review vendor information and ensure its compliance with organization policies and requirements;
  • Create new vendors in ATLAS. Review procurement contracts and raise Purchase Orders (POs) in Atlas for all projects managed by headquarters (HQ);
  • Review and provide technical advice to UN Women Regional and Country Offices’ procurement focal persons on all PO requests where the total value exceeds the pre-defined thresholds;
  • Receive and review travel requests and other forms for further processing;
  • Provide advice, information, and assistance related to the procurement module in ATLAS, procurement policies and related business procedures;
  • Conduct periodic and annual PO closure exercise by generating reports from ATLAS in coordination with the project managers;
  • Collect documents and information required by auditors and other entities and upon approval by the chief of section.

Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

  • Provide inputs to the development of training materials, webinars and other educational materials;
  • Maintain procurement templates and the Procurement Section’s Intranet presence;
  • Organize trainings for the operations/ projects staff on procurement;
  • Synthesize lessons learnt and best practices in Procurement;
  • Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice; facilitate procurement community network as focal point to moderate the community debates;
  • Contribute to information management and circulate procurement related information to UN Women clients and within the organization;
  • Develop appropriate contract management / internal procurement tools or guiding materials for standardization and knowledge sharing purposes.

Perform any other tasks and duties the institution may reasonably request in relation to its mandate.

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 transport and logistics activities.

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf.

Functional Competencies:

  • Ability to plan, coordinate, and execute all facets of the Supply Chain function and exceed client/ team expectations;
  • Constant improvement: Provides suggestions for improvements.
  • Innovative: Proposes ways to do things differently.
  • Determines whether the supply chain activities needed for smooth project execution is present; takes appropriate action to inform relevant internal stakeholders if activities will not meet specific needs of the organization.
  • Prompts internal stakeholders to meet corporate deadlines for reporting and meeting corporate standards in Supply Chain operations.
  • Keeps customers/clients up-to-date about progress in the Supply Chain activities.
  • Carries out non-standard sourcing activities and identifies potential suppliers regionally and internationally.
  • Prepares standard solicitation documents using corporate templates for procurement further to formal methods of solicitation.  
  • Considers total cost of procurement, incl. acquisition costs, storage and inventory, supplier lock-in/switching costs, etc. and supports decision-making with clear value for money based analysis.
  • Keeps abreast of and responds to change in the supplier base, supply markets and operational circumstances of UN Women.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Completion of secondary education is required;
  • A Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in Business Administration or related field would be desirable but is not a requirement;
  • Specialized Procurement Training and Certification from an internationally recognized provider such as CIPS (level 2) would be a strong asset;
  • Willingness to take UN Women internal procurement certifications is required;
  • Candidates who do not have a university degree or an accredited certification in the field of procurement will be required to complete the Global General Service Test (GGST) or UN Administrative Support Assessment Test (ASAT) – formerly known as the UN Clerical Test.

Experience:

  • 6 years of relevant experience at the national and international level, with at least 4 years of experience in procurement at the national or international level;
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.);
  • Experience in handling of web-based management systems, such as Atlas is an asset.

Languages:

  • Proficiency in oral and written English is required;
  • knowledge of other UN Language will be an asset.

Notes:GS fixed-term appointment (FTA) and temporary appointment (TA) positions located in New York are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York.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.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Click here for important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders).
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
This vacancy is now closed.
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