Pharmaceuticals Advisor

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

Within UNOPS, Implementation Practices and Standards (IPS) is responsible for the UNOPS delivery practices. IPS provides thought leadership, standards and oversight as support to the successful delivery of programmes and projects within UNOPS service lines (infrastructure, procurement, project management, human resources and financial management services). 

IPS comprises the Infrastructure and Project Management Group and the Procurement Group which aims to reduce organizational risks, improve project performance, and promote excellence across UNOPS projects through the Standards Management Framework; and provides organisational oversight on the application of standards. These Groups also support the positioning of UNOPS in the UN system and development sector in Infrastructure, Project Management and Procurement. 

In addition, the Portfolio Support unit aims at supporting the building up and management of the organisational readiness of UNOPS and therefore support the implementation of the UNOPS global portfolio. Last, the IPS is hosting the corporate Knowledge Management initiative.

The Procurement Group (PG) is part of Implementation Practices and Standards (IPS) and is based at UNOPS HQ in Copenhagen. It leads the organization’s procurement practice and is responsible for: articulating strategy, policy positions and innovative solutions for procurement at UNOPS; enabling the operationalization and managerial oversight of UNOPS procurement activities through appropriate systems and reports; strengthening the knowledge, skills and career development of procurement practitioners; and leading the implementation of Sustainable Procurement across the organization.

As a central procurement resource for the United Nations system and its partners, UNOPS emphasizes efficient, transparent, cost-effective and sustainable delivery of goods, services and works, in line with public procurement best practices. On a yearly basis, UNOPS procures over USD 1 Bn worth of goods, services and works on behalf of our partners. These include a broad base of categories, including life-saving pharmaceuticals, mine action equipment, vehicles or road construction services. 

Since 2015, UNOPS has been a leader in sustainable procurement, receiving awards such as the Gold Certificate in Sustainable Procurement from CIPS and has implemented best practices in procurement including on procurement policy, ethics and fraud prevention, e-Procurement, and business intelligence and procurement advisory services.

UNOPS provides health infrastructure, procurement and fund management services to our partners (Governments, UN organizations, International Financial Institutions, Funds) in some of the world’s most challenging environments. From constructing hospitals, to procuring pharmaceuticals or medical equipment, UNOPS is working to deliver sustainable health outcomes for millions of people.

In recent years, the demand for health related services from our partners has increased significantly and this has translated into an equivalent increase in the procurement volume of health related goods and services, which since 2019 has totalled over $ 400 million in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical and laboratory equipment and consumables.

The Procurement Group has decided to create this new technical position to enhance its policies and strategic approach to the procurement of pharmaceuticals. This position will report to the Senior Procurement Manager, Policy and Standards and will work closely with other health experts within HQ and in country offices around the world.

1. Develop and implement policies for the procurement of pharmaceuticals

• Develop quality assurance policies, manuals, guidelines and tools for the procurement of pharmaceuticals, in coordination with quality assurance and medical device experts based in UNOPS Regions and Country Offices.

• Provide oversight and recommendations on the implementation of these policies.

• Advice the Senior Procurement Manager and the Director PG when considering policy exceptions or authoritative interpretations.

• Provide technical input and policy advice during contract reviews by Contracts and Property Committees (CPC), bid protests or audits.

2. Provide high level advice on the procurement of pharmaceuticals

• Advise the Directors of PG and IPS when UNOPS considers new engagements involving the procurement and supply chain of pharmaceuticals.

• Review and advise on procurement strategies and plans involving the acquisition of pharmaceuticals, including the potential establishment of global or regional Long Term Agreements (LTA) in coordination with IPAS Procurement, UN Web Buy Plus and other key stakeholders.

• Contribute to the strategic positioning of UNOPS in the health procurement domain, in coordination with the Procurement Advisory Services and Strategic Initiatives teams.

3. Capacity development and knowledge management

• Develop and implement capacity development and knowledge management initiatives related to the procurement of pharmaceuticals.

• Support in the creation of additional technical expertise across the organization including by the creation of rosters of pharmacists and quality assurance experts.

• Identify and disseminate case studies and best practices on the procurement of pharmaceuticals. 

• Contribute to the procurement and health community of practices, by maintaining contact and building relationships.

• Keep abreast of and be adept in contemporary industry practices and technological developments, including through the participation in inter-agency, technical and industry fora. 

Education:

• Advanced Degree (Master’s Degree) in Medicine, Pharmacy or related field.

• A First University degree (Bachelor’s degree) in combination with a minimum of nine (9) years’ qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in quality assurance or procurement of pharmaceuticals is required.

• Experience in the development of quality assurance policies or guidelines for the procurement of pharmaceuticals is highly desirable.

• In depth knowledge of WHO and international regulations related to pharmaceuticals is an asset.

• Strong understanding of the global pharmacy market and supply chain is an asset.

• Knowledge of UN or public procurement policies and procedures will be considered an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and oral English is a requirement

• Knowledge of Spanish and/or French is an advantage

Contract type: International ICA Contract level: IICA-3
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:

https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx 

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• It is highly recommended to include a motivation letter on your application.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• 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 (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Other considerations:

• IPS offers a unique work environment in UNOPS headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, located in the UN City building, one of Copenhagen’s landmarks. UNOPS HQ offers a safe, family-friendly environment with multiple opportunities for networking and an active lifestyle in a city known for its excellent urban design and planning.

• The IPS team is a diverse team in terms of age, nationalities and family situations.  The team is inclusive and values social and athletic activities like team breakfast, Friday evening networking or sports such as sailing, climbing, running and squash. IPS is very dynamic and welcomes agility, autonomy and self-drive. The work of IPS is oriented towards exciting opportunities which have a corporate, global impact and is in touch with the whole of UNOPS. UNOPS has a hosting agreement with the Government of Denmark under which both national and international candidates are eligible for HQ-based positions. UNOPS officials are exempt from Danish taxes on UN incomes. EU citizens in particular may opt to be registered with the Danish State Administration as an EU migrant worker, and keep the rights associated with that status, or register through UNOPS with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. EU citizens may apply for the free public Danish health insurance or special health card depending on their choice of registration. Non-EU citizens will be registered by UNOPS under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and must purchase their own private health insurance. 

• IPS is very respectful of the UNOPS approach to work-life balance, including flexible working hours and remote working arrangements. IPS is keen on strengthening diversity in the team with a current focus on gender equality and geographic diversity.