Procurement Senior Associate (UN Web Buy Plus)

UNOPS

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.  

UN Web Buy

The UN Web Buy team (UNWB) is part of UNOPS Shared Services Centre (SSC), which provides policy advice, operational support, and transactional services to UNOPS offices, and is responsible for the administrative support to HQ and Copenhagen-based personnel.

UN Web Buy (unwebbuyplus.org) is UNOPS e-commerce solution for the humanitarian and development sector. Through UN Web Buy, partners can access UNOPS procurement services for selected commodities based on Long Term Agreements. The platform went through a complete redesign in 2017 and is constantly being updated with new functionality.

The UN Web Buy team is responsible for the UN Web Buy service and for the development and maintenance of the system. The UN Web Buy operations team is based in Copenhagen and Bangkok, from where it provides global procurement services through the UN Web Buy platform.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Team manager, the Procurement Senior Associate will be responsible for maintaining and improving the catalogue of the items displayed through UN Web Buy. He/she will also be responsible for the maintenance in liaison with the Category Management Team.

In the discharge of his/her duties, the Procurement Senior Associate will work autonomously, liasing with the suppliers, case officers and other internal stakeholders. 

The UN Web Buy team is looking for a detail oriented individual with a technical/engineering background, enabling him/her to communicate effectively with the suppliers and the internal stakeholders, and to propose and provide solutions to the current challenges related to the UN Web Buy Plus catalogue, while ensuring the compliance with the 

The ideal candidate for the Procurement Senior Associate role has keen interest in and a good knowledge of technical/engineering aspects related to the UN Web Buy Plus products, e.g. vehicles, solar power equipment, construction equipment, generators, etc. It is desired that the candidate also has some experience in public procurement with international organization. In addition to that, the candidate needs to show adeptness and interest in working with electronic tools in general and our e-Commerce platform in particular. 

*This is a local position based in Thailand, therefore either a Thai nationality or a valid work permit for Thailand (not linked to the current employment) is required.

Create and design new catalogues

• Create catalogues in UN Web Buy based on tender technical specifications ensure the functionality and their user friendliness 
• Participate in creation, comment on and vetting technical specifications, terms of references before tendering for new products to be placed on UN Web Buy Plus
• Prepare in a timely manner catalogues before publication in the tender module

Maintain and improve the UN Web Buy Plus Catalogues in the ecommerce solution

• Share with the UN Web Buy Team lead  the Product Owner role following the Agile methodology Participate in sprint planning, daily stand-ups and testing of the platform
• Check and approve the changes submitted for approval by suppliers and ensure they are aligned with the Long Term AgreementS (LTAs)
• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders the addition of products and optional equipment based on case officers requests, ensuring compliance with the procurement manual
• Ensure that the catalogue is maintained and updated in a timely manner in collaboration with suppliers as per the LTAs terms and conditions 
• Keep track records for approvals out of the system / offline approvals 
• Review the functionality and user friendliness of the existing UN Web Buy Plus catalogues 
• Identify and report the shortcomings of the existing catalogues and propose solutions for improvements 
• Implement the proposed and approved catalogues improvements in the portal 
• Work closely with suppliers to improve product data in UN Web Buy Plus portal and maintain good supplier relationships 
• Display proactiveness and stay abreast with market development (such as model changes, price revisions, and cut-off dates) of UN Web Buy Plus commodities and coordinate with internal stakeholders and suppliers to ensure the changes are reflected in the catalogues in a timely manner  as per proper procurement procedure
• Collaborate with the internal ICT development team to plan and implement new functionalities and suggest improvement existing functionalities
• Participate in testing of new UN Web Buy Plus functionalities

Onboarding and Capacity Building of new suppliers and bidders

• Support suppliers on how to upload products in  the UN Web Buy Plus portal 
• Arrange onboarding and training session with suppliers and potential bidders
• Prepare and update support material (supplier guides, bidder user guides, factsheets and others) for supplier on-boarding and  for new bidders
• Provide clarification to suppliers and bidders who have system related queries 

Provide support and advice on technical aspects of the UN Web Buy Plus catalogue products

• When required, assist case officers with queries and concerns regarding technical specifications of the products and the functionality of the catalogues
• Support development & rectification of other UN Web Buy Plus features
• Participate in events and meetings with suppliers 
• Acquire and share knowledge of contract management (LTAs) and UNOPS procurement rules and regulations

Education:

• Secondary Education is required.  
• A University Degree preferably in Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Law, Commerce, Business Administration, Economics or related field would be desirable, and may substitute for years of experience, but it is not a requirement.

Experience: 

• With a Secondary Education / High School Diploma, a minimum of 7 years of professional experience is required in international trade with technical products related to and similar in nature to the UN Web Buy Plus products, e.g. vehicles, solar power equipment, construction equipment, generators, etc. or engineering work with the same products
• Experience in public procurement with international organization is desired

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Working knowledge of French and/or Spanish will be considered a strong asset.

• Contract type: ICA
• Contract level: Local ICA Support / LICA-7
• 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
• 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.

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.