Procurement Specialist

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

Procurement Service provides policy and operational support to ensure that the Organization procures good, works and services based on 'Best Value for Money' principles.
The Procurement Consultant will be located at FAO HQ and will perform a variety of procurement activities aimed to assist headquarters units and field offices requiring specialized procurement support.

Reporting Lines

The Procurement Consultant will work under the general guidance of the Senior Procurement Officer/Senior Contracts Officer and under the direct supervision of a Contracts or Procurement Officer, as appropriate for functional and policy guidance.

Technical Focus

Procurement of goods and/or services.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Review and analyze procurement requests for completeness and conformity with established FAO rules, procedures and practice; liaise with the requesters, as necessary, and recommend to supervisor appropriate strategy/approach to best serve institutional interests including requests from Headquarters divisions or decentralized offices to undertake procurement locally;
• Assist in preparing evaluation criteria, for more complex procurement actions, tender documents and contracts. Assist in preparing office procurement plans, developing and implementing directly or indirectly procurement strategies for requested goods/services/works taking into consideration the associated risks and the related mitigation measures.
• Perform operational functions relating to the procurement process including, but not limited to, preparation of documents in FAO’s ERP system and other office applications related to assigned procurement actions, issuance of tenders and purchase orders/contracts, evaluation of bids/proposals, follow-up with suppliers/contractors including follow-up on orders/contracts to ensure timely delivery/contract execution, etc.
• If based in HQ, assist the supervisor in providing guidance to Organization staff particularly in country offices on procurement/contracting matters and on the implementation of procurement strategies and processes in conformity with the relevant rules, procedures and practices;
• If based in field offices, lead the local procurement team directly or acting as secondary supervisor assisting the International Procurement Officer (where present), for: review/preparation of field office procurement function assessment and improvement plans, local procurement staff TORs revision and preparation, procurement staff performance evaluation, local procurement staff capacities development,
• Make recommendation of awards for procurement activities relating to the purchase of goods or contracting of services/works;
• If based in HQ, review and analyze requests for ad-hoc re-delegation of authority received from country offices; if based in field office, prepare and introduce requests for ad-hoc re-delegation of authority to CSLP HQ relevant unit
• Provide advice and guidance to colleagues on the use of IT applications, including e-tendering tools, utilized in the Procurement Service;
• Participate in procurement missions worldwide, providing support and training to decentralized offices as necessary;
• Produce relevant reports to support contract monitoring;
• Perform other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University Degree in Law, Business, Administration, Economics, Public Administration or Commerce or a related field.
• A minimum of three years of relevant experience in procurement related activities;
• Working knowledge of English, French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic, Chinese, Russian (for PSA only English may be required)

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Demonstrated knowledge of internationally recognized procurement standards and international procurement techniques and operations used in contracting for goods and services;
• Extent and relevance of experience in public sector procurement dealing with contractual issues;
• Extent and relevance of experience in identifying clients' procurement-related needs and in providing support and guidance from clients' point of view;
• Experience in logistics operations is an asset desirable;
• Knowledge of procurement-related IT tools and systems (i.e. enterprise resource planning, inventory management, procurement, database management applications, etc.) is desirable.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency