Country: Denmark
Closing date: 02 Oct 2015
Purpose of the Position
Under the general guidance of Chief, Contracting, responsible for the planning and development of procurement policies, guidelines and strategies, as well as best practices.
Under the guidance of the Chief, Contracting, participates in cross centre, interdivisional, interagency and UN Reform activities (for example procurement oversight, UNGM, benchmarking, sustainable procurement, and UN procurement certification scheme), including training and capacity building, with the aim to streamline and harmonise procurement, as well as to ensure common procurement quality and high ethical standards.
Key Expected Results
- Reviews, prepares and develops procurement guidelines, policies and practices. Ensures that all documents are up to date and coordinates with the different stakeholders to ensure timely revision, publication and dissemination of these documents.
- Maintains all standard contractual documents, templates and forms and ensures that they are up to date and in line with best practice in international public procurement.
- Manages projects for optimization of procurement related internal business processes and practices (e.g. e-procurement solutions). Follows up on latest procurement developments and good practices to ensure continuous improvement of procurement practices.
- Provides assistance and advice on contractual issues as well as procurement policy and procedures related matters, including on audit related issues, and respond to queries from Headquarters, Regional and Country Offices. Represents the procurement/contracting function at internal meetings with other functions and organises community of practice meetings for procurement / contracting staff.
- Analyses compliance of procurement activities conducted at global level with UNICEF Regulations and Rules.
- Develops procurement training material and assist in the delivery of training and capacity building activities.
- Participates in inter-agency and UN procurement reform activities.
- When required, conducts different operational procurement activities. This includes the issuing international tender invitations, evaluating offers and negotiating with suppliers, preparing award recommendations and submissions to the contract review committee (CRC), issuing Purchase Orders, Contracts or Long Term Arrangements, and conducting contract management to ensure compliance to the agreed terms and conditions. Ensures that all these activities are in compliance with the UNICEF Financial Rules and Regulations, the Supply Manual, and all other applicable procurement procedures.
- Establishes work plans and priorities, monitors achievements and evaluates performance of support staff.
- Any other duties or assignments as requested by the supervisor. Impact of Results
The Policy Unit is the back bone of Contracting Centre that develops the policy, procedures, processes, guidance document, oversight activities, and training materials in the area of procurement and contracts globally for UNICEF. Therefore the performance of the incumbent is key to: - ensure compliance of global procurement activities with UNICEF procurement rules and best practice and achievement of best value for money through i) provision of technically sound advice on contractual and procurement matters to COs, ROs and HQs including SD and ii) continuous review of regulatory framework in response to business process improvement and audit observations
- professionalization of supply function in procurement area through leading content development for procurement training and inputs to learning strategy
The above contributes to the Supply Division strategies in terms of professionalization of supply function and continuous improvement of procurement practice and thereby service delivery in UNICEF, which ultimately results in more efficient operations that enable better results for children.
Qualifications of Successful Candidate - A completed Advanced University degree (Master's Degree) in business administration, commerce or law or technical field is required. - Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible relevant work experience in procurement, 3 years of which should include working internationally, is required. Experience related to policies and procedures with other UN agencies and/or international organizations is highly desired.
- Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a second UN language (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is considered an asset.
Competencies of Successful Candidate
Applying technical expertise (level2)
Analyzing (level 2)
Planning and organizing (level 2)
Learning and researching (level 2)
Adapting and responding to change (level 2) - Leading and supervising (Level 2)
Communicates effectively to varied audiences, including during formal public speaking.
Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals.
Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
Demonstrates and shares detailed technical knowledge and expertise.
Analyzes and integrates potentially conflicting numerical, verbal and other data from a number of sources.
Sets clearly defined objectives and plans activities for self, own team or department.
Demonstrates an immediate understanding of newly presented information; gathers comprehensive information to support decision making.
Adjusts team or department's approach to embrace changing circumstances.
Has good leadership and supervisory skills; co-ordinates group activities, ensuring that roles within the team are clear.
How to apply:
The duration of this post is 1 year.
Contracts Specialist (Policies and Procedures), P-3, Post # 21911 in the Contracting Centre (E-VN-2015-002471)
Applications should be submitted before close of business on Friday 2 October 2015.
Queries regarding the above can be directed to Ms. Vibeke Martensson at vmartensson@unicef.org
For external applicants, please access UNICEF Employment at http://www.unicef.org/ - Scroll down and Click on: "For Job Seekers" > "Opportunities Around the world" and search. If you wish to apply, please register to the employment website and create a profile.
If you need any guidance on how to apply or create a profile please see below links:
http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_eRecruitment_-_how_to_apply.pdfhttp://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/eRecruitment_GettingStarted_Ext.pdf
If you wish to apply for this position, it is advisable that you do not wait until the last minute to do so, in case you encounter any technical problems using the e-recruitment system. In case of any technical problems please contact the eRecruitment team at: eRecruitment@unicef.org.