Duties and Responsibilities

Provide procurement oversight and guidance for strategic sourcing across the Eastern and Southern Regional Office (ESARO) and UN Women offices in the region:

• Ensure full compliance of procurement activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, procedures and strategies; implementation of effective internal control, and analysis of parameters in support of proper design and functioning of a client-oriented procurement management system;
• Support the procurement business processes mapping and elaboration/establishment of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in Procurement, control of the workflows in the procurement in coordination with the supervisor;
• Analyze and propose cost-saving and reduction strategies in the Regional Office, programme presence offices and the region at large;
• Conduct periodic spend analyses to support the development of regional category management strategy, which shall account for establishment of long-term/strategic relationships with key suppliers for recurring supplies and services;
• Manage the provision of goods and services for the ESARO and programme presence offices following established corporate procedures regarding review and awarding of contracts, evaluate for cost effectiveness and manage the negotiations regarding eventual agreements;
• Serve as an advisor to the Regional Procurement Review Committees (R-PRC), and guide the committee on the correct application and interprotein of procurement policies and procedures;
• Provide advice and support to M/COs to implement procurement guidelines and processes;
• Provide Regional Office and Country Office management with authoritative clarification/briefs/advice on the interpretation/application of UN Women Rules, Regulations, and policies with respect to procurement;
• Use effective oversight tools to monitor and track procurement progress and compliance across the region.

Ensure efficient management of procurement processes for ESARO, MCOs/COs and programme presence offices:

• Ensure proper and timely consolidation of procurement requirements and manage the preparation of procurement plans for ESARO and programme presence offices with established deadlines to monitor their implementation;
• Oversee the procurement planning process of the region and ensure compliance;
• Establish and implement proper monitoring system and control of procurement processes including organization of negotiation processes (RFQ, ITB or RFP), receipt and evaluation of quotations, bids or proposals, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance of UN Women rules and regulations;
• Implement internal control systems, and systematize the management of clients’ service requests, ensuring that procurement activities are promptly carried out following the UN Women policies and procedures with a dedicated focus on clients’ needs;
• Manage the implementation of the procurement processes, monitoring system and mechanisms to eliminate deficiencies in procurement across the region.

Oversee the development and implementation of sourcing strategy and automatized procurement tools:

• Develop and manage a roster of suppliers, elaborate supplier selection and evaluation, quality, and performance measurement mechanism;
• Keep abreast of ongoing LTAs and promote the use of LTAs in the region;
• Manage the automatized corporate e-procurement systems;
• Consolidate business requirements to identify the need for the establishment of strategic/long-term agreements at the regional level.

Participate in inter-agency activities related to procurement:

• Represent UN Women in inter-agency meetings and working groups on procurement issues to ensure UN Women’s interests are reflected in common system activities such as common procurement services, related cost recovery and cost-sharing arrangements, custom clearance and tax exemption, etc;
• Implement harmonized procurement services and elaboration of proposals/analysis of requirements for inter-agency LTAs, introduction of joint procurement for the UN Agencies in line with the UN reform;
• Liaise with UN agencies on procurement issues, activities, and collaboration.

Contribute to knowledge sharing between ESARO, M/COs and programme presence offices:

• Monitor procurement activities within the Region and report as required to HQ and RO management on trends and practice;
• Keep Procurement Section HQ and Regional Director informed of best practices by other UN Agencies in the Region and contribute to policy development on procurement;
• Participate in the organization of training for the operations and programme personnel on procurement;
• Develop and support the development of training materials, webinars, and other education materials;
• Synthesize lessons learned and best practices in procurement;
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Track implementation of audit recommendations related to procurement within the Region and keep HQ and RD informed.

Requirements

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholders Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

• Has a strong understanding of the main processes and methods of work regarding to procurement;
• Possesses knowledge of procurement policies and procedures and applies them consistently in work tasks;
• Client-oriented; Strong problem-solving skills; Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external clients;
• Ability to gather and present information on best practices in organizational change;
• Knowledge of data gathering and implementation of management systems;
• Strong procurement intelligence analysis skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• related field is required;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying procurement management experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• Procurement Certification from an internationally recognized provider such as CIPS (level 3) is an asset.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level, in procurement;
• Experience in leading a team is required;
• Experience in working in a computer environment using multiple office software packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems and ERP systems, preferably Oracle Cloud, is required;
• Experience in general administration is highly desirable;
• Work experience within the UN system is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).