Denmark: Procurement Assistant, Consultancy, 11 months - UNFPA, PSB, Copenhagen, Denmark

1. Organizational Location
   The Procurement Assistant position is located in Procurement Services Branch (PSB) of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Copenhagen. The incumbent reports to and receives guidance and policy support from the Procurement Specialist who leads the regional team that serves the procurement and contracting needs of their geographical areas and ensuring that procurement and commercial considerations are fully taken into account in country programmes.

2. Job Purpose

In direct support of UNFPA’s strategy and under the supervision and guidance of the Procurement Specialist ensure the effective and efficient implementation of procurement processes in accordance with Financial Rules and Regulation and Procurement procedures of the UNFPA for the provision of the following services:
• Administration, execution and coordination of procurement activities
• Provision of advice and guidance to country offices and other parties on procurement processes and procedures
• Perform other job related duties as assigned

1. Major Activities/Expected Results

a) Administer, execute and coordinate procurement activities:
• Analyze requisitions; communicate with country offices and/or other customers to ensure correctness of the data entered into the Atlas system, clarity of the specifications, appropriateness of the products, delivery requirements and dates;
• Prepare Requests for Quotations (RFQs), Invitation to Bids (ITBs)/Request for Proposals (RFPs), evaluate bids received, prepare CRC submissions whenever applicable and/or negotiations with suppliers to ensure that the most cost effective proposals are selected;
• Review ITBs/RFPs prepared by country offices before these are issued to ensure that the documents are in line with UNFPA Procurement Procedures;
• Review CRC submissions prepared by country offices to ensure they are complete and accurate and that proper application of processes and procedures has been made. Present submissions to CRC if required;
• Process and issue Purchase Orders using the ERP system of UNFPA (Atlas);
• Follow up on delivery of orders to ensure timely delivery of goods and services as stipulated in the Purchases Orders; liaise with the suppliers and country offices in order to resolve problem deliveries;
• Review and validate invoices including liaising with the finance branch and/or the supplier involved to solve any issues;
• Handling Third party procurement/AccessRH including preparation of pro forma invoices and liaison with customers to ensure their requirements are acted upon in a timely manner and resolve any problems the clients may report. This also includes liaison with finance focal points to ensure that funds are applied properly and following up on issues related to payment of final invoice if applicable; • Monitor and evaluate the performance of suppliers with respect to on-time delivery, quality and commercial acceptability and liaise with Contracting Team when required;
• Ensure that all correspondences and documents related to all procurement activities are properly filed in designated e-filing system
• Assist transformational and strategic projects of the team as applicable

b) Give advice and guidance to country offices and other parties on procurement processes and procedures
• Investigate and follow-up on all procurement related inquiries submitted by Country Offices, other UNFPA Departments or clients and provide prompt responses or follow-up;
• Upon request communicate changes in procurement processes and procedures or updates in relating financial procedure provide clarifications and guidance if required;
• Monitor requests and relevant submission in terms of their compliance with the mandate of UNFPA and procurement procedures; take action in case of their violation;
• Advise Country Offices in system related question such as using of e-Procurement or Order Tracking System of UNFPA (OTS), and in their procurement planning in terms of availability of Reproductive Health products, their relevance, specifications, prices and other costs.
• Assist in development of capacity building missions/training tools for country offices and government officials (when applicable) and deliver training packages to counterparts as well as to new staff in PSB/secondment colleagues upon request;

c) Perform other job related duties as assigned

1. Work Relations

Establish and maintain professional contacts with UNFPA staff at country offices at all levels, HQ staff in various departments, Finance Branch, and with partners in other UN agencies and external clients such as NGOs, ministry representatives at the relevant levels. Maintains daily contact with other procurement staff at PSB. Sustain close contact with suppliers.

1. Job Requirements

Education:
• Completion of Secondary education.
• University degree or equivalent certification in Public or Business administration, Procurement, Logistics, Marketing, Commerce, Engineering, Law or related discipline would be very useful and weighted accordingly, but is not a requirement.

Knowledge and Experience:
Minimum 5 years related work experience preferably in public or private sector procurement, logistics, marketing, public or business administration, commercial or law related disciplines or program at local level, preferably in organizations working in international development or public sector institutions. Experience from non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations and private sector will also be treated equivalent.
• Note that an advanced university degree in combination with bachelor degree in the relevant filed may be accepted in lieu of 5 years of work experience (.i.e. one year of education in lieu of 1 year of experience).
• Min. 1 year of relevant experience is a strong asset.
• Excellent working knowledge of MS Office (in particular, applications related to database and data analysis), ERP systems such as PeopleSoft or alternatively Oracle, E-filing system and other software applications is an advantage.
• Experience in working with international procurement and logistics or business operations is desirable.
• Knowledge of reproductive health related commodities and medical terminology is an asset
• Experience from working with UNFPA or another UN agency is an asset
• CIPS 2 Certificate is an asset

Required Competencies:

Core Competencies:
 Analytical and strategic thinking
 Communicating information and ideas
 Working in teams
 Cultural Sensitivity/valuing diversity

Functional Competencies:
 Managing data.
 Managing information and work flow.
 Planning, organizing and multi-tasking.
 Providing financial and budget support.

Other Desirable Skills:
• Ability to analyse and utilize complex data
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Ability to establish and maintain harmonious relationships with customers, suppliers and colleagues
• Ability to perform well under pressure and flexibility in handling unexpected work assignments as and when necessary
• Service minded

Languages:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required for this post.
• Fluency in other UN language is an advantage

Other Desirable Skills:
• Highly motivated and dedicated
• High level of professionalism
• Desire and ability to learn
• Ability to work independently
• Highly responsible with deadlines and follow-up

UNFPA offers a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, respect for diversity, integrity, and a healthy work/life balance. We are committed to maintaining our balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply.

We offer an attractive salary, subsidized medical/dental insurance and pension benefits. This is an individual consultancy for 11 months.
Possibility for roster

Applications in English (letter of interest, quoting Procurement Assistant, IC) and completed Personal History Form (P11), should be sent by email to: psb.vacancies@unfpa.org.

The P11 form can be downloaded at: http://www.unfpa.org/resources/p11-un-personal-history-form

Your application should be sent by email not later than not later than25 May2017, 17:00(Copenhagen time).

Please note that the selected candidate must have a valid residence and working permit in Denmark.

Due to the number of applications received, UNFPA will only respond to those applicants in whom UNFPA has further interest.

The UN City is a smoke-free work environment.

There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the application process.

UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.