Denmark: Procurement Assistant, G5 TA 364 days, UNFPA PSB, Copenhagen, Denmark - 2 positions

1. Organizational Location

UNFPA is recruiting for two positions of two Procurement Assistants (TA) which are located in the Procurement Services Branch (PSB) of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Copenhagen. The positions are:

• The Procurement (Contracting) Assistant responsible for contracting activities for census operations, who reports to the Procurement Specialist at the Strategic Procurement Clusterª, PSB.
• The Procurement Assistant responsible for procurement activities for census operations, who reports to the Procurement Specialist at a Regional Team, PSB.

Both staff members perform their activities in accordance to the organization’s mandate, financial rules and regulations, and procurement procedures of UNFPA in support to the Population Census operations carried out by UNFPA country offices, supporting the business needs of census projects at field level, working in close collaboration with PSB Regional Procurement Teams, the Inter-Development Working Group on Census, Management and Information Systems Branch and the Population and Development Branch.

a: PSB Strategic Procurement Cluster consists of a Contracting Team segregated by commodities and a Headquarters Procurement Team.

2. Job Purpose

In direct support of UNFPA’s strategy to achieve the ICPD goals and SDG’s ensuring the effective and efficient implementation of procurement operations,the two incumbents will be required to provide the following servicesunder the general direction of two Procurement Specialists.

• The Procurement (Contracting) Assistant for contracting activities is responsible for procurement, contracting, issuance of long term agreements and contract management of institutional goods and services supplied for and on behalf of UNFPA’s census operations in the field;
• The Procurement Assistant for procurement activities is responsible for the direct procurement support to UNFPA’s country offices embarked in census operations, procurement planning, responding to procurement requests, placing orders, monitoring shipments and solving any related procurement issues.

3. Major Activities/Expected Results

For the Procurement (Contracting)Assistant for contracting activities:

1. Manage cost-effective procurement services in the area of contracts in support of UNFPA census operations:

2. Manage long term agreement (LTA) processes throughout the entire procurement cycle, liaising with other UN Agencies to obtain information existing LTAs and contracts available, manage piggy-backing process, preparing bidding process including needs definition, specifications development, market research, tender issuance, coordination of technical evaluation of offers, perform the financial and final evaluation of offers, draft review & presentation of CRC submissions; contract negotiation, issuance & management and vendor performance management, in accordance with UNFPA’s Procurement and Financial Policies, Rules, and Regulation;

3. Perform Atlas related tasks such as E-tendering, data entry in Contract Management Modules and Procurement Modules in an efficient and timely manner;

4. Maintain the regular flow of communication with suppliers and internal clients to service UNFPA programs.

5. Administer supplier management activities:

6. Administer supplier and contract management activities, including establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) and service level agreements (SLAs) to measure suppliers’ performance, conduct supplier performance evaluation, organize performance feedback and improvement, develop new suppliers.

7. In collaboration with PSB buyers, liaise with customers and suppliers to investigate and follow up on any chronic issues to ensure compliance with contract conditions and customer satisfaction; provide advice, support to buyers on any contractual related problems, negotiate with suppliers to resolve the problems if needed.

8. Maintain an accurate and active supplier and contract base in support of UNFPA procurement requirements.

3. Perform other job related duties as assigned

For the Procurement Assistant for procurement activities:

1. Administer, execute and coordinate procurement activities for Census operations

• Analyze procurement plans and requisitions that include goods or services for census projects; ensure correctness of the data with country offices, clarity of specifications, appropriateness of the products, delivery requirements and dates, etc;
• Issue purchase orders by identifying the most appropriate items from UNFPA or other UN Agencies LTAs or by preparing RFQ or ITB/RFP
• Review CRC submissions prepared by country offices to ensure completeness in line procurement procedures. Present submissions to CRC if required;
• Monitor shipments and ensure timely delivery as per Purchases Orders; liaise with the suppliers and country offices in order to resolve problem deliveries;
• Clear invoices for payment; monitor and evaluate supplier’s performance.

2. Support and guidecountry offices and other parties on procurement matters related to census operations

· 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;

· Advise Country Offices in procurement or system related issues or such as using of e-Procurement or OTS/OMS, and provide substantive inputs to countries’ procurement planning in terms of specifications, lead times and others.

3. Perform other job related duties as assigned

4. Work Relations

Establishes and maintains effective and professional relations with UNFPA internal stakeholders at every level, PSB Regional Teams, IT Team, the Inter Development Working Group on Census, Population and Development Branch, other UNFPA Divisions and Branches, and UNFPA staff at country offices at all levels.

Establishes and maintains effective and professional working relationships with external stakeholders, including Suppliers, Donors, other UN agencies, NGOs and Governments.

5. Job Requirements for both positions

Education:

• Completion of Secondary education is required.
• University degree or equivalent certification in Public or Business Administration, Procurement, Logistics, Supply Chain, Economics, Commerce, Statistics, Engineering or relevant studies is an advantage.

Knowledge and Experience for both positions:

• Minimum 5 years of work experience in public procurement, supply chain, contract management preferably in organizations working in international development or public sector institutions or international customer focus organizations.
• Note that a Master’s Degree in combination with 3 years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of 5 years of experience.
• Experience in international, public procurement or contracts and supplier management is highly desirable.
• Working knowledge of MS Office (in particular, applications related to database and data analysis), Atlas (PeopleSoft or alternatively Oracle), E-filing system and other software applications is an asset.
• Demonstrated interest in the field of development.
• Experience with UN procurement, finance and contracting regulations and procedures is an advantage. Knowledge of UNFPA’s mandate is an asset. CIPS 2 Certificate is an asset.

Additional experience for the Procurement (Contracting) Assistant for Contracting activities:

• Experience in managing bidding processes to set up long term agreements for complex products and services is highly desirable;
• Experience in item and category management.

Additional experience for the Procurement Assistant position for Procurement activities:

• Experience handling large orders with international suppliers and international public sector customers is highly desirable.

Required Competencies:

Core Competencies:

• Analytical and strategic thinking
• Communicating information and ideas
• Working in teams
• Cultural Sensitivity/valuing diversity

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to analyze and utilize complicated data
• Managing information and work flow.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Ability to establish and maintain harmonious relationships with suppliers, colleagues and customers.
• Ability to perform well under pressure and flexibility in handling unexpected work assignments as and when necessary.
• Service minded.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required for this position.
• Working knowledge in another UN working language such as Spanish and/or French is a strong advantage especially for the Procurement Assistant for procurement activities position.
• Other UN working languages such as Russian, Chinese or Arabic are an asset.

Other required skills:

• Commitment to excellence
• Highly responsible with deadlines and follow-up

6. How to Apply

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 a Temporary Appointment (TA) for 364 days renewable subject to funding and Performance.

Applications in English (including letter of interest and completed/signed UN Personal History Form (P11)), quoting the preference for the position the candidate is applying to “Procurement (Contracting) Assistant for Contracting Activities**” or “**Procurement Assistant for Procurement Activities**” should be submitted not later than August 25, 2017 at 17:00 (Copenhagen time) via email to:** psb.vacancies@unfpa.org

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

Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a written test or other assessment methodologies followed by an interview.

The results of this recruitment process may be used to establish a Roster for Temporary Appointments (TA) of qualified candidates at the same level to meet upcoming recruitment needs at UNFPA PSB.

Please note that the selected candidate must have a valid residence and working permit in Denmark or in any of the countries belonging to the European Union. In case of equally qualified candidates, candidates with working permits in Denmark will be given preference.

Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a written test or other assessment methodologies followed by a competency-based interview.

UNFPA will only be able to respond to those applicants in whom UNFPA has a 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.