These positions are located in Procurement Section within the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), with multiple duty stations; Nairobi and Mogadishu respectively. The Procurement Officers will report to the Chief of Section, Procurement.
Responsibilities:
Serves as a senior procurement and contracting expert with responsibility for the world-wide procurement of a wide variety of supplies and services associated with highly complex (technically and legally) contracts and procurement activities; may lead procurement work for a segment of a central or large peace-keeping program.
Provides technical advice on procurement activities to officials of substantive units during all phases of the procurement cycle.
Analyzes and evaluates procurement requests and ensures appropriateness of technical specifications.
Develops and prepares highly complex contracts for procurement of non-routine and technologically advanced commodities or long-range services; issues international tender invitations; evaluates responses to tender, and makes recommendations for finalization of purchases and award of contracts; signs procurement orders up to the authorized limit, and, in cases where the amount exceeds authorized signature authority, prepares submissions to the Contracts Committee for review and subsequent approval by the authorized official.
Develops new tactical approaches to contracts, as well as new methods for their application, based on market research.
Contributes to development of institutional procurement policies and procedures; develops standards and criteria for the evaluation of goods, services, supplier capacity, etc. •Maintains under constant examination production patterns in exporting countries; evaluates the productive capacities and performance of manufacturers to identify supply sources.
Establishes approaches for negotiations and conducts or coordinates all phases of negotiations with all concerned parties, including the negotiation of disputes arising from contracts. •Provides direction and guidance to more junior staff.
Performs other duties, as assigned.
Education:
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, public administration, commerce, engineering, law or a related field is required.
A first-level university degree in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Professional certification in procurement such as Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply certification (CIPS Level 4) or equivalent is desirable.
Certification in Project/Programme Management methodology by an accredited body (e.g. PMP, PGMP, PRINCE 2 Foundation Project Management certification or Practitioner level) or equivalent is desirable.
Work Experience:
A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in procurement, contract management, administration, or related area is required.
At least the recent two years of experience in conducting procurement (issuing, conducting commercial evaluation of tenders, and drafting of contracts) in a conflict/post-conflict environment is desirable.
Experience in reviewing claims and change orders of large complex contracts is desirable.
Experience working with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems such as SAP or similar system systems in the area of procurement modules is desirable.
Experience in managing and supervising procurement teams undertaking complex international procurement actions within the UN Common System or similar international organizations is desirable.
Experience in resolving contractual disputes and drafting paralegal oriented communication is desirable.
Languages:
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
