The Position
The Procurement and Contracting Associate (5 Positions) position is part of the UNFPA Supply Chain Management Unit’s (SCMU) Regional SCM Desk for West and Central Africa. The position is physically located in the Regional Office in Dakar and has a direct reporting line to the Procurement and Contracting Team Lead (WCARO). The set up of the Regional SCM Desk for West and Central Africa is unique with its overall matrix reporting structure to the Commodity Management Team Lead in Dakar and with dotted reporting line to SCMU in Copenhagen. The Procurement and Contracting Associate will work closely with other SCMU colleagues, the new integrated HQ division (name To Be Decided), the Humanitarian Response Division, other HQ Business Units, the Regional Offices and the Country Offices and with a number of external partners.
UNFPA and other UN Agencies will be moving to the new United Nations House, presently under construction in Diamniadio, which is 30 kilometers from downtown Dakar.

How you can make a difference
UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.
In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.
UNFPA occupies a unique position in the sexual and reproductive health commodity ecosystem as a critical player in supply chain management, a leading public procurer of sexual and reproductive health commodities, a trusted partner to national governments, and one of the few organizations with the scale and partnerships necessary to build accountability for last mile delivery.
The UNFPA Supply Chain Management Unit (SCMU) is self-funded and was made operational in January 2022. It is tasked with ensuring that UNFPA is able to effectively and efficiently support the delivery of life-saving reproductive health products and other programme supplies to the end user when and where they are needed. To achieve this, it is important to strengthen the capacity of governments and implementing partners to ensure coordination, end-to-end visibility and accountability on all supply chain and logistics management related activities, in particular for programme supplies, across all UNFPA programmes.


Job Purpose
In general, the Procurement and Contracting Associate will provide foundational support and ensuring smooth hands on day-to-day procurement services operations for development and humanitarian settings.

You would be responsible for
You will support the Procurement and Contracting Team Lead (WCARO) with:
Foundational support and ensuring smooth day-to-day procurement services operations to achieve:

• Support and monitor the implementation of procurement actions that are aligned with UNFPA’s Strategic Plan, ensuring the efficient and effective procurement of supplies.
• Provide technical and procedural advice to Regional and Country Offices on their local procurement actions.
• Assist with the preparation of procurement solicitations on behalf of Regional and Country Offices through the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM), ensuring transparency and fairness in procurement processes by providing technical inputs that are consistent with UNFPA’s procurement rules, practices and procedures.
• Maintain cross-functional collaboration within and outside SCMU to ensure the timely and effective delivery of supplies to their Last Mile.
• Review and approve procurement orders up to the authorised limits, and in cases where the amount exceeds signature authority, prepare submissions to the Contracts Review Committee for review and subsequent approval by the authorised official, in compliance with UNFPA procurement policies and procedures.
• Coordinate the sourcing and procurement activities for non-Long-Term Agreement (LTA) and/or non-catalogue items, adapting to changing demands and contexts.
• Support and implement activities related to UNFPA’s Governance, Risk, Compliance and Reporting function.
• Provide technical inputs and data to the Planning Team to conduct comprehensive forecasting and quantification exercises.


Capacity Strengthening
• Support the implementation of UNFPA’s capacity-strengthening initiatives.
• Train supply chain professionals whenever possible and support their development through sharing knowledge and experience.
Thought Leadership, Knowledge Sharing and Advisory
• Appreciate UNFPA’s supply chain thought leadership through awareness and incorporating such initiatives into the overall approach to day-to-day activities.
• Actively contribute to an environment of knowledge retention and sharing by following best practices for supply chain implementation.
• Support improved supply chain execution by incorporating best practices and continuous improvement into day-to-day activities.


Partnerships and Resource Mobilization
• Support UNFPA’s value proposition and relationships with donors and partners.
• Assist with the preparation of SCMU’s resource mobilization proposals in particular with data and analysis.
Collaboration and Representation
• Maintain effective collaboration with relevant stakeholders within UNFPA to ensure coordinated and effective tailored solutions for each area of intervention.
• Maintain relationships with supply chain counterparts with the purpose of increasing the efficiency of UNFPA’s supply chain function.
• Attend and participate as required in SCMU and UNFPA in meetings related to supply chain management functions.
Carry out any other duties as may be required by the Chief, SCMU.


Qualifications and Experience
Education
• Completion of secondary education is required.
• A University degree at Bachelor Level in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Procurement, Logistics, Marketing, International Relations, Development Studies, International Commerce, or equivalent field is an asset.
• A professional Supply Chain Management certification such as Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) or Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT-UK) at Level 2 would be an additional asset.

Knowledge and Experience
• Minimum of six years of relevant experience in procurement, logistics or supply chain operations is required.
• Candidates with hands-on experience working in development and/or complex humanitarian operating environments in low-resource countries are considered a strong asset.
• Strong interpersonal skills and capability to develop and maintain broad diversified partnerships is required; team management skills
• Experience using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is required.
• Professional written and spoken presentation skills, including for the development of reports, presentations, and the ability to synthesize complex supply chain documents for both technical and non-technical audiences is an asset.
• Experience working in a matrix organizational structure is an asset.
• Knowledge of UNFPA’s country classification system, UNFPA’s Strategic Plan, Strategy for Family Planning 2022-2030 and Acceleration Plan, UNFPA Humanitarian Thematic Fund, UNFPA Strategy and Operational
• Plan to Scale-up and Strengthen Interventions on Gender-based Violence in Emergencies, 2023-2025 is an asset.
• Basic knowledge of the principles and operational aspects of sexual and reproductive health commodities in global development and the humanitarian community is an asset.


Languages
Fluency in English and French is required. Working knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Required Competencies
Values:
• Exemplifying integrity
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system
• Embracing cultural diversity
• Embracing change
Core Competencies
• Achieving results
• Being accountable
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen
• Thinking analytically and strategically
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships
• Communicating for impact


Functional Competencies
• Experience in procurement and contracting is required
• Experience working in development and/or complex humanitarian operating environments in low-resource countries
• Experience is required in facilitating preparatory work for their organization’s participation in international public health coordinating bodies or group meetings

Compensation and Benefits
This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.