International Procurement Specialist

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

The Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Subregional Office for the Pacific (SAP) covers Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. FAO SAP is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional agriculture, food, nutrition and rural development priorities. FAO SAP develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok.

Reporting Lines

The Procurement Specialist, under the direct technical supervision of the Regional Procurement Officer at FAO RAP for Procurement/Policy matters, will administratively work under the overall supervision of the FAO Subregional Coordinator and direct administrative supervision of the Administrative Officer in SAP.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will contribute to the planning, development and implementation of procurement initiatives to support decentralization and capacity development.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Review and analyze procurement requests for completeness and conformity with established FAO rules, procedures and practice; liaise with the requesters, as necessary, and recommend to supervisor appropriate procurement strategy/approach, based on careful analysis of risks and identifying sound mitigation measures, to best serve institutional interests including requests from decentralized offices to undertake procurement locally.
• Perform operational functions relating to the procurement process including, but not limited to, preparation of documents in GRMS and other office applications related to assigned procurement actions, issuance of tenders and purchase orders, evaluation of bids, follow-up with suppliers including follow-up on orders to ensure timely delivery, etc.
• Make recommendation of awards for the assigned procurement activities; where applicable prepare submissions for relevant procurement committee review presenting the submission if needed. Prepare full set of sound contractual instruments required and manage their correct execution until their final closure after correct application of payment and other relevant contractual terms. Timely alert the team leader / officer on possible contractual disputes making proposals for possible amicable settlements for avoiding arbitration.
• Provide general guidance and technical advice as required to requesters and local technical experts in the country office on procurement matters and on the implementation of procurement strategies and processes in conformity with the relevant rules, procedures, and practices.
• Offer support, if and as required, to requesters in the office responsible to prepare sound procurement plans. Maintain regular and open communication with requesters in the office, updating regularly on the status of advancement of procurement activities required, challenges arising during tendering or contract management.
• Prepare sound requests for ad-hoc re-delegation of authority on behalf of the Procurement Authority in the country office and present, if required, submission forms prepared by the office to the HQPC meetings.
• When requested, provide advice and guidance to colleagues on the use of the Oracle Procurement Module and other IT applications, including e-tendering tools, utilized in the Procurement Service.
• When requested, participate in procurement mission to sub-offices in the country, providing support and training to staff working in these offices as necessary.
• Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in law, business/public administration, economics, commerce or related field
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in procurement related activities with at least two years in public procurement
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other languages of the Organization (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish). For PSA, working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

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