Internship with the Central Procurement Team  

Background

UNDP, the global development network for the United Nations system, is present in over 170 countries and territories and is uniquely equipped to help developing countries build sustainable capacity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In support of this, UNDP offers a wide range of solutions to global, regional and national development challenges through a comprehensive knowledge network, expert practitioners and focused strategic areas of support.

The Central Procurement Team (CPT), based in New York, provides procurement support services for UNDP business units by centrally coordinating all procurement transactions over $5K. It serves central bureaus within UNDP to ensure cost and time efficiency, required compliance and added value to clients.

Those central bureaus identify procurement needs and make decisions, while CPT provides procurement services, guides the client through the process and decides on the best sourcing strategy. Routing procurement requests through CPT will lead to a quicker turn-around time, and a higher quality, cost effective outcome.

This internship is for NY duty station with the possibility of home-based with New York working hours.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Procurement Specialist and the Chief of the CPT, the intern will be entrusted the following different tasks, among others:

Daily procurement support to Team Members:

• Attending CPT related meetings and taking notes thereof;
• Coordinating the logistics of candidates’ interviews and setups for the procurement of individual contractors;
• Supporting CPT buyer in preparing draft evaluation reports including technical and financial evaluation matrixes for procurement processes; 
• Drafting contracts for new vendors and amendments of existing contracts;
• Assisting CPU buyers in organization of procurement processes:  Requests for Quotations (RFQs), Invitations to Bid (ITBs), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Individual Contractors (ICs), Micro purchasing and Direct Contracting;
• Conducting other procurement related tasks upon request.

Support to the CPT Team operational sustainability:

• Maintaining of the contract database;
• Reviewing, analyzing and updating the clients’ feedback surveys and CPT website;
• Supporting in the preparation of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documents for CPT contract management;
• Notifying CPT clients about upcoming contract expirations and following up on expired/archived contracts;
• Assisting in market research tasks for the preparation of documents prior to the launching of tenders and during the assessment of value for money;
• Supporting the Procurement Focal Points in preparing presentations for procurement Knowledge Sharing sessions;
• Supporting of future recruitment of CPT interns.

Competencies

Innovation
Ability to make new and useful ideas work.

Delivery
Ability to prioritize work and follow a chain of command structure.

Technical/Functional

Ability to efficiently use the MS Office package (Word, Excel, Outlook).

Analytical
Excellent research skills, combined with a proven analytical aptitude and ability to tap into a vast array of traditional and new knowledge sources.

Communication
Excellent writing skills, as well as strong analytical aptitude and strong communication skills in a team setting.

Organizational
Strong organizational, time management, communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to work flexibly.

Team work
Demonstrates intercultural sensitivity in a multicultural environment.

Additional skills
Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP’s values and ethical standards;

Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Students in development, business, international relations, law or related fields who are currently: i) enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); or ii) enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or (iii) have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Experience:

• Working experience in procurement/finance/business administration is an asset, but not required. 
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• All applicants must be fluent in both written and spoken English;
• Additional UN languages are a distinct advantage.

Availability:

Available full-time for a period of 6 months.  Applicants available for a minimum of six months are required.

Additional Information:

• Interns may be paid a stipend under the conditions prescribed below;
• Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, passports, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of the interns;
• Where an intern is not financially supported by any institution or programme, such as a university, government, foundation or scholarship programme, a stipend intended to help cover basic daily expenses related to the internship, such as meals and transportation at the duty station, must be paid by the receiving office.
• The monthly amount of the stipend will be determined for each duty station based on the stipend rates published yearly by the OHR Policy and Compensation Unit.
• Where an intern is financially supported by an institution, government or third party, UNDP will, subject to the rules of such institution, government or third party, pay the intern the difference, if any, between the external financial support provided and the applicable UNDP stipend.

Further Career Opportunities:

The purpose of internships is not to lead to further employment with UNDP but to complement an intern’s studies. However, a number of interns, having completed their studies and met the necessary requirements, have gone on to further assignments with the UNDP or elsewhere in the United Nations system. 

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