Procurement Associate (G6)

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.  

The work of UN Women in Moldova is guided by its new Country Strategic Note 2023-2027, aligned with the (UNSDCF), UN Women Global , National Programs and Strategies and aims to contribute to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Strategic Note focuses on four main areas: 1) Ending Violence against Women; 2) Women’s Leadership and Governance; 3) Women’s Economic empowerment and 4) Humanitarian and Peace development nexus and UN Coordination on gender equality.  

Under the impact on preventing violence against women and girls and delivery of quality essential services, UN Women will contribute to the realization of the Outcome: Parliament and Government adopt and implement laws, policies and strategies to prevent violence against women and girls and deliver quality essential services, which is planned to be implemented via three inter-connected outputs: Output 1: Public institutions have capacities to apply international norms and standards in developing and implementing laws, policies and services towards eliminating VAW, Output 2: Target communities and institutions, including in the field of education, have knowledge and tools to combat stereotypes and gender discrimination and advance favorable social norms that prevent VAW and Output 3: Women and girls, especially from excluded groups, have knowledge and skills to exercise their rights to essential services.

Contributing to the realization of this Outcome, UN Women will continue supporting the implementation and further alignment of the legislative and policy framework on preventing and combating violence against women, in line with the national commitments and international norms and standards, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)  and the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). UN Women will build and expand on its experience employing adaptive solutions by empowering survivors of violence from various backgrounds to speak up and advocate for concrete actions with their peers as well as with authorities and the media. 

Under the overall guidance of the Chief Procurement and Travel Services in Headquarters in Headquarters and the daily supervision of the Operations Manager, with matrix reporting to and functional oversight from the Regional Procurement Analyst/Specialist, the Procurement Associate ensures execution of transparent and efficient procurement services and processes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations. The Procurement Associate promotes a client-focused, quality and results- oriented approach and support: (i) compliance with UN Women policies and regulations; (ii) effective systems to support programme delivery and growth; (iii) accountability to organizational values and principles; and (iv) an enabling workplace environment in which staff potential is maximized. The Procurement Associate also works in collaboration with operations staff in other UN Agencies, UN Women Regional Office (RO) and HQ staff and Government officials to successfully deliver procurement services. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Implement sustainable procurement strategies and policies aligned with principles of fairness, integrity and transparency to achieve best value for money.

• Ensure full compliance of procurement activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies.
• Elaborate internal procurement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and map BU procurement business processes in consultation with direct supervisor and office management.

Implement procurement strategies in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and strategies:

• Provide substantive inputs to procurement related reports and analyses; research and draft responses to enquiries for clearance by the Operations Manager;
• Provide substantive inputs to the implementation of procurement management policies and strategies on cost saving and reduction;
• Follow up with internal and external audits;
• Contribute to the development of sourcing strategies.

Organize procurement processes for the Country Office:

• Prepare procurement plans for programmes/projects;
• Review procurement requests and initiate procurement procedures for office and projects equipment, supplies and services;
• Organize procurement processes including the preparation of Request for Quotations (RFQs), Invitation to Bids (ITBs) or Request for Proposals (RFPs) documents, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals;
• Prepare/close Purchase Orders (POs) and contracts in Quantum system;
• Prepare submissions to the Procurement Review Committee (PRC).

Organize contract management process for the Country Office:

• Review/ process contracts for the CO;
• Develop and update the rosters of suppliers, and support implementation of supplier selection and evaluation.

Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

• Provide substantive input and support to the development of training materials, webinars and other education materials;
• Organize trainings for the operations/projects staff on Procurement;
• Synthesize lessons learnt and best practices.

Organize logistical services:

• Organize hotel and event arrangements for all official UN Women meetings/ functions, engagements, ensure that all requirements are catered for as required;

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Good knowledge of procurement process, systems; administrative rules and regulations;
• Good knowledge in the use of spreadsheets and database packages;
• Ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Ability to extract and interpret data;
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Strong IT and web based management skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Specialized training in Procurement; or a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Business Administration or related field is an advantage;
• Procurement Certification from an internationally recognized provider such as CIPS (level 2) is an advantage;
• Willingness to take UN Women internal procurement certifications is required.

Experience:

• At least 6 years of progressively responsible experience in procurement, administration or related at the national or international level;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is an advantage.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Romanian is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

APPLICATION PROCESS AND SUBMISSION PACKAGE 

Interested candidates are invited to submit applications with the following documents. 

• Motivation letter;
• Duly filled UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from:  . Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment.

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. 

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.