Procurement Consultant – Revision of the GCF Procurement rules / Corporate Procurement Guidelines

 

The Green Climate Fund (“GCF”) is a multilateral fund created to make a significant and ambitious contribution to the global efforts towards attaining the goals set by the international community to combat climate change.

GCF contributes to the achievement of the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In the context of sustainable development, GCF promotes the paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change, taking into account the needs of those developing countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

GCF is governed by a Board, composed of an equal representation of developed and developing countries. The Fund is operated by an independent Secretariat headed by an Executive Director.

The Fund seeks to engage a Consultant to support the process of revision of the GCF Procurement rules, particularly the Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement Guidelines.

Background

GCF executes its corporate procurement (i.e. the procurement of goods, services and works required to support the operations of the GCF Secretariat) in line with the Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement Guidelines (AICPG), which are in force as of 2021 and available at Corporate procurement guidelines tendersglobal.net Green Climate Fund . In addition to the AICPG, the GCF procurement team also utilizes the Procurement Manual, which is an internal document providing operational guidance to procurement professionals.

As per the GCF Administrative Instruction (AI) on Legal Framework there are four categories of GCF “Internal Instruments”:

• Administrative Instructions, that set out:
i. Substantive rules mandating, permitting, or restricting activities related to the Fund’s administrative or the Secretariat’s operational activities; or
ii. Any rights or duties of Staff of the Secretariat or Independent Units which are not set out in the Decisions, and which are of general applicability to all such Staff.
• Procedures, which set out procedural rules to implement or operationalize AIs or any other matter referred to in the GCF Governing Instrument for which no AI exist. Procedures relating to:
i. Administrative matters applicable to the Secretariat and the Independent Units, such as human resources, procurement, travel, and other similar matters, shall be approved by the Executive Director; and
ii. Operational activities of the Secretariat shall be approved by the Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director, as appropriate.
• Guidance, consists of explanations, clarifications, advice, detailed processing steps, recommended course of action, sample documents or other type of practical guidance to assist staff in carrying out certain tasks. Guidance shall be approved by the director (or equivalent) of the issuing Division or Office.

• Forms, are intended to be used for the formalization of requests and approvals of, inter alia, benefits, travel requests and procurements. Forms shall be approved in accordance with the administrative instruction on the delegation of authority for administrative matters.

The current version of the AICPG is a document approved by the GCF Executive Director that blend in elements of both Internal Instruments listed above: the Administrative Instruction and Procedures. GCF aims to revise the AICPG to develop a principle-based Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement (opposite to process-based), to be support by the separate document/s, Procedures and/or Guidance.

The focus of this assignment is hence to draft the Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement only.

Upon successful completion of the assignment further engagement for drafting the procurement Procedures and/or Guidance would be considered.

Role

Under guidance of the GCF Procurement Manager/Head of Procurement Unit the Consultant will revise the AICPG and draft the new Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement (AICP) that would be aligned with principles of GCF and public procurement principles in general. The Consultant will work closely with the procurement team as well as the GCF Office of the General Council (OGC) to ensure that the drafted AICPG is aligned with the overall legal framework of the GCF.

The consultant shall be home based with possibility for travel to GCF HQ in Korea during the assignment.

Duties and responsibilities

The Consultant will be required to complete the following tasks:

• Review the current GCF rules and regulation pertaining to procurement (e.g. AI on Legal Framework, AICPG, Procurement Manual, AI on Delegation of Authority, AI on Signing Legal Matters, etc.)
• Conduct comparative analysis of the Procurement rules of other similar organizations (e.g. MDBs, UN, IFIs, etc.) with focus on principle-based procurement policies.
• In coordination with Procurement Manager draft the AICP
• Participate in GCF internal discussion and presentation with relevant stakeholders (e.g. procurement, OGC, CAO, COO).
• Implement feedback to deliver the final draft of the AICP.

It is estimated that the Consultant would need between 38 to 40 Work Days to complete this assignment.

Deliverables

• Comparative analysis of current procurement rules with similar international organizations
• First draft of the Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement
• Final draft of the Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement

Timeline

Consultant would be expected to start the engagement in July 2024 and deliver the final draft of the AICP by end of October 2024.

Tentative timeline:

• 22 July – start of assignment
• 18 August – delivery of comparative analysis of procurement rules of similar International Organizations
• 15 September – delivery of first draft of Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement
• 31 October – delivery of the final draft of Administrative Instruction on Corporate Procurement

Payment
Payment would be made in installments based on Deliverables and Work Days in line with agreed rates.

Required experience and qualifications

• Master’s degree in legal, Business Administration, Public Administration, Procurement, or another relevant field. Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Diploma Level 4 or above (or equivalent) is desirable.
• A minimum of 15 years of relevant work experience in procurement, finance, legal, general services, in public and/or private sectors, with mandatory experience in writing procurement policies in international organizations. Experience in writing policies in private sector is highly desirable.
• A thorough understanding of procurement framework and standards in International Organizations (e.g. UN), MDBs and private sector.
• Strong research and communication skills.
• Strong competence and autonomy in the use of standard computer tools programs: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, Zoom, etc.
• Fluency in English (written and spoken).

Applications from women and citizens from developing countries are strongly encouraged.
Please indicate your earliest availability to take up assignment, and notice-period required, if employed.
Closing date for applications is midnight 7 July 2024 (KST). Applications submitted after the closing date may not be considered.