Procurement Specialist (Sustainability), P3, #126337 TA (364 days), UNICEF Supply Division, Copenhagen, Denmark

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, health 

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Strategic office context:

Supply Division’s work continues to be a direct input to development programmes, including delivery of supplies required by programmes working towards the UNICEF SP result areas, and revolves around innovation, influencing markets, supply chain optimisation and capacity development.

Procurement centres are responsible for the supply operation, including strategic market intelligence, forecasting, procurement, delivery, innovation and analysis of product groups and procurement strategies. The contracting function leads in expertise on the supply landscape, markets, value for money and interaction with global partners to increase access and sustainable supply which can be accessed by government buyers.

UNICEF Supply Division, Vaccine Unit, procures vaccines and ancillary equipment to low- and middle-income countries globally. To support further development and implementation of sustainability actions in line with the UNICEF Supply Division Strategic Plan and Theory of Change, a Vaccine Centre (VC) specific strategy and execution plan will be developed. This work will be carried out in close collaboration with the Vaccine Centre sustainability leads and Supply Division sustainability focal points.

This position is located in the Vaccine Centre at Supply Division reporting to the Sr. Contracts Manager, Vaccine Centre. Functional co-supervision of this position is provided by the Technical Specialist, Vaccine Centre.

How can you make a difference?

Primary focus of this job profile will be on supporting the center’s main sustainability strategy, in particular environmental and social sustainability impact via vaccine purchase. Under the general guidance of the Senior Contracts Manager and Vaccine Technology Specialist, the incumbent is expected to support the development and execution of the sustainable procurement strategy, including UNICEF SD broad stakeholder management to obtain buy-in and alignment of the strategy and tactical plan, as well as indicators and methods for evaluating sustainability as part of vaccine purchase while ensuring an uninterrupted, sustainable vaccine supply of affordable, quality product.  The individual will serve as project manager and coordinator of the Vaccine Centre ESE agenda with internal and external stakeholders.

You will be accountable for: 

• Act as UNICEF Vaccine Centre’s project manager on Sustainable Procurement of Vaccines.
• Support the determination of specific sustainability requests that should be included in tenders for manufacturer input.
• Perform market assessments and/or collect and/or process market intel for determination of suppliers ESE maturity
• Coordinate and prepare for industry consultations on ESE topics – e.g. lessons learned from pharma industry and/or sustainability leaders in the manufacturing industry.
• Help outlining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with tender decisions that may be based on sustainability metrics. 
• Work with VC colleagues to propose SD actions that will drive sustainability improvements while maintaining overall market health.
• Help with integration of sustainable procurement objectives (e.g. Target Outcomes, metrics) in tender templates and subsequent prepare sustainable procurement objectives tailored to the specific vaccine market for upcoming tenders.
• Support drafting the Vaccine Centre (VC) sustainability strategy, including short and long-term objectives and activities that align with SD Procurement Goals and SDGs. 
• Work with Monitoring Strategic Data and Evidence Centre (MSDEC) and implementing Centres (procurement and operational) to help define how Vaccine Centre sustainability activities can be measured and monitored.
• Support the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework. Where feasible, integrate sustainability information into existing Vaccine Centre data systems and/or link to the SD Sustainability knowledge portal.
• Liaise with Supply Division sustainability focal points that touch on vaccines, e.g. supply chain, devices, transport to map sustainability initiatives and linkages to the Vaccine Centre. 
• Support the development of a plan for cross-Centre collaboration. Ensure alignment and cross learning for the SD broad sustainability roadmap.
• Support the drafting of specific Sustainability project proposals that will be required to meet the strategic objectives.
• Help prepare presentations, proposals and/or recommendations to key stakeholders, as needed.
• Any other duties or (cross centre) assignments as requested by the supervisor.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education

• Advanced University degree in business administration, commerce or law or technical field required. Training in Environmental Social and Economic sustainability (ESE) ideal.

*A first University degree may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree in conjunction with two additional years of relevant work experience.

Work Experience

• Minimum five year of progressively responsible professional experience including at least three at the international level.
• Expertise in project management, strategy development, market research and stakeholder management is required.
• Knowledge of worldwide (public) procurement, contract negotiations and administration required; experience in vaccine markets considered an asset.
• Knowledge of the environment in which UNICEF and the UN system operate is preferred.
• Experience addressing environmental, social and economic sustainability (ESE) or environmental and social governance (ESG) connected to the UN (environmental) sustainable development goals and/or greening of industry vision is preferred.

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: https://uni.cf/UNICEFValues

 The core competencies required for this post are:

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (2)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)
• Nurtures, leads and manages people (1)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.  

Remarks:

UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at: http://www.whed.net/

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.