Supply and Logistics Officer, P-2, Gaza, State of Palestine, Fixed Term (post no. 86518)

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built, we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, a hero

UNICEF in the State of Palestine (SoP) works to uphold the rights of children to access services and protection, from early childhood through to adolescence. Our objective is to ensure that every child in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, irrespective of background or circumstance, has an equal chance to fulfil their potential.

In the past years, UNICEF in the State of Palestine has achieved a high reach and engagement through its communication channels. UNICEF-SoP would like to build on this and continue engaging with our audience, who are not only seek information but are willing to have important conversations on crucial issues concerning children’s wellbeing and rights. 

How can you make a difference?

As Supply and Logistics Officer, you will provide technical and operational support as per the Country Office (CO) set-up, and you will be responsible for managing elements of the supply chains of a larger supply operation. The supply chain operations include planning, procurement, contracting, customs clearance, warehousing, in country transport and distribution, as well as monitoring of supplies, services and construction works. You will support management collaboration with programmes in defining supply interventions to meet programmatic needs and achieve results for children, and provides technical and advisory support to governments, national systems and partners on supply chain management.

Your key functions/accountabilities

1. Supervision of the supply team

– Preparation of the annual work plan for the Supply team; assist in determining priorities/targets and performance measurements and monitoring work progress to ensure that results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards.

– Supervise and coach team members, ensure timely performance management of staff. In collaboration with Supply Division, Regional Office and the global supply community, ensure knowledge sharing and learning is prioritized in order to continuously build capacity of individuals and the team.

– In consultation with supervisor, ensure establishment and maintenance of operational capacity to handle CO supply chains, including staffing (appropriate staffing structure, timely recruitment, clarity of roles and responsibilities) and contracting of third party services if applicable (e.g. customs clearance, warehousing, transport, distribution)

2. Supply chain service delivery and emergency response

– In consultation with supervisor, provide input to the Country Programme Action Planning and advice on Supply requirements for the Plan of Operations and Annual Work Plans. Participate in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the supply chain operations, including establishment of performance indicators, and assessment of fit for purpose of products and services.

– Monitor and review supply spend and draft procurement strategies based on category management in order to focus on strategic, essential supplies and services that contribute to results for children, and support the establishment of long term agreements (LTAs) where relevant. Maintain highest level of integrity, ethical standards and accountability in the procurement of goods, contracting of services and construction work.

– Monitor progress of offshore and/or regional procurement and take action to ensure timely customs clearance of supplies entering the country. Maintain appropriate warehousing, inventory management and in-country transport in support of the country programme implementation. Keep stakeholders/partners informed on the progress. Implement appropriate vendor management practices e.g. supply performance reviews.

– Analyze supply dashboards, implementation rates of key performance indicators and supply information/data from various systems and conduct root cause analysis of supply chain bottlenecks and challenges, with a view to drive improvements and ensure efficient and effective supply chains for children.

– Participate in the development of an emergency supply & logistics strategy based on risk assessment analysis and Programme assumptions. Ensure an emergency supply and logistics preparedness action plan for the CO is established in line with Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCC), and implemented (establishment of relevant LTAs and frame agreements for emergency response, prepositioning of stock, and training of staff in the country office).

– Build strong working relations with Regional Chiefs of Supply/Regional Chief of Operations, as well as Supply Division, to align with global and regional approaches and initiatives in supply chain management.

3. Collaboration with programme and implementing partners

– In collaboration with supervisor, develop close collaboration with programme sections through involvement in programme design, planning, and preparation for implementation of supply components as well as monitoring and evaluation. Establish accountability framework with programmes, for delivery of results for children.

– Prepare supply documentation to facilitate input to donor dialogue, and support development of supply components of proposals to donors including budgeting and use of innovative financing mechanisms for supplies, services and construction works.

– Support assessment of and collaboration with implementing partners including civil society, establishment of Programme Cooperation Agreements (PCAs), and monitoring of supply components under Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT).

– Participate in events/meetings that build partnerships and collaborative relations with Government, UN organizations and bilateral counterparts in supply and logistics activities including harmonized and collaborative procurement.

4. Technical and advisory support to government/national systems

– Provide input to promoting of supply chain strengthening and change management initiatives with governments and partners, to ensure efficient and effective supply chains for children.

– Provide input to capacity development initiatives in the area of supply chains for children, in close collaboration with supervisor and programme colleagues. Support supply components of health systems strengthening as might be relevant in the country context.

– Prepare relevant supply reports to facilitate advisory support to Governments/national systems in defining and determining supply solutions for children, such as use of procurement services; supply financing solutions; local market development; private sector engagement.

5. Innovation, products and markets

– Contribute to pilots and support the actual roll-out of new products and services, in close collaboration with supervisor and Supply Division.

– Support initiatives for promote critical thinking, innovative approaches and good practices on supply chain management within the organization as well as with externals to ensure effective and efficient supply chains for children.

– Further to analysis of supply spend and related procurement strategies, support initiatives to ensure local market development where relevant.

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

Education:

A university degree is required in Business Administration, Management, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Procurement, Contract/Commercial Law, International Development, Health or related social science field.

Experience:

A minimum of two (2) years of relevant experience, at the national and international levels, in supply, logistics, procurement, contracting, administration and/or other directly-related technical fields is required.

Understanding of development and humanitarian work.

Emergency experience an advantage.

Health supply chain management experience an advantage.

Language Requirement:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN language, preferably Arabic, is considered 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: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position is not considered an elevated risk role. However, UNICEF reserves the right to conduct further vetting/assessment within the scope of child safeguarding as appropriate. 

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 does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

Special Remarks: In the current evolving emergency context, this position will be based in Gaza where medical facilities have been negatively affected and individual chronic and/or serious medical conditions cannot be adequately addressed.

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

This is required for all posts requiring a higher education degree. “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/

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

The VA is open to all (internal and external candidates)

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.