Support Services Assistant

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.

Background: AUMCO

The Austria Multi-Country Office (AUMCO) was set up in August 2019 as a part of the UNOPS Europe & Central Asia Region (ECR). Specifically, AUMCO aims to enable achievement of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement through global programmes and tailored interventions in the Balkans, South Caucasus, and Central Asia, focused on:

• Infrastructure
• Procurement
• Project Management (full service, back on track)
• HR and Transactional Services
• Grant Management
• Technical and Advisory Services

The overall objective of the project (entitled “Emergency procurement of critical medical equipment to support the Government of Uzbekistan for enhancing their response to the Coronavirus outbreak”) is to strengthen the health preparedness and COVID-19 response of the healthcare system in Uzbekistan, and effectively and timely prevent and treat COVID-19 cases.

By providing emergency procurement support (medical equipment) on a transactional basis to the Government of Uzbekistan, through the Ministry of Health, the project will enhance the country’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. With the overarching aim of procuring urgently needed medical supplies to ensure that hospitals can provide life-saving treatment to infected patients, the following activities will be undertaken:

• Support the Ministry of Health, with assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO), and update, as needed, lists/specifications of required medical supplies and equipment.
• Procure required laboratory and medical supplies and equipment as per UNOPS rules and regulations, and international best practices.
• Coordinate with the Ministry of Health of the Government of Uzbekistan to ensure timely delivery of procured equipment to the country, and their installation, as applicable.
• Follow up on the MoH on the distribution, installation and receipt of procured equipment to ensure maximum transparency and fairness.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Support Services Manager, and in coordination with Supply Chain Associate and the relevant Project Manager(s) and Head of Support Services, the Support Services Assistant is responsible for the effective delivery of logistical, administrative and procurement support in line with UNOPS rules and regulations and local context and requirements.

This is a retainer role, and the incumbent will be asked to provide services covering some or all functions and areas related to supply chain management, administration, logistics and procurement as indicated above, as assigned and depending on the case and needs.

Provides operational assistance to the supervisor and relevant managers in the delivery of effective operational services to projects, focusing on the following tasks and activities:

• Support with customs clearance, and logistics.
• Support with preparation of documents, letters, note verbale, overall documentation processing and filing.
• Liaison with project stakeholders on receipt of goods and services in view of obtaining proper delivery report, RIR, or relevant certificates and that proper inventory is taken.
• Contribute to procurement related market research.
• Support with arrangement of travel, missions within the country.
• Provision of inputs into project reports on activities implemented at the country level.
• With the guidance from the supervisor, provide response to queries from projects, clients, companies, etc. regarding logistics, procurement, and administration related matters.
• Performs other relevant duties as assigned by the supervisor.

• Secondary education required. 
• University Degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Human Resources Management or equivalent is an asset
• Procurement certification would be considered a significant asset.

• Holders of secondary education degree: 4 years of progressively responsible administration, procurement or logistics experience is required at the national or international level. Experience with UN/UNOPS would be an asset.
• Education with a bachelor's degree or higher might substitute for some of the years of experience required.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages and experience in handling web-based systems required. 
• Experience using the corporate ERP systems (such as oneUNOPS) will be an asset.

• Fluency in written and oral Russian required. 
• Knowledge of English and Uzbek is desirable.

Additional Considerations

• Availability of driving license and ability to use own vehicle for performance of tasks when required.

Contract type: short-term ICA, retainer modality (A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a “unit price” per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work)
Contract level: LICA-4
Contract duration: ASAP -31 November 2021 with possibility of extension

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.