Procurement Senior Analyst (Procurement Assurance)

As a central procurement resource for the United Nations system and its partners, UNOPS emphasizes efficient, transparent, cost-effective and sustainable delivery of goods, services and works, in line with public procurement best practices. On a yearly basis, UNOPS procures over USD 1 Bn worth of goods, services and works on behalf of our partners. These include a broad base of categories, including life-saving pharmaceuticals, mine action equipment, vehicles or road construction services. 

Procurement Group (PG) is based at UNOPS HQ in Copenhagen. It leads the organization’s procurement practice and is responsible for: articulating strategy, policy positions and innovative solutions for procurement at UNOPS; enabling the operationalization and managerial oversight of UNOPS procurement activities through appropriate systems and reports; strengthening the knowledge, skills and career development of procurement practitioners; and leading the implementation of sustainable procurement across the organization.

The Procurement Assurance team within PG is responsible for leveraging data to oversee and enhance the procurement function, including through data analytics, risk and performance assessments and capacity development. This includes developing guidance and tools, such as dashboards, to make procurement data accessible across the organization. The team is also responsible for procurement data reporting across UNOPS, including the collation and publication of the Annual Statistical Report on UN Procurement (ASR) on behalf of the UN System (published at www.ungm.org/asr).

Please note that the Duty Station offers flexibility, with the possibility of being in Copenhagen (HQ) or another country, ensuring there is an overlap in working hours with the Copenhagen timezone.

Reporting to the Head of Procurement Assurance, the incumbent will contribute to the assurance of UNOPS procurement operations, undertake procurement analytics projects, and further develop procurement data literacy within the organization.

Tasks include, but are not limited to:

1. Procurement oversight improvement

• Helping find the root causes of underperformance and non-compliance, as well as opportunities for improvement of policies, processes and systems, in collaboration with various HQ and field stakeholders

• Enhancing procurement strategy development and planning processes within UNOPS, including providing inputs to procurement strategies and further systematization of the Corporate Procurement Plan process, in collaboration with field stakeholders. 

• Assisting with bi-annual procurement reviews, focusing on performance against KPIs, compliance, risk, and sustainability, and helping make recommendations for improvement 

• Contributing statistics and insights to assist the development of policies, guidelines, reports and presentations on procurement operations within UNOPS, including sustainable procurement

• Supporting activities to improve transparency in UNOPS procurement processes and other corporate transformation initiatives.  

2. Procurement data analytics

• Analyzing complex and connected data, testing hypotheses, identifying patterns and trends, proposing recommendations and deriving statistics and insights related to procurement. This includes procurement plans, spending information, vendor data, sustainability indicators (including emissions), contract compliance data and benchmarking

• Proposing designs, developing, testing, implementing, maintaining and documenting procurement data tools, including dashboards and reports, including conducting rigorous data quality checks.

• Producing regular, periodic and ad hoc data reports to support procurement assurance, including in the context of internal and external audits and in collaborative initiatives with other UN agencies.

• Coordinating the production of key procurement publications, for example, the UNOPS Purchase for Impact Report, Annual Statistical Report on UN Procurement (www.ungm.org/asr) or the report on Joint Procurement Activities and others as required, including through project coordination, data analysis and content writing.

• Other related technical and analysis support as required.

3. Procurement data literacy and capacity development

• Supporting the development and delivery of capability development programs and documentation for internal users on data tools, including in their use and ongoing maintenance - including group and 1-to-1 training, tutorials, guidance materials etc

• Organizing, facilitating and/or delivering training and presentations for UNOPS personnel and occasionally external stakeholders (e.g. UN colleagues, suppliers)

• Implementing knowledge management, communications and training campaigns in various formats, including in-person, remotely/online or via missions in UNOPS country offices

• Fostering collaborative dialogue across key focal points in the regions/ country offices to facilitate continuous improvements

Education

• Advanced Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) is required, preferably related either to the subject matter area (i.e. procurement, supply chain) and/or data analysis component (e.g. in the field of Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business Analytics, Business Administration, Economics or equivalent).

• University degree (bachelors/first level) in related fields with additional 2 years of relevant working experience (total: 4 years) may be considered in lieu of a Master’s degree.

• Additional industry certifications (e.g. CIPS certification) will be considered as an advantage. 

Professional experience and skills

• Candidates must have a minimum of 2 years of professional relevant experience, with a focus on some of the following aspects:

  • Analysing, evaluating and reporting data and/or statistics related to  procurement and/or project management

  • Data communication and visualisation through a variety of media - such as presentations, training, reports, dashboards

• Advanced expertise in spreadsheet tools, i.e.,  Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel is required. Candidates must have experience using some of the following: advanced lookup formulas, data validation, pivot charts and tables, among others.

• Experience applying data analytics to measure and facilitate improvements is an asset.

• Knowledge of public procurement and reporting practices, particularly those related to UNOPS and the UN, is highly desirable.

• Experience in procurement operations, including planning and strategy development is an asset.

• Knowledge of goods and services procurement relevant to UNOPS activities is an asset.

• Building dashboards in Google Data Studio or an equivalent dashboard platform (e.g. Tableau, PowerBI) is an asset.

• SQL coding (our team uses Google Cloud Platform (GCP) including Big Query) is an asset.

• It is highly recommended to submit a concise cover letter outlining how you consider your education and experience align with the requirements of the role. Applicants will need to correctly answer a related screening question in the application form to be considered. Eligible candidates may be invited to submit an assessment related to the required skills.

Language skills

• Fluency in written and oral English is a requirement

• Knowledge of French or Spanish is an advantage

Contract type: ICA
Contract level: I-ICA 1
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.
Duty Station: Flexible (Copenhagen (HQ) or any other another country, ensuring there is an overlap in working hours with the Copenhagen timezone)

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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 (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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 (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.