Procurement Specialist “THIS IS A RE-ADVERTISEMENT. CANDIDATES WHO HAVE APPLIED TO THE PREVIOUS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT (VA/2017/B5516/12185) NEED NOT RE-APPLY.”

UNOPS is expanding its operational support in South Asia and has recently established its presence in Nepal with two recent projects signed with DFID and the World Bank supporting Nepal Government Institutions. UNOPS will provide advisory and technical assistance services with its expertise in Procurement, Project Management and Infrastructure, as well as providing capacity building to key stakeholders. The initial projects are located across the country in more than 40 districts of Nepal, while the major project team will work from UNOPS Kathmandu-based country office.

For one of the high-impact projects, UNOPS has been working together with the World Bank, DfID and the Government of Nepal to support the Nepal Housing Reconstruction. The project has assessed up to 900,000+ rural residential families and is part of a large-scale international response to the post-earthquake recovery. The overall objective of the project is to facilitate the recovery in the Earthquake affected Districts of Nepal through surveys that will ascertain the damage to the housing stock and identify households eligible for grant assistance.

The Procurement Specialist is responsible to read the project documents, Legal Agreement and have a thorough understanding of the terms, conditions, and the respective roles and responsibilities of the partners/stakeholders to ensure the project products are capable of meeting the business cases for both UNOPS and the client. Hence the Success of the Project and the Procurement Specialist role will be based on the Success Criteria of UNOPS engagements which are linked to the below responsibilities.  S/he must be able to apply, independently, the below duties and responsibilities of the project success criteria:

The Procurement Specialist will report directly to the Project Manager and will work closely with other members of the team in Nepal to ensure integration and/or complementation of his/her inputs with other on-going activities with the implementing partners.

• Identification of procurement needs at the project development stage;
• Preparation of realistic procurement plans and development of appropriate procurement strategies;
• Conceptualization, elaboration and implementation of procurement and contract strategy including tendering processes and evaluation, contractor appraisal, evaluation and negotiation of offers, administration of the contract and the performance management of the contractors, legal considerations and payment conditions as well as risk assessment.
• Preparation and review of technical specifications and/or terms of references
• Management of procurement contracts;
• Assistance in cost estimations for the required goods/services;
• Regular reporting on acquisition processes using procurement process monitoring systems and mechanisms

• Analyse the quality of goods and/or services delivered in relation to the needs of the operation/stakeholder and established quality standards.
• Working with concerned stakeholders on procurement needs, providing technical support on specifications, cost implications and logistics for safe delivery both externally and internally;

• Finalising specifications and preparing shortlists based on needs and investigation of related market, identify suitable vendors with due consideration to price, quality, delivery time, warranty and after sale servicing where applicable;
• Developing and issuing invitations to bid, requests for quotation, and requests for proposals;
• Publishing procurement advertisements and awards and maintaining a database on procurement activities;
• Evaluating submissions to ensure technical compliance with the project’s needs and cost-effective purchase of goods and services;
• Ensuring all procurement actions are conducted as required according to UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations and the applicable policies and procedures as well as the highest degree of personal and professional ethics.
• Establishment of Long Term Agreements (LTAs) and/or service contracts as an when necessary either through standard or emergency procurement procedures in compliance with the Procurement Policy 

Monitoring and Progress Controls

General: 

Ensure that all matters relevant to procurement (goods and services) for the survey and for the project/team are set up.  Oversee the recruitment of enumerators if required.   Contribute to the overall business targets and needs.

Additional Requirements:

• Well-coordinated project implementation on all the relevant components of the project
• Annual Work Plan developed for all procurement services activities and timeframes.
• Technical guidance and on-the-job training provided whereby work standards are achieved, both in terms of quantity/quality of input/output processed.
• Timely, thorough, accurate and high quality reports on the Procurement and Supply Chain Management using appropriate tools. This includes comprehensive & informative reports readily available for monitoring & evaluation of activities, including compliance requirements and/ or recommendations for strengthening measures, including a timeframe, to resolve identified problems.
• Synthesis of lessons learned and best practices in Procurement and Supply Chain management.
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Education

• A Master's Degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Procurement or other relevant discipline.
• A Bachelor's Degree with additional relevant years of experience may be considered in lieu of a Master's Degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in Procurement,  and Asset Management, Asset Transfer, Assets Operations and maintenance element in difficult environments such as elections, census, national surveys, etc. is required. 
• 2-3 years of experience in procurement panning, procurement contract administration, LTA/Framework Agreement, Vendor Management, Market Analysis and Research is required
• Seven (7) years of similar experience is required for incumbents holding a Bachelor's Degree.
• Experience with UNOPS or a relevant UN agency is preferred.
• Experience of working with local government is highly desirable
• Experience in e-procurement is an asset
• Experience in Supply Chain Management is desirable
• In depth knowledge of UNOPS procurement and financial rules and regulations is significantly desirable;
• Computer literate including knowledge of Word, Excel, Power Point & Access is required. 
• Knowledge of other software applications (such as databases) and ERP would be desirable.

C. Language

• Fluency in spoken and written English and Nepali is required.

• Professional certification in procurement, e.g. CIPS Certification is desirable
• PRINCE2 certification is desirable

• 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.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 
• This post is only open for candidates who are nationals of Nepal.

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.

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale.