Procurement Advisor - Advisory Services

Background Information - UNOPS 

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. 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. With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical, and management knowledge they need, where they need it. 

UNOPS provides its partners with advisory, implementation, and transactional services, with projects ranging from building schools and hospitals, to procuring goods and services and training local personnel.  UNOPS works closely with governments and communities to ensure increased economic, social, and environmental sustainability for the projects we support, with a focus on developing national capacity.  

Background Information - UNOPS Austria Multi-Country Office

The Austria Multi-Country Office (AUMCO) is part of the UNOPS Europe and 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

• Grants Management 

• Technical and Advisory Services

Background Information - Job-specific

Public procurement is a crucial function of a government, responsible for ensuring that public funds are spent in a fit for purpose manner and efficiently. According to the World Bank, 15-50% of public expenditure is made through public procurement. Hence, effective public procurement systems can help to promote economic growth, foster competition, and ensure that public services and infrastructure are delivered to the highest standards. By ensuring transparency, accountability, and fair competition, public procurement also plays a key role in combating corruption and promoting good governance. As such, investing in robust public procurement systems is essential for governments seeking to maximize the value of public spending, attract foreign investment, and build trust with their populations. 

In light of Albania’s aspirations to join the EU, effective public procurement is also critical to align with the European Union (EU) acquis and requirements, which mandate its members to have in place robust and transparent procurement systems to ensure that public spending is efficient, accountable and fair. Albania is also negotiating accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012).

A team of UNOPS experts will carry out a rapid procurement assessment, applying its proprietary tool (RPA) to identify the critical areas for intervention in a swift and precise manner. 

The following functional responsibilities would be expected from this role, who will be guided throughout the assignment by UNOPS’ global procurement experts through the AUMCO Head of Programme.

• Leading a team of experts, coordinate the conduct of a high level assessment of the Albanian government's procurement systems, including legal setup, regulations, processes, workflows, capacity, and results, in order to identify areas for improvement.

• With support from the Research officer, gather data through online sources/databases, interviews and other means to obtain an accurate diagnosis of the performance of key procurement activities and supply chain management.

• Review and assess the findings and results of similar initiatives, and identify potential synergies and gaps, including based on the 2018 public procurement assessment conducted by the World Bank and professional training efforts involving the respective agencies.

• Gather and analyze information on the capacities and efficiency of systems with focus on provision of quality, fit for purpose and cost-effective support to beneficiaries, including IFI-funded projects managed by the government.

• Advise on the implementation of the Albanian government's procurement strategy, including sharing best practices on different steps of the procurement process and on-the-job training regarding international standards and potential quick wins.
  
  

• Coordinate the development of an assessment report containing a gap analysis and recommendations for improvement in the Albanian government's procurement architecture, legal frameworks, policies, strategies, systems, processes, procedures, and mechanisms, with focus on alignment with the respective EU acquis, standards and requirements.

• Propose approaches, tools and systems that can be designed to optimize and streamline various aspects of procurement processes, including market research, sourcing of submissions, bid opening and evaluation, due diligence and vendor checks, contracting of suppliers and management of deliverables, etc.

• Propose qualitative and quantitative outputs, tailored to the Albanian government’s needs as part of the assessment report.

• Develop a project plan to implement the proposed adjustments and improvements, including short-, medium-, and long-term actions to improve procurement management, in consultation with the Albanian government and relevant national authorities, indicating potential support to be provided through UNOPS, with focus on alignment with the respective EU acquis, standards and requirements. 

• Contribute to the discussions for proposing  a way forward for the provision of strategic advice on public procurement to the government, including legislative, governance and process reforms that can add value, as well as specific capacity development to respective officials.  This includes on-the-job training with focus on complex procurement cases, in addition to specific complex cases that UNOPS can manage on behalf of the government in the short-run before the national public procurement systems are strengthened further.

Experience

  Required

• A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible combined experience in strategic leadership and public procurement/supply chain management is required.

• Above experience must include at least 3 years of demonstrated experience in providing expert advice in public procurement management. 

• Demonstrated understanding of supply chain issues in an international development context is required. 

Desired

• Demonstrated experience applying advanced knowledge of sustainable supply chain management and public procurement principles and approach in national jurisdictions is a distinct advantage.

• Demonstrated experience in EU acquis and requirements on public procurement is highly desired.

• Experience from a leading local or global provider of management advisory or consulting services to the public sector is an asset. 

• Experience working at leadership level in or with government or international financial institutions or other international development organizations is desirable.

• Experience in public procurement accession negotiations to accede to the European Union and/or to the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012) is an asset.

• UN/UNOPS experience is an asset.

Language

• Excellent (written and oral) English language skills are required.

• Knowledge of the Albanian language is an asset.

1. Contract type: ICA retainer contract 
2. Contract level: IICA-3/ICS-12 and
3. Contract duration: 3 months initially 

• 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.