UN Women: Procurement & Travel Specialist, Istanbul, Turkiye, NOC, FTA Local

Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Through the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in Istanbul and a number of field offices across the region, UN Women builds on a long history of support to governments, civil society and other actors to deliver for women and girls.  We advocate for and enhance accountability for women’s political participation and prevent and respond effectively to violence against women. Our economic empowerment programmes seek greater economic security and rights, particularly for marginalized groups of women.  Other programmes in ECARO involve partnering with women in their efforts to engage in peace and reconstruction efforts, and push for gender equality (GE) provisions integral to preparing for, mitigating and responding to disasters and emergencies. To bolster gender-responsive budgeting, public planning and procurement, we assist efforts to monitor the different impacts of budget and policy choices on women and men and to mainstream gender considerations across sectors.

Under the overall guidance of the Chief of Procurement and Travel Services  and daily supervision of the Regional Operations Manager, with functional oversight and a matrix reporting to Chief of Procurement and Travel Services, the Procurement & Travel Specialist facilitates the management of procurement and travel services and promotes a strategic approach to sourcing within the Region in all areas from procurement for goods and services, procurement contracts, long-term agreements, travel management and lease agreements.  This facilitation role is designed to add value and effectiveness to the management of procurement within the Region while in no way creating an added layer of bureaucracy between the field and HQ, and all accountabilities and duties must reflect this overarching principle.  In effect the incumbent acts as the interface between the field and HQ on several procurement areas. 

The Procurement and Travel Specialist works in close collaboration with Operations, Programme and Project teams in the Business Unit, Region, and UN Women HQ as well as Government officials to successfully deliver procurement services, provide solutions to complex procurement issues, and provide advisory support.

The Procurement & Travel Specialist will ensure that procurement processes in the Region are in line with UN Women goals, plans and strategies and in compliance with applicable procurement policies and guidelines.  The incumbent will assist the Regional Procurement Review Committee in ensuring compliance of procurement within the Region with corporate standards.  The incumbent also supports the implementation of strategic procurement initiatives within the Region, including e-procurement, new ERP system, travel management, BOS/CBO etc.  They will keep the Regional Office Operations Manager aware of procurement issues within the Region requiring Regional Office attention and keep them abreast of procurement and compliance issues.

Key Functions And Accountabilities:

1. 1. Provide procurement oversight and guidance for strategic sourcing across the ECA Region:
2. 2. Ensure efficient management of procurement processes for ECARO and field offices, including of innovative and sustainable procurement strategies: 
3. 3. Ensure elaboration, introduction and implementation of sourcing strategy and e-procurement tools:
4. 4. Oversee/Provide efficient Travel and administrative services to ECARO and field offices:
5. 5. Participate in inter-agency activities related to procurement and administrative issues such as, though not limited to, UN Business Operations Strategy  (BOS) and Common Back-Office (CBO): 
6. 6. Contribute to knowledge sharing between ECARO and field offices within the region: 

• Ensure full compliance of procurement activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and strategies; implementation of the effective internal control, analysis of parameters in support of proper design and functioning of a client-oriented procurement management system in the region;
• Support in the procurement business processes mapping and elaboration/establishment of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in Procurement, control of the workflows in the procurement in coordination with supervisor;
• Analyze and propose cost-saving and reduction strategies in the Regional Office, programme presence offices and the region at large;
• Conduct periodic spend analyses and development of regional category management strategy, which shall account for establishment of long term/strategic relationships with key suppliers for recurring supplies and services;
• Manage the provision of goods and services for the ECARO and country offices following established corporate procedures regarding review and awarding of contracts, evaluate for cost-effectiveness and manage the negotiations regarding eventual agreements;
• Manage the preparation of procurement plans in the ECARO and field offices and monitoring of their implementation;
• Provide technical guidance on the preparation of procurement plans to country offices and programme presence office.
• Participate as a Member in Regional Procurement Review Committees (R-PRC).
• Provide advice and support to M/COs to implement procurement guidelines and processes;
• Provide Regional Office and Country Office management with authoritative clarification/briefs/advice on the interpretation/application of UN Women Rules, Regulations and policies with respect to procurement;
• Inform management across the Region of the flexibility available (if any) to them to adapt procurement policies and practices to particular cases.  In particular, clarify to managers the implication establishing precedent setting exceptions.
• Use effective oversight tools to monitor and track procurement progress and compliance across the region.
• Consolidate procurement requirements and prepare procurement plans for RO and PPs, establish deadlines and monitor their implementation;
• Oversee the procurement planning process of the region and ensure compliance;
• Establish and implement proper monitoring system and control of procurement processes including organization of RFQ, ITB or RFP, receipt and evaluation of quotations, bids or proposals, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance of UN Women rules and regulations;
• Review the submissions to the HQ Procurement Review Committee (HQ-PRC) to ensure completion of documents and quality of submissions.
• Manage procurement contracts and, upon delegation of authority, perform the functions of committing officer in the corporate ERP system;
• Elaborate and implement the internal control system which ensures that Purchase Orders (PO) are duly prepared and dispatched.  Take timely corrective actions on POs with budget check errors and other problems;
• Manage the implementation of the procurement processes monitoring system and mechanisms to eliminate deficiencies in procurement across the region.
• Develop and manage a roster of suppliers, elaborate supplier selection and evaluation, quality and performance measurement mechanism;
• Preparation of regional long-term agreements (LTAs) for goods and services. Maintenance of on-going Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) and promotion of their use in the region;
• Keep abreast of on-going LTAs and promote the use of LTAs in the region;
• Review and asses the request for PLAs in the submission for approval to the corresponding authority.
• Approve the publication of negotiations within the delegated authority threshold of the Regional Office.
• Manage electronic procurement portal’s implementation in the region. Coordinate trainings and implementation of functions/modules of the electronic portals for the RO and fields offices.
• Monitor the application of, and adherence of travel activities to, the Duty Travel Policy and travel/related procedures.
• Maintain and deliver the learning and development strategy for travel on a regional/country level, in coordination with HQ.
• Provide all necessary support and guidance to regional and country offices on interpretation and application of Duty Travel Policy and procedures.
• Represent UN Women in inter-agency meetings and working groups in the Region on procurement and administrative issues to ensure UN Women’s interests are reflected in common system activities related to common services and premises, cost recovery and cost sharing arrangements, privileges and immunities, entitlements and salary surveys, and security.
• Implement harmonized procurement services and elaboration of proposals/ analysis of requirements for inter-agency LTAs, introduction of joint procurement for the UN Agencies in line with the UN reform;
• Liaise with UNDP and other UN agencies on procurement and administrative issues, activities, and collaboration.
• Support the implementation and maintenance of a robust procurement and travel systems. .
• Monitor procurement activities within the Region and report as required to Procurement and Travel Services in HQ and RO management on trends and practice;
• Keep Procurement and Travel Services in      HQ and Operations Manager informed of best practices by other UN Agencies in the Region and contribute to policy development on procurement;
• Participate in the organization of training for the operations and programme staff on Procurement;
• Develop and support the development of training materials, webinars and other education materials;
• Synthesis of lessons learned and best practices in Procurement;
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
• Track implementation of Audit recommendations related to procurement within the Region and keep HQ and Regional Operations Manager informed.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The incumbent leads some direct reports. In addition to several affiliate personnel (staff and service contract holders as well as consultants and interns) through matrix reporting. 

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Preemptive: Plans to ensure smooth execution of project procurement.
• Collaborative: Gains the cooperation of participants and clients; Takes action to consistently exceed customer/client expectations.
• Risk aware: Identifies possible challenges and minimizes risks.
• Uses technology and big data to identify supply chain trends and needs in UN Women procurement.
• Provides feedback to supply chain stakeholders internally and externally.
• Supports acceleration of procurement processes through identification of appropriate and efficient supply strategies that best meet the needs of clients.
• Leads collaboration across programmatic and operational units to ensure effective and efficient supply management. 
• Manages procurement risk and complexity and factors in risk in decision-making.
• Advises field units on policy compliance and best course of action to meet procurement challenges.
• Leads standard procurement projects from start to finish; liaises with internal stakeholders and provides updates, seeks clarifications, etc.
• Analyzes procurement spend across business units and projects and proposes cost-saving and efficiency enhancing measures.
• Contributes actively to knowledge networks, the development of new tools, procedures and policies.
• Provides analysis to Regional and Country Offices on procurement and supply chain issues, aimed at improving policy compliance, efficiency, and effectiveness in UN Women’s supply chain.
• Good negotiating skills
• Strong IT skills.
• Willingness to take UN Women internal procurement certifications is required.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education And Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, HR, or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Procurement Certification from an internationally recognized provider such as CIPS (level 3) is an asset.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level, in procurement.
• Experience in leading a team is required.
• Experience in working in a computer environment using multiple office software packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems and ERP systems is required.
• Experience in working with one or both of the ERP systems Quantum and PeopleSoft, Oracle or similar is desirable.
• Experience in general administration is highly desirable.
• Work experience in the UN system is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Turkish is required;
• Knowledge of another UN working language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity And Inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.