Procurement Specialist (IPSA10) at United Nations Development Programme

Background   UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.   UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

The Accelerated Community Development Program aims to help improve rural access to basic social services through the development of socio-economic infrastructure. ACDP is a model that provides a vehicle for a multi-sectoral approach to addressing poverty and inequality at the community level and will help the government to respond to social demands through a partnership with development partners to ensure accelerated, multi-pronged, participatory, and accountable delivery of services particularly to far-to-reach populations. The Accelerated Community Development Program (ACDP) kick-started in 2022 by the Liberian government is bridging the rural-urban development gap by reaching out to hard-to-reach communities and providing access to basic social services such as potable drinking water, electricity, labor saving devices, and post-harvest processing equipment and construction of rural access roads. ACDP is intervening in selected rural communities across Liberia. The Pilot Phase will begin in October 2022. The aim is to consolidate the results achieved and transit towards Phase II. To this end, the government of Liberia is responding to the social demands through a partnership with UNDP given its track record of success in managing similar initiatives in Senegal, Togo, Gambia, to address the needs of vulnerable communities.

To effectively and swiftly deliver this programme, many aspects of which relates to procurement, the UNDP needs a dedicated and more robust procurement capacity.  It is against this backdrop that the UNDP seeking the services of an Procurement Specialist to be contracted on IPSA basis, for an initial one year with the possibility of extension. Duties and Responsibilities   The Procurement Specialist ensures elaboration and implementation of operational strategies focusing on the achievement of the following results:

Full compliance of procurement activities with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and strategies; elaboration of the effective internal control, proper design, and functioning of a client-oriented procurement management system; Procurement business processes mapping and elaboration/establishment of internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in Procurement, control of the workflows in the Procurement Unit, and harmonization of workflows with other units of both Program and Operations; Provision of strategic advice on how to ensure the best value for money, minimizes and manages procurement risks associated with a large volume of procurement, and facilitates an efficient procurement process to ensure speedy delivery while ensuring compliance with best procurement practices and UNDP procurement rules and procedures.Elaboration and implementation of cost-saving and reduction strategies:

Conceptualization, elaboration, and implementation of strategic procurement for the office and project including sourcing strategy, supplier selection and evaluation, quality management, customer relationship management, e-procurement introduction and promotion, and performance measurement; Implementation of well-functioning procurement processes, from sourcing strategy, tendering, supplier selection and evaluation, quality management, and customer relationship management, to performance measurement; Implementation and guidance to contracts management and administration strategy, constantly guided by the legal framework of the organization and assessing/minimizing all forms of risks in procurement; Evaluate offers and make recommendations for the finalization of the purchases and the award of contracts; analyze and evaluate commodity tender results; Backstops and assists in the analysis and strategy of project implementation modalities, approaches to procurement, and determination of appropriate contacting/institutional arrangements under various circumstances/situations; Provides advisory solutions/options to the project management team on procurement-related and contract-related problems in project implementation, developing innovative options when necessary; Addresses issues and responds to queries and conducts presentations, briefings, and training to colleagues, partners, and clients on procurement, recruitment, organizational/financial arrangements, and all other information relevant and inherent in the delivery of procurement services; Advocates and promotes the efficiency and effectiveness of UNDP procurement services as a means of supporting partnerships and resource mobilization as and when it is required; Advise and coordinate negotiations with all interested parties, including contract disputes and claims; Managing reporting requirements to project management on delivery of procurement services.The Procurement Specialist manages, guides, and provides direction on the procurement processes to practitioners focusing on achieving the following results:

Develops tools, mechanisms, internal systems, and instruments to facilitate the timely preparation of procurement plans