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.

UN Women aims to make its procurement practices a cornerstone of its competitive advantage as a preferred development partner. This involves strategic integration of procurement from the project design phase, encouraging innovation, and embracing sustainable practices that align with its development goals. Sustainable procurement focuses on minimizing environmental impact and maximizing social benefits. To achieve these priorities, Business Units (BU) will adopt flexible procurement strategies for efficient, high-value, low-risk delivery, catering to client and stakeholder needs.

UN Women in Haiti accordance with national priorities and  international instruments for the protection of women's human rights, mainly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), works to achieve substantive equality between men and women in all aspects of life, focusing on strengthening the leadership and political and economic empowerment of women and their right to a life free of violence, both in the context of conflict and outside this, as bases for a stable and sustainable peace. In this way and in accordance with the new configuration of the international partners to better support the country as well as the mitigation of the crisis on UN programme implementation, UN Women country office adjusts its operational capacities to cover the entire country from the capital and 2 sub offices. 

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Operations Manager or Procurement Specialist, with functional oversight and matrix reporting to the Regional Procurement Analyst or Specialist, the Procurement Assistant supports procurement services in the Business Unit ensuring high quality and accuracy of work. They deliver support services through a client-centric approach focused on quality and measurable outcomes.

The Procurement Associate works in close collaboration with Operations, Programme and Project teams in the Business Unit and UN Women HQ to exchange information and ensure consistent delivery of procurement services.UN Women embraces a programmatic approach that facilitates adaptation to changing business needs and maximizes synergies across various initiatives to achieve its strategic goals. Consequently, it is anticipated that UN Women staff will engage in cross-unit and cross-functional collaboration. This approach is designed to amplify and facilitate cross-disciplinary teamwork, supporting the organization's overarching mission and goals.

Key Functions and Accountabilities

1. Implement sustainable procurement strategies and policies aligned with principles of fairness, integrity and transparency to achieve best value for money

• Ensure full compliance of procurement activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and strategies.
• Elaborate internal procurement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and map BU procurement business processes in consultation with direct supervisor and office management
• Coordinate the development and review of the procurement plan in close collaboration with project and programme managers
• Provide substantive inputs to procurement related reports and analyses; research and draft responses to enquiries for clearance by the Operations Manager;
• Provide substantive inputs to the implementation of procurement management policies and strategies on cost saving and reduction;
• Follow up with internal and external audits;
• Contribute to the development of sourcing strategies.

2. Organize procurement processes for the Haiti CO

• Provide guidance and input to the project team on procurement plans for the Business Unit and projects.
• Review procurement requests and initiate procurement procedures for office and projects equipment, supplies and services.
• Prepare and conduct RFQ, ITB or RFP, and manage and evaluate quotations, bids or proposals in full compliance with UN Women rules and regulations.
• Prepare submissions to the Procurement Review Committees (L-PRC, R-PRC or HQ-PRC).
• Review/ process contracts for the Haiti CO

3. Ensure effective and efficient provision of technical Procurement and Travel support in the corporate ERP system  in full compliance with UN Women's rules, regulations, policies, and business procedures:

• Review vendor information and ensure its compliance with organization policies and requirements.
• Review procurement contracts and raise Purchase Orders (POs) in Quantum for all projects managed by Haiti CO
• Conduct periodic and annual PO closure exercise by generating reports from Quantum in coordination with the project managers.
• Perform PCM role in Quantum; prepare/close Purchase Orders (POs) and contracts in Quantum.
• Collect documents and information required by auditors and other entities and upon approval by the chief of section.
• Organize travel requests including purchase of tickets, Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) calculation.

4. Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

• Provide inputs to the development of training materials, webinars and other educational materials;
• Ensure application of standard templates and forms;
• Organize trainings for the operations/ projects staff on procurement;
• Synthesize lessons learnt and best practices in Procurement;
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice; facilitate procurement community network as focal point   to moderate the community debates;
• Contribute to information management and circulate procurement related information to UN Women clients and within the organization;
• Develop appropriate contract management / internal procurement tools or guiding materials for standardization and knowledge sharing purposes.

5. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization. 

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: N/A

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:

• Good knowledge of procurement process, systems; administrative rules and regulations;
• Good knowledge in the use of spreadsheets and database packages;
• Ability to work well under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Ability to extract and interpret data;
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Strong IT and web-based management skills.

Recruitment Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required;
• A first-level university degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, Economics or equivalent will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement;
• Procurement Certification from an internationally recognized provider such as CIPS (level 2) is an asset;

Experience

• A minimum of 6 years (with a high school diploma) or 4 year (with a bachelor’s degree) of relevant of relevant progressive experience in procurement is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages

• .Fluency in English and French is required.
• Knowledge of another UN official working language is desirable (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, 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.