UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a Chance

How can you make a difference

UNICEF Supply Division (SD) works to ensure equitable and inclusive access to essential supplies and services for children and their families, in development, humanitarian and fragile contexts. These supplies are critical to saving lives, supporting children’s health and education, and protecting them from abuse, exploitation, and neglect. As the UN’s largest end to end supply chain entity, UNICEF leverages its global reach, market influence, supply chain expertise and partnerships with governments, civil society, private sector, industry, and other stakeholders to meet children’s needs and protect their rights around the world.

SD focuses on three result areas to maximize impact, scale, and effectiveness: strategic procurement; supply preparedness and response in humanitarian and fragile contexts; and supply chain optimization. To facilitate and accelerate progress toward these results, SD employs three change strategies: financing for supply and services, supply chain digitalization and supply chain localization.

Infrastructure & Energy Centre (IEC): The Centre will provide operational and   normative support and guidance on infrastructure and energy supplies and services, including quality assurance of infrastructure procured by UNICEF. For cold chain and solarization equipment, EIC will lead market influencing efforts, specialized product management, including systematic data collection and product performance monitoring, global standard setting, procurement of equipment and related service bundles for installation and operation and maintenance. The Centre will also provide tools and LPA guidance to COs on construction, solarization equipment, cold chain equipment and pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants. IEC will mobilize a skilled and connected community and manage relationships with donors and partners. 

Purpose for the job:

Providing responsible assistance for a segment of products. Providing effective services to customers, ensuring accurate and timely processing of sensitive and highly detailed requisitions and requests up to the completion and closure of the order by having an effective collaboration with the different partners. Continuously work on meeting the goals, needs and the requirements of the various customers.

Under the supervision of a Contracts Manager/Specialist/Officer, performs all procurement activities in compliance with the UNICEF Financial Rules and Regulations.

Manual and other applicable procurement procedures including:

Reviews, evaluates, and analyses the incoming supply requisitions and requests to ensure quality and adequacy of information, specifications, and appropriateness of requests, quantities, shipment, delivery dates, and budgets. Prepare and draft price and cost estimates for Procurement Services transaction including freight with close contact and partnership with the concerned customers.
Reviews material specifications and requirements with customers, countries, technical counterparts and Quality Assurance Centre to ensure completeness and appropriateness. Ensures that customers’ claims/complaints are processed in collaboration with Shipping and Quality Assurance Centre.
Prepares sales orders, monitors and follows up on progress of sales orders to ensure that commitments entered into are met.
Drafts, analyses and prepares international tender invitations. Assists with preparation of Contract Review Committee submittals. Drafts, prepares, and give advice where applicable on the various Purchase Orders. Assists with and prepares Long Term Agreements and Direct Order Arrangements.
Monitors the status of Country Office programme and procurement service orders and center specific KPIs. Pro-actively follows up on placed orders and deliveries with all parties concerned in order to ensure timely and safe delivery of goods. Transmits all relevant information to customer including changes to planned deliveries, to facilitate delivery and customs clearance of shipments. Prepares and provides timely and regular status / monitoring reports to customers.
Assists in preparation and analysis of all information materials including Country and or customer specific reports, updating of databases and management systems for use by HQ, Field Offices or Regional Offices.
Contributes to the regular review of business processes, manuals and release note, and divisional and centre procedures.
Assists in preparation of comprehensive forecast exercise to secure a sustained and uninterrupted supply. Preparation and monitoring of detailed allocations database listing country office forecasts vs. supplier availability.
Pursues operational improvements in co-ordination with operational staff in other sections and Country Offices. Provides coaching and training to new staff.
Prepares evaluation of suppliers with respect to delivery performance and commercial acceptability.
Maintains order filing in accordance with UNICEF guidelines.
Provides support to the centers/country offices at emergencies as applicable.
Any other duties or assignments as requested by the supervisor.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File Procurement Associate GS6

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

Education: Completion of secondary education, preferably supplemented by Technical or University level courses in business administration.
Work Experience: 6 years of relevant work experience in Supply Management, Procurement Services, Supply Chain Operations, Contract Administration, Supplier Performance Management and any other related fields.
Skills: Procurement, Contract Management, Supplier Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, Stakeholder Communication
Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Procurement Associate, G-6, Temporary Appointment, Infrastructure & Energy Centre, 4 months, Supply Division, Copenhagen, Denmark #00137993