Procurement Officer (Vendor Management)

The Procurement Officer leads the Vendor Registration and Outreach Team within the Office of Supply Chain Management, responsible for vendor management, registration, and outreach activities related to procurement of complex contracts and supplies. The role involves managing vendor rosters, due diligence, providing technical procurement advice, supporting procurement processes, and contributing to policy development.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a senior vendor management expert with responsibility for the registration and maintenance of the Secretariat's vendor rosters for procurement of a wide variety of supplies and services associated with highly complex (technically and legally) contracts and procurement activities, including the master list of approved / prequalified air operators.
• Manages and strengthens vendor registration and due diligence processes, including Special Approval requests, collaboration with the High-Level Committee on Management - Procurement Network (HLCM/PN) working groups, and continuous improvement through liaison with United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM).
• Maintains vendor outreach and roster data, providing accurate statistics and analysis to respond to queries from Member States and oversight bodies.
• Provides technical advice on procurement activities related to vendor management to officials of substantive units during all phases of the procurement cycle.
• Analyzes and evaluates procurement requests, including requests for special approval and ensures appropriateness of technical specifications and case submissions.
• Supports the procurement process, which covers the following: issuances of international tender invitations; management of submissions and tender opening; evaluation of responses to tender, and preparation of recommendations for finalization of purchases and award of contracts; special approval of vendors up to the authorized limit, and, in cases where the amount exceeds authorized signature authority, preparation of submissions to the Special Approval Committee for review and subsequent approval by the authorized official, as relevant.
• Develops new tactical approaches to contracts, as well as new methods for their application, based on market research.
• Oversees the submission, presentation, decision implementation, and reporting processes for Vendor Review Committee cases, including sanctions related to unethical or anti-competitive practices, vendor eligibility, contract performance, and reinstatement.
• Contributes to the development of institutional procurement policies and procedures; develops standards and criteria for the evaluation of goods, services, or supplier capacity, etc.
• Maintains, under constant examination, production patterns in exporting countries; evaluates the productive capacities and performance of manufacturers to identify supply sources, as relevant.
• Establishes approaches for negotiations and conducts or coordinates all phases of negotiations with all concerned parties, including the negotiation of disputes arising from contracts, as relevant.
• May carry out consultancy missions to the field.
• Provides direction and guidance to more junior staff.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent degree) in business administration, public administration, commerce, accounting, engineering, law or a related field.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in procurement, contract management, contract administration, or related area is required.
• Experience in vendor management, due diligence and risk management, vendor outreach, or similar procurement related functions for the United Nations or other comparable international organization, is required.
• At least two years of supervisory experience is required.
• Experience in making presentations or briefings to senior management, and external stakeholders is required.
• Experience in drafting responses to and providing inputs on queries from Member States and oversight bodies on procurement or vendor outreach is desirable.
• Experience in analyzing financial statements in accordance with accounting principles to assess the financial standing of vendors is desirable.
• Experience in conducting market research, data analysis, and working with business intelligence systems to produce reports is desirable.
• Knowledge of internationally recognized procurement standards, vendor due diligence and risk management techniques and operations used in contracting vendors for highly complex and technologically advanced goods and services.
• Knowledge of vendor management and registration criteria.
• Knowledge of quantitative methods to measure supplier capacity systems, evaluate suppliers' financial status and ability to identify sources of supply to meet the needs of the Organization.
• Knowledge of vendor outreach and ability to conduct outreach activities, including organizing business seminars.
• Ability to apply technical expertise to resolve a range of complex and/or sensitive issues/problems.
• Ability to develop relevant policies, procedures and new programmes concerning vendor management and outreach.
• Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Skills

• Procurement Management
• Contract Management
• Vendor Management
• Vendor Due Diligence
• Risk Management
• Vendor Outreach
• Supervision Experience
• Presentation Skills
• Financial statement analysis
• Market Research
• Data Analysis
• Business Intelligence Systems
• International Procurement Standards
• Supplier Capacity Evaluation
• Vendor Registration
• Policy Development
• Procurement Advice
• Program Development
• Gender Mainstreaming
• Contract Administration

Languages

English