Contracts Specialist

The Contracts Specialist leads the contracting and service procurement function of the Bunia field office in support of the Ebola emergency response. The role involves managing contracting operations, including tendering, contract negotiation, award and administration, and supplier performance management, ensuring compliance with UNICEF rules and standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the contracting and service procurement function of the Bunia field office in support of the Ebola emergency response.
• Manage the field office’s contracting operations, including development and implementation of contracting and sourcing strategies, tendering processes, contract negotiation, contract award and administration.
• Establish Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) and institutional contracts, and manage supplier performance.
• Ensure full compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations while upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, accountability, and value for money.
• Supervise and support the professional development of contracting and supply staff.
• Work closely with programme teams to define contracting interventions that contribute to achieving results for children.
• Provide strategic technical and advisory support to government counterparts, national systems, and implementing partners on service contracting and supply chain management.

Requirements

• An advanced university degree (Master’s) is required in Business Administration, Management, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Procurement, Contract/Commercial Law, International Development or a related field.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience, at the national and international levels, in supply, logistics, procurement and/or contracting is required.
• Fluency in French is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is desirable.
• Experience in procurement/contracting for high-value, high-risk and complex services is required; experience managing or supervising a contracting/supply team is an advantage.
• Experience in the SAP Materials Management module, and in analytical work and contract negotiations, is an advantage.
• Understanding of development and humanitarian work; emergency experience an advantage; health supply chain management experience an advantage.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
• Experience gained in a humanitarian, emergency, or public-health-emergency setting.
• Experience supporting an active outbreak or emergency response (e.g., Ebola, cholera, measles, mpox, displacement, or a declared L2/L3 emergency), preferably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or comparable fragile, conflict-affected, and resource-constrained environments.
• Experience working with and/or through counterparts (Government and decentralized authorities, UN agencies, cluster and coordination mechanisms, implementing partners) to deliver measurable results in insecure or hard-to-reach areas.

Skills

• Contract Negotiation
• Procurement Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Logistics Management
• Contract Administration
• Supplier Performance Monitoring
• SAP ERP Materials Management
• High-value Contracting
• Risk Management in Procurement
• Team Supervision
• Humanitarian Procurement
• Emergency Response Procurement
• Health Supply Chain Management
• Tendering Process
• Development Context Procurement
• Fragile Settings Experience
• Public Health Emergency Experience
• Government and UN Coordination
• Contracting Compliance
• Analytical Work

Languages

French