Procurement Officer (Head, West and Central Africa Procurement Hub)

The Procurement Officer serves as the head of the West and Central Africa Procurement Hub at UNODC, responsible for managing complex procurement and contracting activities, providing technical oversight, and supporting procurement functions across the region. The role involves planning, developing, and managing procurement projects, ensuring compliance with UN regulations, and leading procurement staff.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior procurement and contracting expert with responsibility for the procurement of a wide variety of supplies and services associated with technically and legally complex contracts and procurement activities; lead and support the procurement work of Regional Offices.
• Plan, develop and manage all procurement and contractual aspects of projects of significant complexity related to diverse services and commodities, taking into account local economic and other conditions.
• Plan, develop and manage procurement activities related to infrastructure and major construction projects, including those of significant value, in consultation and supported by UNOV/UNODC Procurement Unit, in close cooperation with UNODC architects, engineers, national authorities to ensure compliance with building codes and safety precautions.
• Lead the preparation and implementation of procurement according to the United Nations Secretariat Financial Regulations and Rules; oversee procurement processed by other UN entities ensuring conformity with their respective rules and the UN system principle of Mutual Recognition.
• Coordinate procurement functions between ROSEN and CONGA under the West and Central Africa Procurement Hub arrangement, harmonizing delegation of authority thresholds and workload distribution.
• Provide technical advice and quality assurance on procurement activities during all phases of the procurement cycle; analyze and evaluate procurement requests and ensure appropriateness of technical specifications.
• Develop and prepare complex contracts for procurement of non-routine and technologically advanced commodities or long-range services; establish long-term agreements; issue international tender invitations; evaluate responses to tenders; make recommendations for purchases and award of contracts; sign procurement orders up to authorized limit and prepare submissions for higher-value approvals.
• Formulate strategies and design innovative solutions to resolve issues or conflicts in complex procurement projects, liaising closely with national authorities to ensure compliance with local laws.
• Establish and maintain work programmes and schedules for ongoing and newly planned contracts; develop tactical approaches to contracts and new methods based on market research.
• Contribute to the development of regional procurement guidance notes, procedures, workflows, standards, templates, innovation initiatives and criteria for evaluation of goods, services, and supplier capacity; streamline procurement processes and support implementation of UNOV/UNODC and Secretariat-wide initiatives.
• Maintain constant examination of production patterns in exporting countries; evaluate productive capacities and performance of manufacturers to identify reliable supply sources.
• Establish approaches for negotiations and conduct or coordinate all phases of negotiations with concerned parties, including resolution of disputes arising from contracts.
• Prepare, review, clear and/or approve a variety of procurement-related documents, Note to File (NtF), contracts, communications, guidelines, and instructions.
• Develop and deliver procurement-related training (mainly in English and French), coaching, and guidance to staff, buyers, managers, and project teams; organize staff development activities and supervise junior staff where applicable.
• Manage preparation of accurate and timely reports of procurement activities; monitor and manage auditing of procurement activities, ensuring recommendations are implemented in conformity with compliance rules.
• Monitor corporate KPI and coordinate with counterparts to ensure compliance with procurement standards.
• Lead the implementation and adoption of enterprise and corporate tools mandated by UNOV/UNODC to enhance productivity and improve overall operations efficiency.
• Collect and analyze data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
• Monitor and oversee the use of Low Value Acquisition (LVA) within the Hub, aiming to identify opportunities for consolidation, reducing reliance on LVA, and promoting the establishment and use of Long-Term Agreements (LTAs).
• Liaise closely with all programmes and project teams in the Hub and ensure efficient and continuous communication and exchange of information.
• Conduct missions to the field, as and when needed.
• Provide guidance to and supervise procurement staff and personnel.
• Participate and represent UNODC, as delegated, in UN Country Team Operations working groups.
• Perform other work-related duties as required.

Requirements

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, public administration, commerce, law, engineering, architecture, civil engineering, or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in similar fields combined with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Professional certification in supply chains such as Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply certification (CIPS Level 4) or equivalent is required.
• Evidence of such certification must be uploaded as part of the application.
• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible professional work experience in procurement and contract management is required.
• Work experience in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is required.
• Demonstrated work experience in managing a team is required.
• Experience working with the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations or a similar international organization is desirable.
• Work experience with SAP (Umoja), including generating and analyzing procurement reports from the system, is desirable.
• Demonstrated procurement work experience with counterparts in the field is desirable.
• Experience in developing and conducting training in procurement and other cross-functional processes is desirable.
• Work experience in the procurement of architectural and construction services for construction projects is desirable.

Skills

• Procurement Management
• Contract Management
• Supply Chain Certification
• CIPS Level 3
• Enterprise Resource Planning
• ERP Systems
• SAP UMOJA
• Procurement Reporting
• Team Management
• Financial Regulations
• Training Development
• Architectural Procurement
• Construction Project Procurement
• Project Procurement
• Technical Oversight

Languages

English, French