Contracts Manager, P-4, Fixed Term Position, Copenhagen, Denmark, Supply Division, #00137879

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 Future

How can you make a difference

UNICEF Supply Division (SD) is responsible for managing UNICEF’s global supply operations, delivering approximately $4 billion in supplies and services each year to support children worldwide. Within this mandate, SD plays a vital role in ensuring reliable access to affordable, high-quality essential medicines. The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines (GPACCM) is a flagship initiative designed to enhance the availability and affordability of oncology products through coordinated procurement, market-shaping efforts, and strategic partnerships. In this context, the role provides strategic leadership to design and implement market-shaping initiatives, expand pooled procurement mechanisms, and strengthen cross-functional collaboration to advance equitable and sustainable access to childhood cancer medicines globally.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

• Lead procurement and supply activities for oncology products by coordinating technical, commercial, quality assurance, and partner stakeholders.
• Provide technical support for integrated approaches to improving access to childhood cancer medicines through GPACCM working groups and key global technical meetings.
• Expand and scale pooled procurement modalities in collaboration with global health procurement agencies, regional procurement platforms, and governments.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of procurement and supply chain activities for GPACCM in support of governments, country offices, and non-governmental partners.
• Support the development of long-term agreements to strengthen competition, optimize pricing, and improve supply reliability.
• Ensure compliance with quality assurance frameworks, including WHO PQ and ERP standards.
• Contribute to market intelligence outputs, such as technical bulletins and market briefs, to improve visibility on availability, pricing, and supply trends.
• Convene buyers’ forums and coordinate engagement with governments, donors, and partners to align demand and mobilize resources.Build and sustain strong working relationships between UNICEF Supply Division and key GPACCM partners.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams across forecasting, procurement, quality assurance, market shaping, monitoring and evaluation, data management, and country engagement.
• Identify issues and risks and establish project plans with integrated monitoring and risk management frameworks.
• Develop and maintain partnership management tools, including partner-specific monitoring frameworks, reporting templates, and performance tracking mechanisms.
• Facilitate alignment between partners and internal teams (procurement, QA, supply, market shaping, country offices), ensuring coordinated implementation and issue resolution.
• Identify partnership risks and opportunities, including resource mobilization and expansion of GPACCM and non-platform partnerships, and provide recommendationsto management.
• Support knowledge sharing and capacity building across Supply Division and country offices on partnership management approaches related to GPACCM and similar pooled procurement initiatives.
• Creates awareness and understanding of the need for adequate quality standards, best practice and do-no-harm policies. Ensures that policy guidelines and regulatory requirements are appropriate and consistently applied to UNICEF procurement in close collaboration with the team of multidisciplinary technical specialists and officers.
• Ensures compliance with Good Storage and Distribution Practices (GSDP), ISO and other relevant international regulations, standards and guidelines, including integration of Quality Management Systems (QMS) requirements into work processes and functions.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: 137879_JD_Contracts Manager

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Pharmacy, Medicine or Medical Sciences. Master’s in Public Health, Business Administration, Procurement, Supply Chain Management will be considered for candidates with First university degree (Bachelor’s) in Pharmacy or Medicine or Medical Sciences.
• Work Experience: 8 years of relevant work experience in medicine supply chain management, and market shaping. Experience project management in public and commercial medical sector. Experience in managing multi-stakeholder partnerships involving donors, governments, and implementing agencies in complex global health environments. Experience with and knowledge of procurement procedures in the development area, particularly knowledge of pharmaceutical procurement procedures for supplies and services.
• Skills: Strong understanding of pharmaceutical markets, with expertise in strategic procurement, supply management, market intelligence, stakeholder engagement, partnership management, and effective communication.
• Language Requirements: Proficiency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.
• Relevant Qualifications in Project Management/ and or Health Product Procurement and Supply Management will be an added advantage.
• Experience in management of complex (multi-year, multi-country, multi-party) global health projects, resource mobilization experience, supply and transport management experience, and field postings are an asset.
• Strong understanding of quality assurance and regulatory pathways related to medicines.
• Experience in cancer control or child health.
• Training related to pharmaceutical systems.
• Relevant work experience with Global Health Partners and/or UN agencies, health cluster partners; experience working in relevant nongovernmental organizations.
• 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.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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.

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.