Procurement Services Specialist, P-3, Temporary Appointment, 364 days, Antananarivo, Madagascar, #00137469

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.

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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.

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For every child, the right to a Champion

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children's rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions —her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society's most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

The overall goal of the UNICEF Madagascar next Country Programme of Cooperation, 20242028, is to contribute to the Government of Madagascar's efforts to implement and decentralize policies related to children, focusing on the most disadvantaged and deprived, to have their rights progressively respected and fulfilled so they can survive, grow and develop to their full potential in an inclusive and protective society. The country programme is aligned with country and UNICEF regional and global priorities (plan 2024-2028), while concurrently working toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In Madagascar, 80% of people live with less than USD $2.15 per day and the country ranks 173rd in the latest UNDP Human Development Index (out of 193). 80% of the population lives rurally. Nearly half of the population is under the age of 18 and by 2030, there will be 17 million Malagasy children. Current trajectories suggest that Madagascar is unlikely to achieve any of the SDGs by 2030 although some key indicators for mothers and children have improved slightly over the past decade.

Procurement services is integrated into the Supply and Logistics section to promote coherence between the different components of the supply operations in the office, including Supply chain Strengthening, and to expand the scope of procurement services offered by the Country Office.

Given the budget pressure affecting many countries PS provides an opportunity to facilitate a more optimal use of national budgets (or donor resources) for children, as well as an entry point to provide targeted technical support to national supply chains and systems.

How can you make a difference?

The Procurement Services Specialist reports to the Supply Manager as per the Country Office (CO) setup. The incumbent will provide guidance, oversight, and direction on Procurement Services, national budgeting for essential supplies for children and supply financing solutions. Directly related to this support, the position will serve as focal point to identify opportunities in adjacent areas such as market access, market intelligence, market development and national supply chain strengthening.

Key function, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks:

1. Ensures that UNICEF contributes to capacity building of the relevant government departments, including state level in procurement and supply accountabilities and chain management of essential commodities.
2. Responsible for logistics/supply planning with focus on forecasting support for procurement services commodities through coordination with Government and other partners. Provides technical advice on commodities specifications and logistics arrangements facilitating efficient procurement, customs clearance, storage, and distribution in support of the country programme procurement services transactions.
3. Manage the Procurement Services (PS) portfolio.
4. Facilitates the establishment and maintenance of contacts with the Supply Division, Copenhagen capacity building initiatives and other supply strategies targeting the government counterparts. Interprets and advises the country office on policies and procedures impacting offshore and local procurement and delivery of supplies. Maintains links with Copenhagen on PS related cost estimates, transnational shipments, deliveries, claims and appropriateness of supplies.
5. Conducts research on supply chain initiatives with donors, identifies and recommends innovative approaches jointly with donors/partners. Maintains accurate/updated data on and evaluates local initiatives and overall performance, (competitive pricing, product quality and timely delivery). Assesses supply operations and control mechanisms and advises on appropriate actions.
6. Manages policy engagements, capacity building and knowledge transfer internally and externally to optimize national supply chain activities related to vaccines, health and nutrition products. Effective collaboration and partnerships with other donors and implementing partners to improve supply chain efficiency in the country. Supports the Ministry of Health counterparts and other government ministries in the mobilization of domestic resources for supplies.
7. Designs and conducts training for government and other partners in supply chain management to improve procurement services supply delivery and national systems.
8. Provides support to the sections especially Health and Nutrition on the implementation of supply chain systems strengthening activities in collaboration with HQ and support the Supply chain strengthening activities in the country. Contribute to Mainstreams PS and supply chain related activities within national strategies and relevant plans, project, and program design from the planning stage in close collaboration with program colleagues and government to ensure a cohesive and integrated approach to program delivery.
9. Contributes to effectively document interventions and lessons learned, define KPI, contribute to the reporting of supply chain activities, measure progress and formulate evidence-informed recommendations that align with national strategies and UNICEF's capabilities.
10. In collaboration with Programmes and other UN agencies, contribute identifying risks and gaps, challenges that may affect the successful implementation of activities, identity mitigations strategies and support the implementation of sustainable supply chain solutions and innovations tailored to the context of Madagascar.
11. Build the capacity of the locally recruited supply staff about PS and supply chain strengthening related components.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: JD - Procurement Services Specialist_P3.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An Advanced University Degree is required in either Business Administration, Management, Economics, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Procurement, Contract/Commercial Law, International Development, or other related social science, administrative or finance fields.
• Work Experience: A minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience at the national and international levels in supply, procurement, contracting, administration, finance and/or other directly related technical fields is required. Understanding of development and humanitarian work.
• Skills:
• Resource mobilization and financing solutions for essential supplies
• Risk assessment and mitigation in supply chain operations
• Market intelligence, market development, and supplier engagement
• Public sector reform or institutional capacity building
• Emergency response / crisis supply chain management
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and French is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• Emergency experience is an advantage.
• Health supply chain management experience is an advantage.
• 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

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.

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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 female 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.