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

About the role

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is recruiting a Procurement Officer to head the West and Central Africa Procurement Hub in Dakar, Senegal. The post sits in the Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROSEN), Division for Operations, and reports to the Chief (Procurement) of the UNODC Procurement Unit in Vienna and the ROSEN Representative. It also provides technical oversight for procurement at the UNODC Country Office in Nigeria (CONGA).

Key responsibilities

• Serve as a senior procurement and contracting expert for complex supplies and services, leading and supporting procurement work of Regional Offices.
• Plan, develop and manage procurement of complex projects covering IT, electronic equipment, medicines, safety equipment, foodstuffs, building materials, refurbishment, office supplies and furniture, taking local conditions into account.
• Manage procurement for infrastructure and major construction projects in line with local, state and national building codes, with architects, engineers and national authorities.
• Lead procurement under UN Financial Regulations and Rules, and oversee procurement handled by other UN entities, including through the Common Back Office arrangement.
• Coordinate procurement between ROSEN and CONGA, harmonize delegation of authority thresholds and share workload among buyers.
• Provide technical advice and quality assurance on procurement requests and technical specifications, and develop complex contracts, long-term agreements and tender invitations.
• Negotiate with suppliers, resolve disputes, and prepare contracts, Notes to File and other procurement documents.
• Develop regional procurement guidance, procedures, templates and standards, and contribute to UNODC and Secretariat-wide initiatives.
• Evaluate manufacturers' capacities and supply sources, and monitor Low Value Acquisition to promote Long-Term Agreements.
• Deliver procurement training and coaching in English and French, supervise junior staff, run audits and report on procurement activities.
• Implement UNODC tools such as the Procurement Tracker, Ariba, IFS and CPRT, and use data visualisation to analyse procurement data.
• Conduct field missions, represent UNODC in UN Country Team operations working groups and perform other duties as required.

Required profile

• Knowledge of internationally recognised procurement standards and of international procurement techniques for complex goods and services.
• Knowledge of contract law and expertise in handling complex procurement and contract issues.
• Ability to develop procurement policies, procedures and new programmes, and to analyse data to support decisions.
• Professionalism, pride in work and mastery of the subject matter.