Senior Supply Officer at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Standard Job Description

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

• The Senior Supply Officer leads, oversees, coordinates and supports the supply activities at global, regional or country operations level. The position may be located at Headquarters (within DESS), in a Regional Bureau or in a Country Office. In the Bureau the incumbent normally reports to the Senior Operations Coordinator or to the Head of Bureau Strategic Planning and Management Service or the Senior Strategic Planning and Management Coordinator. In the Country Operation s/he normally reports to the Head of Office, to the Representative or the Deputy Representative (Operations) at the same level as the Programme and Administration functions. The incumbent directly supervises professional and general service staff in an operation.
• The incumbent will ensure effective local supply chain that enables the operation to meet the needs of persons of concerns as well as timely delivery of quality goods and services to persons of concern.
• The incumbent will advise Country Operations on how to create/maintain a supply chain infrastructure that is robust and flexible enough to accommodate the needs of the operation and that enables timely emergency responses, along with regional oversite of effective partners to support supply activities.
• The incumbent maintains impartial, ethical and customer-oriented relations with suppliers and Partner organizations; exchanges information with counterparts in other UN agencies, and International Organisations within the limits established by UN /UNHCR Procurements Rules and assists with joint procurement actions if, as and whenever necessary. In the Bureau the incumbent will assist upon needs, in operations will coordinate the delivery of assistance from the regional warehouse, if applicable. S/he will liaise with SMS staff who manage the Global Stockpiles and who manage the Global Asset and Fleet Management, if and as required. In addition, the incumbent will coordinate with SMS regarding policies, overall planning and management of resources that have an impact on Supply or where Supply has an impact on other parts of the operation.
• In the Bureau the Senior Supply Officer function extends to providing advice, capacity-building, coaching and guidance on policy and operational issues to ensure compliance with UNHCR procurement, logistics and asset management rules and regulations; as well as support supply planning, implementation, reporting and statistics. The Senior Supply Officer, being part of the Bureau Supply team will, take on the role of advising, analysing and coaching the supply functions at Country Operation levels. The Senior Supply Officer from the Bureau will primarily focus on advising and reviewing the sourcing/procurement aspects of the supply function, as Bureau remains a procurement-prone region requiring a sound level of risk management tools. In complex and challenging operational environment, an excellent procurement expertise will then be required to mainstream UN procurement principles as well as UNHCR internal policies throughout the region. Furthermore, the incumbent will be the ex-officio of the Regional Committee on Contracts which has been established to approve cases at a higher threshold than the Local Committee on Contracts. In addition, the incumbent will review procurement cases from the operations that are above the country operations delegations, provide feedback as required and clear them for the relevant procurement authority. S/he will also have a large responsibility on capturing, analysing and reporting the information from the different Country Operations of the Bureau. This would require strong interaction and coordination in addition to an excellent knowledge of UNHCR tools (MSRP, Focus) and data analysis.
• In country operations the incumbent will have direct working relationship/arrangement with the Head of UNHCR offices that fall within the domain of the office and will also have a responsibility to monitor, coach, guide and intervene with the staff within the given area of responsibility.
• The incumbent will also create/maintain offices' supply chain optimised and aligned with the operations' evolving needs and management systems.
• All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties

• Analyse the existing infrastructure and ensure that it is optimally aligned with the operational needs.
• Coordinate and manage all activities pertaining to the supply chain function including planning, sourcing, transport, shipping, customs clearance, warehousing, asset and fleet management in the operation.
• Coordinate and manage the procurement process to ensure timely, cost-effective and adequate delivery of commodities and services to support operational needs.
• Develop relevant contacts and build constructive relations with government authorities, implementing partners, UN agencies and others, to foster mutual cooperation for the timely delivery of relief items avoiding bottlenecks such as streamlining customs clearance processes.
• Set up and adapt standard supply chain structures to the local environment that are consistent with the operational needs.
• Support and guide the office should they need additional office space or extensions to their office leases, lease hold improvements or other construction. Carry out the procurement aspect of the establishment of office leases or extensions.
• Coordinate with CBI stakeholders the design and implementation of the market assessment and market monitoring to determine if CBI is option. Carry out the procurement action to contract Financial Service Providers (FSP).
• Identify partners for supply chain projects based on objectives, priorities, strengths and resources of the Partner and/or contractor, according to criteria consistent with UNHCR rules and regulations.
• Identify, assess and select vendors based on their capability for delivering commodities and services. Maintain vendor and item master databases.
• Implement effective asset and fleet management that regularly monitors the asset/fleet pool, increase efficiency and safeguards the investment of the organisation.
• Draw up plans for the disposal and replacement of old and obsolete asset and coordinate with SMS on the proper disposal of assets.
• Analyse the quality of commodities and services delivered in relation to the needs of the location and established quality standards.
• Coordinate activities of Partners and/or contractors performing supply related activities, and ensure that they understand and adhere to relevant UNHCR rules and procedures. Ensure Supply participation in the multifunctional teams for partner verification.
• Establish and maintain an efficient and skilled workforce that is capable of supporting on-going operations.
• Maintain an up-to-date overview of the location`s supply chain capacity and preparedness, as well as, that of its partners to ensure that adequate capacity exist also to cover emergencies.
• Monitor the quality and accuracy of supply chain related data in relevant business systems. Compile and analyse statistical information, identify trends and developments in supply chain related matters that will assist in decision making.
• Resolve difficulties in the local supply chain by finding solutions to problems and bottlenecks, and provide regular reports on supply chain activities, the status of requests and the availability of items in the supply chain.
• Disseminate, promote commitment to and monitor compliance with UNHCR's global policies, standards and guidance on supply chain management.
• Ensure effective information flow in the supply chain and adapt process and documents to the prevailing environment.
• Coordinate the work of the supply units so as to achieve operational objectives in a timely and cost-effective manner. Ensure the effective and efficient use of financial and material resources within the rules and procedures of UNHCR.
• Prepare plans for delivery of relief items according to UNHCR's short and medium term requirements.
• Plan and develop an effective procurement plan for the geographical area of responsibility taking into account local procurement options. Use procurement planning tools and DEMANTRA demand planning.
• Ensure adequate capacity to respond to an emergency and develop contingency plans for the supply function as part of the operational plan.
• Act as ex-officio for the related contract committee. Review and/or clear procurement cases for the relevant procurement authority.
• Assess the environment and situation in which a supply operation will take place. Implement supply operations in the best manner possible through elimination of obstacles.
• Sustain the supply chain's capacity throughout an emergency and ensure an efficient flow of relief items to the persons of concern. Rapidly respond to changing needs and quickly reallocate resources when required.
• Implement practical projects to improve supply performance that has clear objectives, timescales, tasks and resources defined. Monitor the project execution against the plans and take action when actual implementation deviates from plans.
• Perform other related duties as required.

In the Regional Bureaux:

• Advise Country Operation on how to implement supply operations based on interpretations of the situation and conclusions to how the operation can be best implemented.
• Ensure that global Supply policies are understood by all Supply teams in the region by offering summaries and relevant interpretations in the regional context.
• Seek opportunities for regionalizing and streamlining Supply operations where operational advantage can be achieved
• Track the progress of specific periodic operations and provide guidance that ensures timely implementation.
• Organize and deliver training at regional level in the different Supply functions such as procurement, logistics, asset and fleet management.
• Coach and advise individuals or Supply teams as requested.
• Tracks global Supply KPIs for the region and devise regional ones as required.
• Monitor all periodic Supply exercises such as monthly reconciliations, quarterly physical inventory exercises, year-end accounts closure procedures and ensure that they are implemented throughout the region.
• Regularly visit country operations and their Supply teams including visits to camps and other operational sites, provide oversight and support within the operational context.
• Provide a diagnostic on MSRP management reports for country operations, and coordinating with the Regional Supply Coordinator for necessary follow-up to ensure that data, in particular stocks accurately and completely reflect the reality in the warehouses.
• Review country financial reports and work with the Country Operations Supply Team leaders to address red areas relating to Supply aspects of operations.
• Ensure that country needs assessment plans are established, combine them into regional procurement plans and monitor their timely implementation and changes based on operational needs.
• Monitor and advise operations on import and customs clearance (as required) to resolve and ensure bottlenecks a smooth flow of goods to the operations.
• Ensure coordinated emergency deployments of supply staff in consultation with SMS to countries in the Bureau.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

• For P4/NOD 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education

• Supply Chain Management; Business Administration; International Commerce; Engineering or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses

• Certificate from Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supplies, e.g. CFIPS, CMIPS, MCIPS