Procurement Senior Associate (UN Web Buy Plus)

UN Web Buy

The UN Web Buy team (UNWB) is part of UNOPS Shared Services Centre (SSC), which provides policy advice, operational support, and transactional services to UNOPS offices, and is responsible for the administrative support to HQ and Copenhagen-based personnel.

UN Web Buy (unwebbuyplus.org) is UNOPS e-commerce solution for the humanitarian and development sector. Through UN Web Buy, partners can access UNOPS procurement services for selected commodities based on Long Term Agreements. The platform went through a complete redesign in 2017 and is constantly being updated with new functionality.

The UN Web Buy team is responsible for the UN Web Buy service and for the development and maintenance of the system. The UN Web Buy operations team is based in Copenhagen and Bangkok, from where it provides global procurement services through the UN Web Buy platform.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Team manager, the Procurement Senior Associate will be responsible for maintaining and improving the catalogue of the items displayed through UN Web Buy. He/she will also be responsible for the maintenance in liaison with the Category Management Team.

In the discharge of his/her duties, the Procurement Senior Associate will work autonomously, liasing with the suppliers, case officers and other internal stakeholders.

The UN Web Buy team is looking for a detail oriented individual with a technical/engineering background, enabling him/her to communicate effectively with the suppliers and the internal stakeholders, and to propose and provide solutions to the current challenges related to the UN Web Buy Plus catalogue, while ensuring the compliance with the

The ideal candidate for the Procurement Senior Associate role has keen interest in and a good knowledge of technical/engineering aspects related to the UN Web Buy Plus products, e.g. vehicles, solar power equipment, construction equipment, generators, etc. It is desired that the candidate also has some experience in public procurement with international organization. In addition to that, the candidate needs to show adeptness and interest in working with electronic tools in general and our e-Commerce platform in particular. 

*This is a local position based in Thailand, therefore either a Thai nationality or a valid work permit for Thailand (not linked to the current employment) is required.

 Functional Responsibilities

Create and design new catalogues

• Create catalogues in UN Web Buy based on tender technical specifications ensure the functionality and their user friendliness 
• Participate in creation, comment on and vetting technical specifications, terms of references before tendering for new products to be placed on UN Web Buy Plus
• Prepare in a timely manner catalogues before publication in the tender module

Maintain and improve the UN Web Buy Plus Catalogues in the ecommerce solution

• Share with the UN Web Buy Team lead  the Product Owner role following the Agile methodology Participate in sprint planning, daily stand-ups and testing of the platform
• Check and approve the changes submitted for approval by suppliers and ensure they are aligned with the Long Term AgreementS (LTAs)
• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders the addition of products and optional equipment based on case officers requests, ensuring compliance with the procurement manual
• Ensure that the catalogue is maintained and updated in a timely manner in collaboration with suppliers as per the LTAs terms and conditions 
• Keep track records for approvals out of the system / offline approvals 
• Review the functionality and user friendliness of the existing UN Web Buy Plus catalogues 
• Identify and report the shortcomings of the existing catalogues and propose solutions for improvements 
• Implement the proposed and approved catalogues improvements in the portal 
• Work closely with suppliers to improve product data in UN Web Buy Plus portal and maintain good supplier relationships 
• Display proactiveness and stay abreast with market development (such as model changes, price revisions, and cut-off dates) of UN Web Buy Plus commodities and coordinate with internal stakeholders and suppliers to ensure the changes are reflected in the catalogues in a timely manner  as per proper procurement procedure
• Collaborate with the internal ICT development team to plan and implement new functionalities and suggest improvement existing functionalities
• Participate in testing of new UN Web Buy Plus functionalities

Onboarding and Capacity Building of new suppliers and bidders

• Support suppliers on how to upload products in  the UN Web Buy Plus portal 
• Arrange onboarding and training session with suppliers and potential bidders
• Prepare and update support material (supplier guides, bidder user guides, factsheets and others) for supplier on-boarding and  for new bidders
• Provide clarification to suppliers and bidders who have system related queries

Provide support and advice on technical aspects of the UN Web Buy Plus catalogue products

• When required, assist case officers with queries and concerns regarding technical specifications of the products and the functionality of the catalogues
• Support development & rectification of other UN Web Buy Plus features
• Participate in events and meetings with suppliers 
• Acquire and share knowledge of contract management (LTAs) and UNOPS procurement rules and regulations