Contracts Specialist (P-3), FT, # 00125937, Kabul – Afghanistan, APR (only open to Non-Afghan nationals)

Unicef Afghanistan Country Office is looking for an experienced  Contract Specialist responsible for planning, developing, and executing effective and efficient procurement of institutional services for the  Country Office and ensuring that the contracting function produces affordable and quality outputs with a significant impact on program delivery of much-needed services. 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. Visitour websiteto learn more about what we do at UNICEF. For every child, the right to a Future How can you make a difference? The situation in Afghanistan remains exceptionally complex, with a protracted emergency situation, characterized by recurrent natural disasters, an increased number of people living in poverty, continued internal displacement, unprecedented levels of food insecurity, further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.  This complexity has greatly impacted the situation of children and women in the country. The withdrawal of United States military forces from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the establishment of a de-facto government by the Taliban has exacerbated the complexity and uncertainty of the situation. UNICEF is required to rapidly adapt its modalities of working to address the multiple operational constraints present in the highly volatile and unpredictable context. - Ensures all contracting activities are in compliance with the UNICEF Financial Rules and Regulations, SD Manual, and all other applicable procurement procedures. - Works closely with programmes and partners on project/TOR design, TOR and work plan and coordination, issues of long-term forecasting of service plan and funding availability. - In collaboration with all stakeholders (programme, partners, suppliers, finance), effectively administers and manages contracts, i.e. development of specifications; attend bid openings and post bid evaluation meetings; review of bid documents including analyses of Bills of Quantities (BOQ) for construction projects, technical and financial proposals; compile and analyse submitted bid data. - Advise management of contractual rights and obligations; compile and analyse data; and maintain historical information. - Ensure the solicitation for service contracting is conducted in the most competitive and transparent manner and make effort to expand the vendor database locally and internationally. - Provide technical advice to Contract Review Committee (CRC) for award of contracts and present such submissions. Ensure completeness, appropriateness and protect best interest of the organization by ensuring proper contracting processes and fulfillment in accordance with organizational policies, legal requirements, and customer specifications. - Prepare contracts and Long-Term Agreements in VISION for approved service providers and manage contractual activities up to the stage of delivery stage as per contractual terms and conditions. - Act as focal point for maintaining regular updates and reporting of statistical reports relating to contract services and Long-Term Agreements (LTA). - Interact and follow up with programme and operations sections on issues related to contractual management and timely delivery of services including KPI achievement, and evaluate service providers with respect to delivery performance, products, programme/commercial acceptability. - Identify opportunities, barriers, successes, problems and courses of actions to address identified challenges. - Act as focal point for the Procurement Case Management (PCM) platform and ensure that cases are allocated and ensure that status is updated and progress shared with stakeholders on a regular basis - Provide supply input to donor dialogue, and support development of supply components of proposals to donors including budgeting and use of innovative financing mechanisms for supplies, services and construction works. - Provide input to capacity development initiatives in the area of supply chains services for children, in close collaboration with programme colleagues. Support supply components of health systems strengthening as might be relevant in the country context - Supervise and identify training needs of staff under supervision - Any other duty assigned by supervisor If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:JD - Contracts Specialist, P-3, Fixed Term Position, Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan, #00125937.pdf To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… Minimum requirements: - Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Business Administration, Management, Economics, Supply/Purchasing, Law, International Development, Health Administration and any other related field is a requirement. - Work Experience: 5 years of relevant work experience in Supply Management/Contracting/Logistics, procurement, contract management, supply chain management, logistics management, vendor management, sourcing, tender management, compliance, construction procurement, humanitarian operations or any other related field is required. - Skills: Administration, Contract Implementation, Logistics, Long-Term Planning, Market Research, Procurement - Language Requirements: English level Proficient/Fluent is required. Desirables: - Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language (Dari or Pashto) will be an asset. - Emergency response or humanitarian experience, experience in Afghanistan, health supply chain experience, knowledge of Dari or Pashto, construction procurement experience, donor engagement experience, experience with innovative financing mechanisms, and/or experience with SAP (VISION) will be an asset. - Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts is desirable. 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(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people Familiarize yourself withour competency frameworkand 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 pa