Organizational Setting

Procurement Service provides policy and operational support to ensure that the Organization procures good, works and services based on ‘Best Value for Money’ principles.
The Procurement Specialist will be located at FAO HQ, Rome, Italy; and will perform a variety of procurement activities aimed to assist headquarters units and field offices requiring specialized procurement support.

Reporting Lines

The Procurement Specialist will work under the general guidance of the Senior Procurement Officer/Senior Contracts Officer and under the direct supervision of a Contracts or Procurement Officer, as appropriate for functional and policy guidance.

Technical Focus 

Procurement of goods and/or services.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Review and analyze procurement requests for completeness and conformity with established FAO rules, procedures and  practice; liaise with the requesters, as necessary, and recommend to supervisor appropriate strategy/approach to best serve institutional interests including requests from Headquarters divisions or decentralized offices to undertake procurement locally;
•    Assist in preparing evaluation criteria, for more complex procurement actions, tender documents and contracts.
•    Assist in preparing office procurement plans, developing and implementing directly or indirectly simple procurement strategies for requested goods/services/works taking into consideration the associated risks and the related mitigation measures.
•    Perform operational functions relating to the procurement process including, but not limited to, preparation of documents in FAO’s ERP system and other office applications related to assigned procurement actions, issuance of tenders and purchase orders/contracts, evaluation of bids/proposals, follow-up with suppliers/contractors including follow-up on orders/contracts to ensure timely delivery/contract execution, etc.
•    Assist the supervisor in providing guidance to Organization staff  working in different offices / divisions on procurement/contracting matters and on the implementation of procurement strategies and processes in conformity with the relevant rules, procedures and practices;
•    Make initial recommendation of awards for procurement activities directly undertaken as responsible buyer relating to the purchase of goods or contracting of services/works based on solicitation results/offers received;
•    Review and analyze requests for ad-hoc re-delegation of authority received from country offices;
•    Provide advice and guidance to colleagues on the use of IT procurement-related applications, including e-tendering tools, utilized in the Procurement Service;
•    If required, be available/ready to participate in procurement missions worldwide, providing support and training to decentralized offices as necessary;
•    Produce relevant reports to support contract monitoring;
•    Perform other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University Degree in Law, Business, Administration, Economics, Public Administration or Commerce or a related field.
•    A minimum of one year of relevant experience in procurement related activities
•    Working knowledge of English and French or Spanish

FAO Core Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills 

•    Demonstrated knowledge of internationally recognized procurement standards and international procurement techniques and operations used in contracting for goods and services;
•    Extent and relevance of experience in public sector procurement dealing with contractual issues;
•    Extent and relevance of experience in identifying clients’ procurement-related needs and in providing support and guidance from clients’ point of view;
•    Experience in logistics operations is an asset desirable;
•    Knowledge of procurement-related IT tools and systems (i.e. enterprise resource planning, inventory management, procurement, database management applications, etc.) is desirable.