This is an international and local vacancy, therefore candidates of any nationality who meet the requirements for the position may apply.
Under the direct supervision of the Contract Management Specialist, the Senior Contract Management Officer is responsible for managing the contract management lifecycle of the INFRAIGSS program, in conjunction with the Component leaders, from gathering needs and requirements in the pre-acquisition stage to contract closure and supplier performance evaluation.
The role requires a deep understanding of procurement policy and processes for goods and services, and the Senior Contract Management Officer must be able to apply them to appropriate situations, ensuring full compliance with UNOPS reporting, management and accountability standards, guidelines and procedures.
The Senior Contract Management Officer analyzes the relevant rules and regulations and provides solutions to a wide range of complex contract management issues. Their work is primarily focused on achieving the following set of results:
- Support for procurement planning, contract management, and procurement strategies for goods and services.
- Management of goods and services contracts to ensure compliance with UNOPS standards.
- Contract execution management
- Management of contractual and supplier risks
- Supplier relationship management and development
- Team management (when required)
- Generation and exchange of knowledge
To achieve the results, the Senior Contract Management Officer will perform, among others, the following functions:
- Support for procurement planning, contract management, and procurement strategies for goods and services.
- Contribute to the planning, and guide the program in the implementation (if necessary) in the post-acquisition stage;
- To monitor the implementation and results of the program’s procurement plans, covering the entire procurement cycle;
- Support the development of technical evaluation criteria and actively participate during the drafting of contracts;
- Contribute to the planned transition from the contract award phase to the contract management phase, and a handover to the program where contract ownership is clear and orderly;
- Implement the contract management processes and plan, with a focus on results and a holistic approach to performance and accountability in order to boost contract management performance in the program;
- To help ensure that contract management processes are aligned with, among other things, broader organizational governance processes, operational boards and risk management;
- Ensure that contract administration issues and performance are reported through the appropriate governance structure with input from senior project leadership and the GTCO Office;
- Prepare comments on project audit reports, when necessary.
- Management of goods and services contracts to ensure compliance with UNOPS standards.
- To support the management of services or delivery of goods in a well-structured manner, with both parties understanding the guidelines, and ensuring that suppliers understand the service they must provide or the goods they must deliver and the conditions that must be met;
- Develop a quality assurance plan to provide a systematic method for monitoring contract performance.
- Contribute to the development of a comprehensive and objective performance management framework to be implemented when the contract is signed, providing incentives for the supplier to meet or exceed agreed performance standards;
- Ensure that supplier performance is assessed using clear, objective and meaningful metrics, linked rules and regulations of UNOPS;
- Establish clear processes for handling operational problem resolution and resolve them as quickly as possible;
- Ensure that suppliers receive regular and routine feedback on their performance;
- Ensure that users understand what is intended to be offered under the contract and participate in the evaluation of the supplier’s performance where relevant;
- Ensure that users understand the appropriate routes to escalate problems/issues as they arise;
- Establish formal methods for capturing and considering changes in user requirements as part of formal change management processes and contracts;
- Ensure that formal performance reviews are conducted with suppliers, with documented improvement plans agreed upon where necessary, and that these cover both operational issues and compliance with key contractual requirements.
- Working to resolve conflicts or performance problems that arise in cases of poor performance and/or non-compliance with contractual obligations.
3. Contract execution management
- Develop and implement contract management plans.
- Plan and manage all contractual aspects; establish and maintain work programs and schedules for current and new contracts, in conjunction with component leaders.
- Implement the use of contract management software (PDS, Tiqom, Tijax, etc.) to record key information and to provide, for example, search capability so that information and documentation on ongoing contract management is preserved, managed, and easily accessible when needed;
- Implement mechanisms (preferably technological) to identify key “trigger or critical points” of the contract, such as notice periods, health certificates and/or expiry dates of goods;
- Develop contract compliance checklists and implementation plans.
- Develop indicators and dashboards and maintain regular and ad hoc reports of contract management information;
- Ensure that payments to suppliers are made in accordance with the contract and that payment mechanisms are documented, clear and well understood by all parties (including incentives, penalties and non-standard charges);
- Ensure that there are adequate controls and authorization processes in place for invoice payments;
- Establish clear processes for managing minor changes and contract variations, with a focus on ensuring that the cost/effort is proportional to the importance and value of the change;
- Ensure that both parties have a clear understanding of the arrangements for any extension of the contract (both in scope and time) and other related matters;
- Perform contract closure, including identifying, documenting and disseminating best practices and lessons learned, and ensure the final evaluation of the contractor’s performance.
- Together with the Contract Management Specialist, act as a liaison with other areas regarding claims and disputes, demanding specific performance, claiming against warranties and other contractual remedies.
4. Management of contractual and supplier risks
- Ensure that contractual and supplier risk management is implemented with clear responsibilities and processes, identification of who is best positioned to manage the risk, and supplier involvement where appropriate;
- Ensure that risks are formally identified and regularly monitored, with mitigation actions developed and implemented where possible, and that “obsolete” risks are removed from consideration where appropriate;
- Establish and communicate escalation routes and reports for risk governance;
- Support the development of contingency plans to handle supplier failures (temporary or long-term failures/non-compliance); exit strategies are developed and updated throughout the term of the contract;
- Ensure that the contractual terms surrounding security and confidentiality (particularly issues related to the security/confidentiality of personal data), guarantees, indemnities, insurance and termination are understood and monitored by those responsible for the contract.
5. Management and development of relationships with suppliers
- Plan, structure and implement a supplier relationship management program with appropriate governance and a clear sense of the value that will be generated for both parties;
- Develop mechanisms for capturing and sharing knowledge and innovation from suppliers when necessary or desirable.
- Implement supplier improvement activities related to broader initiatives (e.g., on sustainability, issues related to employment for people with disabilities, use of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and WOBs (women owned businesses), etc.).
6. Team Management (when required)
- Facilitate the commitment and delivery of high-quality results and services from the supervised team through effective recruitment, work planning, performance management, training, and the promotion of learning and development.
- Provide supervision, ensuring compliance by team members with existing policies and best practices.
- Work as a team with internal parties such as the PgMO, support services area and external parties.
7. Generation and exchange of knowledge
- Ensure that knowledge management is integrated, capturing key data and lessons learned from the process and experience with contract management both within and outside the organization.
- Support and implement initiatives on capacity building and knowledge development for staff in contract management.
- Guide the collection of internal team feedback, ideas, and knowledge about processes and best practices and use them productively.
- Collect and share lessons learned and best practices.
Requirements:
A. Education
Requested:
- Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Law, Commerce, Public Administration, Finance, Economics, or another related field
Desirable:
- A higher degree or equivalent to a Master’s Degree in the areas mentioned above may replace some of the required years of experience.
- Certifications relevant to the position are desirable (CIPS, PMI, PRINCE2).
B. Experience
Requested:
- Four years (or less, depending on the academic qualifications provided) of relevant and progressive professional experience are required, specifically in the field of Contract Management of goods and services. (This must be specified in the job descriptions for the positions held, which will be included in your Talent+ profile when applying for this vacancy.)
- Demonstrated experience in preparing reports for donors and partners is required. (This must be specified in the job descriptions of previous positions held, which will be included in your Talent+ profile when applying for this vacancy.)
- Demonstrable experience in computer use and office software packages, such as documents, databases, and spreadsheets (Google Suite or MS Office), is required. (This must be specified in the job descriptions of previous positions held, which will be included in your Talent+ profile when applying for this vacancy.)
Desirable:
- Experience working with transactional and acquisition projects.
- Experience working with and/or supervising multidisciplinary work teams.
- Previous experience working in Latin America.
C. Languages
- Native Spanish speaker required.
- An intermediate level of English is desirable.
How to apply
To learn more about the position and to apply, please go directly to the UNOPS Careers page: https://careers.unops.org/careersmarketplace/JobDetail/Oficial-Senior-de-Gesti-n-de-Contratos-Bienes-y-Servicios/2302