Procurement and Administrative Assistant , United Nations University (UNU)

POSITION:GS-4
REFERENCE NO.:2015/UNU/HQ/FTA/PAA/76
LOCATION:Tokyo, Japan
TIMEZONE:UTC +9
CLOSING DATE:2015•12•13

Organizational Unit: UNU Centre, Administration/Procurement
United Nations University objectives

The United Nations University (UNU) is an international community of scholars engaged in research, postgraduate teaching and capacity development, and dissemination of knowledge in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The mission of UNU is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States. 

Responsibilities:
Reporting to the Procurement & Administrative Officer, the main duties and responsibilities of the Procurement & Administrative Assistant shall include the following:

• Ensures full compliance of procurement activities with the UN Procurement Manual, UN Financial Regulations and Rules and implementation of the effective internal controls, which include assisting in the preparation of procurement plans, organizing RFQ, ITBs and RFPs, receiving of quotations, proposals or bids, contract negotiations, vendor performance evaluations and facilitating knowledge building.
• Ensures proper control and physical management of capital and non-capital assets, which include generating and affixing tag IDs on acquired assets, issuing Personal Property Receipts to custodians, preparing and submitting case report and recommendation for disposal of assets to the UNU Property Survey Board, following up on discrepancy items after physical verification exercise.
• Oversees the day-to-day functions of the travel unit, works in close consultation with the various units on technical and functional related issues, facilitates knowledge building, manages the travel agency contract in Japan, and assists in market research and analysis for DSA survey.
• Creates transactions in the ERP system including requisitions, purchase orders, vendor registrations, receipts, payment vouchers, reports, etc., updates the physical attributes of assets, conducts testing and generates reports, where applicable, and provides on-the-job training, when required.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Required qualifications and experience:
• A minimum of a bachelor’s degree.
• Specialized training in public procurement, e.g., CIPS or similar certification.
• 5 years of progressively responsible administrative and or procurement experience is required at the national or international level.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.), experience in handling of web based management systems.
• Fluency in the English and Japanese languages.
• Ability to establish, build and maintain effective working relationships with staff and clients to facilitate the provision of support.
• Commitment to teamwork and the ability to work well in a diverse, multicultural environment.

Remuneration:

Remuneration is at the start of the salary scale of GS-4 level of the General Service salary scale for Tokyo, Japan, duty station in the United Nations Common System salary scale, plus benefits. For more information please visit http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salaries/japan.htm.

Duration of contract:

This is a full-time employment. UNU offers fixed-term appointments with the possibility of renewal on a rolling fixed-term appointment basis, subject to satisfactory work performance. The mandatory age of retirement for United Nations staff is 65 year.

Staff members of the UNU are international civil servants subject to the authority of the Rector and may be assigned to any of the activities or offices of UNU. The Rector reserves the right to appoint the candidate to a level below that is advertised.

Starting date:Expected by February 2016 or sooner.

Interested applicants should submit their applications by email (to paa_recruit@unu.edu), and must include the following:
• a cover letter setting out how the qualifications and experience match the requirements of the position
• a completed and signed UNU Personal History (P.11) form (please avoid using similar forms provided by other United Nations organizations)
• an indication of the reference number of the vacancy announcement (2015/UNU/HQ/FTA/PAA/76)
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations – Chapter 3, article 8)