The Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR), based in Geneva, is responsible for the effective management, coordination and oversight of UNOPS operations across the region. The ECR region spans the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Caucasus, and Türkiye, where UNOPS works with partners to achieve sustainable impact in health, education, environmental management, housing, rule of law, good governance, economic development, and social inclusion. With a wealth of experience in procurement, infrastructure, project and grant management, UNOPS in the region directly implements projects, provides technical advisory services and capacity building to advance the Sustainable Development Goals in support of national governments.

The UNOPS South East Europe Multi-Country Office (SEEMCO) supports sustainable development in Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Based in Belgrade with strong field teams, SEEMCO delivers project management, procurement, infrastructure, HR, and technical assistance to governments, donors, and international financial institutions. Partnering with national institutions, local authorities, civil society, and media, it contributes to sectors such as infrastructure, socio-economic development, social cohesion, rule of law, environment, healthcare, education, digitalisation, energy transition, and governance. Since 2000, SEEMCO has advanced the EU integration agenda, national priorities, and the Sustainable Development Goals. It also provides emergency response, recovery support, and capacity building for institutions. Funders include the EU, European Investment Bank, governments of Switzerland, Sweden, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, as well as UN agencies such as UNHCR and UNEP.

The post will lead the Procurement Department for the South East Europe Multi‑Country Office (SEEMCO), currently covering Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. SEEMCO’s portfolio contains substantial procurement components across multiple sectors, requiring close liaison between Programme and Support Services Teams, strategic planning, supervision of Procurement personnel, and provision of high‑level procurement advice and oversight in line with MCO priorities under the direction of the Head of Support Services. 

The Vacancy Announcement considers UNOPS internal candidates, preferably those holding Procurement Reviewer rights. The SEEMCO Procurement Team is confirmed and brings established, hands-on experience within the UNOPS procurement context, enabling the incumbent to focus immediately on strengthening compliance, value‑for‑money, risk mitigation and supplier management across the MCO.

The Procurement Specialist is responsible for developing and implementing strategic and effective procurement services reflecting best practices in international public procurement; compliance with UNOPS procurement rules and regulations; appropriate risk management; and obtaining the best value for money for the acquisition of goods, services and contracting of works. The role analyzes and interprets relevant rules and regulations and provides advice and solutions to a wide spectrum of complex issues related to procurement. 

The Procurement Specialist has a deep understanding of procurement policy and processes, as well as their application to appropriate situations. In addition to responsibility for the deliverables of the work team, s/he focuses on strategic relationship building and demand management, mainly related to aggregation and dealing with complex organization structures, preparation of business cases and understanding of the supply market, as well as sharing knowledge with projects in order to achieve reductions of costs and savings.

By role-modelling the highest degrees of personal and professional ethics, the Procurement Specialist maintains a collaborative, quality-driven, client-focused and results-oriented approach to their procurement role. S/he works in close cooperation with the office leadership and project managers, reporting to management on central issues related to procurement activities.

Development and Implementation of Procurement Strategies

• Ensure appropriate application of UNOPS procurement governance framework (rules, regulations, policies and tools) across office and project operations.
• Provide supply-market intelligence and analysis.
• Design and implement procurement strategies, approaches and plans to achieve cost reduction and savings goals, through applying expertise in market intelligence matched to business requirements; optimal stakeholder management principles; sustainability criteria; and appropriate work processes tailored to individual cases.
• Oversee and supervise implementation of strategic and routine procurement work plans, covering: pre-purchasing; strategy and planning; requirements definition; sourcing; purchasing; solicitation; management of submissions; evaluation; review and award; post-purchasing; contract finalization and issuance; logistics; and contract management.

Management of Procurement Processes

• Embed sustainability in the end-to-end procurement process.
• Apply appropriate procurement modalities and instruments (e-sourcing, procurement and rosters of suppliers) based on individual case requirements, utilizing expert knowledge of procurement policies and instruments.
• Create, implement and oversee proper monitoring and control of procurement processes in the office and projects, including organization and receipt of Requests for Quotation (RFQs), Invitations to Bid (ITBs), and Requests for Proposal (RFPs); evaluation of quotations, bids and proposals; and negotiation of conditions of contracts in line with UNOPS procurement rules and regulations.
• Review and pre-clear solicitation documents, requests for award and submissions to Contract and Property Committees (CPCs) in the assigned role as Procurement Reviewer (in UNOPS ERP system)
• Ensure procurement contracts and contractors are optimally managed through supplier and contract performance management against agreed benchmarks and through agreed reporting mechanisms.
• Implement internal control systems.
• Elaborate on comments regarding project audit reports of the office, when necessary.

Team Management

• Facilitate engagement and provision of high-quality results and services of the team supervised through effective work planning, performance management, coaching and promotion of learning and development.
• Provide oversight, ensuring compliance by team members with existing policies and best practices.

Knowledge Building and Knowledge Sharing

• Organize, facilitate or deliver training and learning initiatives for personnel on procurement.
• Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice by synthesizing lessons learned and disseminating best practices in procurement.
• Collect and productively utilize feedback, ideas and internal knowledge about processes and best practices.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 7 years of relevant experience OR
• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 5 years of relevant experience is required.

Desired

• A globally or nationally recognized professional certificate or membership (e.g. CIPS) is desired.

Required

• Relevant experience is work in advising on and implementing policies and procedures to deliver a range of complex procurement programmes and strategies within international/ multi-national organizations, or related areas. 
• Experience in the use of collaboration and productivity tools (e.g. MS Office, G-Suite, etc) and web-based management systems is required.

Desired

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.
• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities. 
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.