Contract Officer (Two Positions)

The two-year conflict in Northern Ethiopia has triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions with profound adverse effects on Ethiopia’s ambitious economic and governance reforms. The conflict resulted from significant loss of lives; displacement of millions needing humanitarian assistance; and large-scale damage to infrastructure and services. On 2nd of November 2022, an agreement for lasting peace through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities was signed between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (GoE) and the TPLF. Led by the AU, the Peace Agreement has ended active combat in Northern Ethiopia and raised hope for a gradual restoration of services and humanitarian operations in the region. This wide-ranging agreement committed, among other things, to an immediate and permanent cessation of hostilities, the creation of an interim administration in Tigray region pending regional elections, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants (XCs), resumption of unhindered humanitarian access, the restoration of essential services, reintegration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returning refugees, transitional justice, social cohesion and reconciliation, and recovery and reconstruction. The peace agreement also paves the way for the restoration of peace, security, and stability in the Afar, Amhara and Tigray Regions. 

It is in this context that UNDP has developed a ‘Peace Support Programme/Facility (PSP/F)’ nested within the Federal Government’s Resilient Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) but focused on urgent actions over a period of 24 months to stabilise conditions, restore a sense of normalcy, and deliver a first peace dividend to conflict-impacted populations.  The approach is to fill the gap that is likely to open between the urgency of addressing a wide range of priority needs quickly to consolidate peace and stabilise conditions and the time it will take for the larger, longer-term and more comprehensive 3R Framework to kick-in meaningfully, possibly in late-2024, at the earliest.  Moreover, the PSP/F is designed flexibly, so that it could potentially be scaled-up to become the foundation of a larger UN-wide effort in the same direction. In line with this approach, the PSP/F is being implemented already in Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions. 

The strategic goal of the PSP/F is to contribute toward an irreversible peace process in Northern Ethiopia. This will be pursued through an actionable set of measures that can build trust between communities and legitimate Ethiopian authorities and lay the foundations for recovery, peacebuilding, and sustainable development, founded upon country leadership and ownership. 

Working within the broader framework of 3RF, the PSP/F will focus on the following windows:  

Window 1:  Local Governance, Human Rights and Social Cohesion 

Window 2:  Basic Social Services (health, nutrition, education, WASH, protection) 

Window 3:  Economic Revival (enterprises and agriculture, demining) 

Window 4:  Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants  

Window 5:   Solutions to Internal Displacement 

Geographic Focus:  Afar, Amhara and Tigray (Northern Ethiopia); Window 4 Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants (8 regions) 

Target conflict-impacted populations:  10 million 

1. Ensure effective implementation of PSP’s contractual procedures and oversight its implementation.

• Represent UNDP in the field subcontractors, clients, national authorities, and other external parties to the project with regards to UNDP implemented Peace support programme.
• Prepare Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), Statement of Works (SoW), Contracts and other documents required for project implementation in cooperation with PSP procurement specialist and UNDP CO procurement team as needed.
• Under the direction of UNDP CO and PSP procurement specialist, conduct the pre-qualification and short-listing of bidders, preparations of bids, issuance of bids, pre-bid conference, receipt and opening of bids, bid evaluation, submission to relevant UNDP department for recommendation of award, contracts negotiations, contract finalization and issuance.
• Develops a quality assurance plan to provide a systematic method to monitor contract performance.
• Participates in the development of contract risk assessments and risk management plans, including mitigating measures, in collaboration and guidance of the Procurement Specialist 

2. Managing contracts related to PSP.

• Develop a management plan for all UNDP PSP national and international contracts including, verification of insurance and goods procured, evaluation of subcontractor’s personnel qualifications, monitoring delivery of contractual terms, certification of reports and payments, and issue of contract amendments, verification of services delivered against contractual requirements, alignment of specifications and standards. 
• Provide objective oversight over various contract management processes and ensure their transparency.
• Develop and implement systems for internal control that would ensure compliance with contractual terms and conditions, in collaboration with the procurement specialist and CO operations team.
• Ensure important KPI (Key performance indicators) are prepared for the contracts, to allow UNDP to properly assess the performance of the contractors. 
• Make recommendations to the relevant staff for payments upon review of reports and comments from relevant PSP management.
• Monitor and analyze contract performance against agreed benchmarks and through agreed reporting mechanism. Advise PSP management on any potential issues and recommend remedial actions or solutions.
• Participates in the assessment of contractor performance, including advice and action to address instances of poor performance and/or non-compliance with contractual obligations.
• Negotiate, within the terms and conditions of the contract, solutions to conflicts/problems arising in case of poor performance or non-compliance with contractual obligations.

3. Managing contractors’ correspondence and relevant meetings.

• Frequently convene meetings with contractors to allow ample opportunity for the identification and early resolution of potential disputes.
• Maintain communications with relevant work-stream from CO and regional office to ensure timely and quality implementation of activities required by the contract including, accreditation, monitoring of activities and performance of the subcontractors.
• Ensure key meetings and work procedures are properly documented, institutionalized and shared with relevant PSP and CO staff for timely decision making.
• Maintains electronic and hardcopy files and records to ensure proper accountability.
• Ensure the enforcement of UNDP contracts and liaise with Procurement Specialist and requesting unit in handling of claims and disputes, demanding specific performance, claiming against warranties, and other contractual remedies.

4. Ensure Implementation of all contracts are in line with UNDP’s rule and regulations.

• Ensure full compliance of procurement /contracting activities within UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and strategies – and manage under the direction of the Procurement specialist and head of operation for PSP,
• Ensure the implementation of harmonized procurement, contracting services and elaboration of Statement of Works developed in conjunction with PSP program and operations team.

5. Knowledge sharing on Contract management

• Realize syntheses of lessons learnt and best practices in procurement /contract management.
• Develop appropriate contract management tools, guidelines and manuals for standardization and knowledge sharing purposes in line with UNDP rules and procedures.
• Engage and involve government counterparts as appropriate, to facilitate contract management as well as to contribute to the capacity building plan.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the overall guidance of the PSF project and the direct supervision of Operation Head of the Peace Support Director or his/her designate, the Contract officer works in close collaboration with the Programme, Operations, and project teams in peace support facility/ project at country office and regional project offices level to ensure successful peace support facility/project financial performance.

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

• Procurement - Strategic Sourcing: Knowledge of strategic sourcing concepts, principles and methods, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations.
• Procurement - Category Management: Ability to segment spend into areas which contain similar or related products enabling focus opportunities for consolidation and efficiency. 
• Procurement - Data Analysis: Ability to extract, analyze and visualize procurement data to form meaningful insights and aid effective business decision making.
• Procurement - Stakeholder Management: Ability to work with incomplete information and balance competing interests to create value for all stakeholders.
• Business Direction & Strategy - System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.
• Business Management - Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment
• Business Management- Risk Management: Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks.