Internship - Procurement Support at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

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Internship - Procurement Support

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Employer: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Employment: Full-Time | Internship

Place of Work: Addis Ababa - Ethiopia

Posted date: 9 hours ago

Deadline: July, 19/2025 (14 days left)

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Background

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

The Office of Procurement (OP) within the Bureau of Management Services in UNDP, is responsible for development of procurement policy, corporate procurement services, procurement advisory services, as well as strategic procurement services to Country Offices and Central Bureaus. In addition, OP provides capacity building to the UNDP global procurement function. OP supports UNDP’s programme delivery in line with UNDP's Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and follows best practices in public sustainable procurement and the rules and regulations of UNDP, the accountability framework, while ensuring appropriate risk management for UNDP. We are a global team based in New York (USA), Copenhagen (Denmark) and in Cyberjaya (Malaysia), with additional regional procurement advisors (RPA) located in each Bureau Hub (Panama, Addis Ababa, Amman, Istanbul and Bangkok).

The Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) supports UNDP Country Offices and regional initiatives in delivering on UNDP’s strategic objectives across the continent. Procurement is a critical enabler for programme delivery, and RBA provides advisory and oversight services to strengthen procurement practices across 46 Sub-Saharan African countries. The Regional Procurement Advisor (RPA) provides procurement guidance services to Country offices within RBA and leads the implementation of procurement projects and initiatives. The RPA works closely with the Office of Procurement on ensuring consistent and an integrated high-quality procurement service delivery for CO clients in accordance with UNDPs global procurement support architecture. The RPA contributes to the knowledge sharing and creation in the procurement practice; promote procurement “best practice” internally and externally, working closely with UNDP COs, units within RBA, and regional vendors and contractors on related functional matters. S/he is responsible for providing authoritative procurement advisory and support services to the Country Offices within the region.

The RPA works closely with the Regional Advisory Committee on Procurement (RACP) Chairperson on regional procurement initiatives and undertakings where needed.

1. Objective

To support the Regional Procurement Advisor, BMS/OP is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented intern to assist in procurement-related research, data analysis, documentation, and knowledge management. The internship will provide valuable exposure to UNDP procurement policy, regional operations, and international development programming

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Procurement Advisor, the intern will:

• Support the review and quality assurance of procurement plans and reports submitted by Country Offices.
• Assist in the analysis and tracking of procurement data and performance indicators across the region.
• Contribute to the organization and preparation of presentations, dashboards, and briefing notes.
• Assist with the drafting and formatting of procurement-related documents and templates.
• Conduct background research on procurement policy topics, market conditions, and sourcing options.
• Help maintain a knowledge repository of tools, guidance notes, and case studies.
• Support the coordination and documentation of virtual meetings, trainings, and events.
• Perform other procurement-related tasks as required by the Regional Procurement Advisor.

Learning Objectives

• Gain an in-depth understanding of UNDP procurement policies, processes, and tools.
• Enhance skills in research, analysis, data visualization, and reporting.
• Understand the operational role of procurement in programme delivery.
• Gain exposure to regional coordination and capacity-building efforts.

Competencies

• Excellent organizational skills;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
• Excellent problem-solving skills

Required Competencies

• Excellent communication skills;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
• Excellent problem-solving skills

Desired Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word); experience with data tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) is an asset.
• Working knowledge in Both English and French.
• Strong analytical, writing, and organizational skills.
• Motivate with passion for learning and knowledge sharing

• Additional skills
• Demonstrates integrity and fairness, by modeling the UN/UNDP’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Eligibility Criteria

Interns are selected on a competitive basis. Applicants to UNDP’s internships must meet one of the following academic requirements:

1. Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
2. Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent);
3. Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Additional Information:

Remote working arrangements may be considered for selected candidates not stationed in Addis Ababa upon mutual agreement. Working hours however will be aligned to that of the duty station of Addis Ababa.

Interns may be paid a stipend under the conditions prescribed below;

• Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, passports, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of the interns;
• Where an intern is not financially supported by any institution or programme, such as a university, government, foundation or scholarship programme, a stipend intended to help cover basic daily expenses related to the internship, such as meals and transportation at the duty station, will be paid by the receiving office.
• The monthly amount of the stipend will be determined for each duty station based on the stipend rates published yearly by the OHR Policy and Compensation Unit.
• Where an intern is financially supported by an institution, government or third party, UNDP will, subject to the rules of such institution, government or third party, pay the intern the difference, if any, between the external financial support provided and the applicable UNDP stipend.

Further Career Opportunities:

The purpose of internships is not to lead to further employment with UNDP but to complement an intern's studies. However, a number of interns, having completed their studies and met the necessary requirements, have gone on to further assignments with the UNDP or elsewhere in the United Nations system.

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background check

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