Provision of Training and Certification Services for Professionalisation of UN Secretariat Procu ...

Background and objectives: The Secretary-General’s reform vision calls for professionalizing procurement as one of the key priorities in the new procurement management strategy pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/266 B on shifting the management paradigm in the United Nations. In the latest Report of the Secretary-General, Procurement Division (“PD”) commitment to ensure that all procurement staff become professionally accredited is confirmed (A/73/704, chap. VI, para. 53). A key element of PD’s overall strategy to implement the above is the certification of its procurement staff through an international recognized procurement institution. As such, PD intends to continue and expand the offering of the certification programme to UN Secretariat procurement staff leading. The purpose is to train and professionalize all UN Secretariat procurement staff. To support this, the UN is looking into the possibility of engaging a contractor that can provide internationally recognised online courses to UN staff in procurement across the Secretariat. The overarching objectives are: Procurement staff in the UN Secretariat will: 1) Learn about the core principles, concepts and practical applications when procuring goods or services 2) Gain essential knowledge and practical skills in contracting, negotiation, supplier relationships, ethics and asset management 3) Understand the fiduciary responsibility that procurement staff with delegation of authority have to procure on behalf of the UN 4) Understand how procurement fits within the rest of your organisation and how it can help to shape key future business decisions The contractor will take on the following responsibilities: 1) Provide all methodologies, curricula, learning materials, exams related to the certifications as well as other administrative support in relation to the certification programme of the UN Secretariat. 2) Ensure methodologies and curricula reflect best practices in the profession and are updated when necessary to remain relevant. 3) Ensure all learning materials reflect a gender-sensitive approach and utilize gender-neutral language in all areas to ensure a learning environment that is free from stereotypes and unconscious bias. Learning materials shall be available at least in English. 4) Ensure all online learning materials meet UN accessibility standards in their design and structuring, following the guidelines found at http://www.un.org/en/webaccessibility/. Moreover, the online learning materials should be the detailed requirement as further defined in the following Section. 5) Provide ongoing administrative support as detailed in the following Section.