United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee because of conflict and persecution. We deliver life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water, help safeguard fundamental human rights, and develop solutions that ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future.

We work in 135 countries and territories and employ more than 20,000 people. Our annual budget rose to US$ 10.765 billion, while the procurement value was US$ 1.36 billion in 2024. Headquarters are in Geneva, Budapest and Copenhagen. The Supply Management Service is located in Budapest, Hungary.

When an emergency is declared anywhere, we are ready to deliver essential items like tents and blankets by road, sea and air for up to 1 million people from the UNHCR global emergency stockpiles. Mobilization of these items and freight forwarders starts in less than 72 hours. UNHCR has also put arrangements in place to deploy emergency staff when sudden surges in demand occur during emergencies. Staff on the UNHCR emergency roster can be mobilized within 72 hours.

We also preposition regional and local stocks and manage over 260 warehouses to support ongoing programming and scale up humanitarian assistance when needed. In addition to our emergency response efforts, UNHCR’s supply chain management work also ensures the necessary goods and services are available to support our ongoing operations and programme needs.

In line with our Climate Action, we are working to improve the sustainability of our end-to-end supply chain for core relief items, reducing carbon emissions and using more recycled materials, where possible. 💚Read about our sustainability goals and results.

In addition, our supply strategy focuses on streamlining supply processes, enhancing capabilities, as well as strengthening performance, partnerships, innovation and talent development. 

To protect and provide solutions to people forced to flee, UNHCR must anticipate, plan, source and purchase goods and services in a timely, efficient and sustainable manner. This might range from buying fleets of heavy-duty vehicles needed in the most inaccessible parts of the African continent to purchasing needles and thread for a self-help project in Pakistan.

Building on the philosophy and achievements of the UN Global Compact, UNHCR envisions a world in which the private sector plays a constructive role in finding durable solutions for people forced to flee their homes. To achieve this, we proactively engage with corporations and foundations eager to help drive change and find innovative solutions to refugee issues. UNHCR also endeavours to undertake environmentally responsible sourcing of goods and services.

Procurement Principles

In line with UN Financial Regulations and Rules: UNHCR procurement is based on fairness, integrity and transparency through competition and best value for money, taking into consideration the best interest of the organization. Priority is given to source in areas of operation (when prices are competitive and other conditions allow) and UNHCR uses competitive bidding to obtain goods and services (Exceptions to this are limited to a few cases only). 

Sustainability provisions

UNHCR is working to improve the sustainability of our end-to-end supply chain for core relief items, reducing carbon emissions and using more recycled materials, where possible. Learn more about our goals and strategic actions. 

Vendor Registration

• Firm/Company/Factory registration certificate      
• Brochures on products/services
• Audit certificate/report
• Environmental policy
• Quality assurance certificate
• Registration with Tax/VAT
• Company’s annual financial report

Solicitation documents

There are three types of solicitation documents issued by the UNHCR to fulfil a procurement requirement, which will vary in accordance with the nature of the requirement and the estimated monetary value:

• Request for Quotation (RFQ): An informal invitation to submit a quotation for requirements of relatively low monetary value. Prices and other commercial terms and conditions are requested and an award is usually made to the lowest priced technically compliant offer.

• Request for Proposal (RFP): A formal request to submit a proposal against requirements that have a monetary value above the RFQ threshold but are not fully definable at the time of solicitation and where the innovation and specific expertise of the proposer is sought to better meet the procurement requirement. Price is only one of several factors comprising the evaluation criteria, which are determined before the RFP is released. The offer from a supplier is submitted in two sets of documents: a Technical offer and a Financial offer.

• Invitation to Bid (ITB): A formal invitation to submit a bid usually associated with requirements that are clearly or concisely defined, and have a monetary value above the RFQ threshold. Award recommendations are based on the lowest cost technically compliant offer.

Supplier Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct sets forth what is expected of all suppliers with whom UNHCR does business. The complete version of the “UN Supplier Code of Conduct” can be found online at: www.unhcr.org/supply

EXAMPLE OF ITEMS PROCURED BY UNHCR

TOP 5 ITEMS AND SERVICES IN 2023 BASED ON THEIR PROCUREMENT VALUE (m. US$)

No, and therefore the Express Interest button is grey. The user is required to carefully read the instructions of the procurement opportunity, which can be found under the Links/Documents tab of the actual procurement opportunity. 

If there is any doubt, contact the UN officer in charge, his/her contact details are included in the notice under the Contacts tab.

How to participate in procurement opportunities requiring hard copy or email submission?

If a procurement protest needs to be submitted, click on the IGO Online Complaint Form by UNCHR. 

• Procurement value: 1.43B USD
• Number of countries the organization procured from: 157
• Percentage of total UN procurement: 4.84%
• Ranking by procurement value: 7th
• Top category: Management and Admin Services
• Top region: Asia

To learn more about the procurement volume of each UN organization, visit the Annual Statistical Report and use the interactive dashboard.