In July 2021, UNOPS revised its procurement policies and the changes included the creation of a Registrar function for bid protests and the expansion of the role of the Vendor Review Committee (VRC) as well as the possibility of establishing additional specialised VRCs. The main focus of the newly created position of Bid Protest Senior Analyst is in respect of bid protests with a further workstream regarding a specialised VRC. The position reports to the Senior Legal Advisor who is the Registrar for all bid protests and the chairperson of VRC for cases in respect of certain projects or regions.
Bid protests
Suppliers that believe that they have been unjustly treated in connection with a UNOPS procurement process may lodge a bid protest. After completion of the review of the bid protest, the Registrar sends a recommendation to the Director, IPS. Suppliers may make a bid protest in English, French or Spanish and the reply from the Director, IPS is generally sent in the corresponding language. 88 bid protests were received in 2021, the majority of which were in the Spanish language.
The creation of this new position coincides with the review of bid protests being moved from the Legal Group to the Implementation Practices and Standards function. In 2022, the process of reviewing bid protests is being strengthened, notably by the appointment of a sole Registrar, a greater emphasis on identifying trends and areas for improvement and the creation of a more formalised pool of experts across UNOPS who will be asked to provide specialist advice as needed in respect of the review of a bid protest.
VRC
The VRC is an internal administrative body which makes recommendations to the Director, IPS regarding (i) sanctions against vendors that have been found to have engaged in fraud or collusion or other Proscribed Practices in a UNOPS process, and (ii) suspension of vendors from doing business with UNOPS for other reasons such as where compelling information indicates that they lack business integrity or their ability to satisfactorily perform a contract may be compromised.
The majority of VRC cases are managed by the main VRC which has an experienced VRC Secretary. All VRCs have English as the working language.
Functional ResponsibilitiesWorking in the Office of the Implementation Practices and Standards (IPSO), the successful incumbent will carry out the following duties under the guidance and supervision of the Senior Legal Advisor:
Bid protests:
monitoring the Bid Protest mailbox
co-ordinating the expansion and consultation of the pool of subject matter experts
collating information to assist the Senior Legal Advisor in making determinations regarding receivability
carrying out research at the direction of the Senior Legal Advisor, including checking for consistency across evaluation reports for the same tender
carrying out the substantive review of less complex bid protests, including liaison with the relevant office and preparing a draft response to the bid protestor
assisting in the review of bid protests, such as through collating relevant information
VRC:
Carrying out the role of VRC Secretary in respect of cases reviewed by the specialised VRC chaired by the Senior Legal Advisor, including:
establishing a positive working relationship with the main VRC Secretary
setting up and attending meetings and drafting minutes and recommendations
preparing notices of administrative action and other notices to be sent to vendors under review by the specialised VRC
contributing to the annual report prepared by the VRC Secretary in respect of all VRC activities
Knowledge management:
organising data and information in the Bid Protest mailbox and the shared drive in a rational way
organising information regarding authoritative interpretation of procurement policies by the Director, Procurement Group
creating a searchable database of prior bid protest determinations in respect of related or multi-lot procurement exercises giving rise to multiple protests
collating statistics for the annual report on bid protests
assisting in the preparation of training and communication materials in respect of lessons learned and trends identified from reviewing bid protests
UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.
UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.
Working with us
UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.
Diversity
With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.
Work life harmonization
UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.
