Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures

Procurement Authority

Document Properties

Procurement Authority
Responsible Unit	OLPS
Creator	Krishan Batra
Subject	CAP User Guide
Issuance Date	January, 1 2006
Effective date	January, 1 2006
Mandatory Review Date	January, 1 2007
Audience	all UNDP Users
Applicability	For all UNDP Procurement Transactions
Replaces	Procurement Manual
Is part of	CAP User Guide

| Relevant Policies	| Roles and Responsibilities
| Flowchart	| Templates and Forms
| Procedures	| Additional Info. & Tools
| Inputs	| Lessons
| Deliverables	| On the Drawing Board

1.0 Description

The Administrator has delegated oversight and approval authority of the procurement function to the Assistant Administrator, Director of the Bureau of Management, as the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) of the organization.

The CPO has delegated limited authority to Resident Representatives (RRs), Heads of Bureaux and Heads of Out-Posted HQ Units for the award of contracts valued less than USD 100,000. Such contracts valued less than USD 100,000 do not require prior review of the Advisory Committee on Procurement (ACP) and CPO. However, any and all contracts valued at USD 30,000 and above, which seek a Waiver of Competitive Process, must obtain review of the Contract Review Committees and approval of the CPO.

Resident Representatives, Heads of Bureaux and Heads of Out-Posted HQ Units may further delegate procurement authority to their staff to perform procurement activities. The delegation of procurement authority to UNDP staff is granted on an individual basis and requires such authorized personnel to adhere to these Guidelines. Nevertheless, RRs and Heads of Bureaux and Out-Posted HQ Units retain responsibility for the overall efficient and cost-effective procurement.

In addition, RRs and Heads of Bureaux and Out-Posted HQ Units, as well as all staff involved in the procurement function, must ensure compliance with all relevant financial regulations, rules and procurement procedures. In the case of inconsistency or ambiguity in the application of rules, the hierarchy of the following instruments should be applied:

• Article 100 of the Charter of the United Nations;
• UNDP Financial Regulations and Rules;
• Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations;
• Applicable Administrative Instruments;
• UNDP Financial Resources Management Policies and Procedures;
• UNDP Internal Control Framework; and
• UNDP Contracts, Asset and Procurement Policies and Procedures. 

RRs and Heads of Bureaux and Out-Posted HQ Units must retain records of all staff delegated procurement authority indicating the scope and duration for which the delegation has been authorized.

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2.0 Relevant Policies

• UNDP Financial Rule 121.01(a)
• UNDP Financial Rule 121.01(b)
• Article 100 of the Charter of the United Nations
• Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations
• Applicable Administrative Instruments
• UNDP Financial Resources Management Policies and Procedures
• UNDP Internal Control Framework

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3.0 Flow Chart

There is no flowchart for this sub-process

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4.0 Procedures

Increase in Delegated Procurement Authority

An increase in delegated procurement authority for RRs and Heads of Out-Posted HQ Units may be sought from the CPO upon an assessment of the anticipated monetary volume of the programme to be expended in the subsequent year and the demonstrated capacity of the Country Office (CO) or decentralized unit. Such an increase in authority is neither automatic nor guaranteed although pursuant to the following thresholds:

All requests for an increase in delegated procurement authority for RRs should be forwarded to the CPO, through the Director of the Regional Bureau. For all Out-Posted HQ Units, all requests shall be forwarded to the CPO through the HQ manager to whom that Unit reports. All requests must be accompanied with the Request Form for Increased Delegation of Procurement Authority.

Prior to any increase of delegated procurement authority, OLPS shall review the CO’s or Out-Posted HQ Unit’s Contracts, Asset and Procurement Committee (CAP) and ACP submissions for the previous calendar year, procurement plan and request forms.
An increase of delegated procurement authority is granted by the CPO for a specified period and may thereafter be extended pursuant to additional justification provided by the CO or decentralized unit. All extensions of procurement authority similarly must be accompanied with the Request Form.

Despite the delegation of increased procurement authority, RRs and Heads of Out-Posted HQ Units must ensure that competitive processes are executed in the procurement of goods, civil works or services valued within their delegated authority. Where standard competitive processes are not feasible, the RR or Head of Out-Posted HQ Unit must adhere to the scope of authority designated in the award letter.

(*) Increases in procurement authority may be higher pursuant to the need of the CO on an ad hoc basis and similarly decreased upon completion or cessation of the emergency or exceptional situation warranting the ad hoc increase. All procurement authority granted in excess of USD 1 million shall be subject to an annual procurement review.

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5.0 Inputs

• Past year's procurement expenditure. 
• Past year's CAP and ACP submissions.

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6.0 Deliverables

• Procurement Plan
• Request for Increased Delegation of Procurement Authority

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7.0 Roles and Responsibilities

• Business Unit - refers to a Country Office, Department or Office.
• Head of Business Unit - refers to the RR, Bureau Director, Director of HQ Unit and Director of Out-Posted HQ Unit.
• Resident Representative - refers to the Head of a Country Office.
• Bureau - refers to an organizational unit within UNDP.
• Out Posted HQ Unit - refers to IAPSO, UNV, Liaison Offices, etc.

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8.0 Templates and Forms

• Request Form for Increased Delegation
• Increased Delegation Procurement Plan

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9.0 Additional Information

• Schedule of Increased Delegations of Procurement Authority

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10.0 Lessons

N/A

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11.0 On The Drawing Board

N/A

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