administrative assistant

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Office of the Chief, Inter-Agency Services Branch (IASB), Coordination Division (CD) of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies.

OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response efforts.

OCHA's mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principles humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions.

The position is based in Geneva and the incumbent reports to the Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer, P2P project with an additional reporting line to the Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Procap/Gencap.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Administrative Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT:

• Initiates, reviews, processes and follows-up on actions related to the administration of the unit's human resource activities, e.g., recruitment of staff and consultants, placement, promotion, relocation, performance appraisal, job classification reviews, separation of staff members, training etc., ensuring consistency in the application of UN rules and procedures.
• Timely responds to enquiries and provides information and advice to staff regarding their entitlements, administrative procedures, processes and practices, conditions of service, duties and responsibilities, and entitlements under the Staff Rules and Regulations.
• Oversees the maintenance of vacancy announcement files and keeps track of status of vacancy announcements. Reviews and processes personnel actions through IMIS.
• Monitors staffing table and prepare relevant statistical data/charts

BUDGET AND FINANCE:

• Assists in the preparation and review of financial and human resource proposals/requirements. Consolidates budget/work programme with respect to Headquarters' budget, trust funds, grants and procurement.
• Monitors expenditures and compares with approved budget; prepares adjustments as necessary.
• For the ProCap and GenCap projects, regularly update the budget and deployment tracking table and give monthly updates to the manager on the funding situation vis a vis deployment months. Entailing direct relationship with the NorCap team to ensure the information flow and updating of table
• Assists managers in the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions.
• Assists in preparation of regular budget performance submissions and finalization of budget performance reports, analysing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures
• Prepares or customizes financial reports from the Enterprise Resource Planning system generated reports and from external project management systems.
• Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.
• Assumes responsibility to ensure smooth running of the budgetary analysis tasks- and is able to monitor staff on frequent surge to the projects to ensure continuity in deliverables

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION:

• Drafts routine correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant administrative, financial audit, personnel matters.
• Coordinates extensively with service units and liaises frequently with internal team members both at Headquarters and in the field.
• Coordinates the administrative and logistics duties to ensure the scheduling, attendance and record keeping of key projects' regular meetings, including advisory group sessions, project retreats and all other necessary engagements.
• Creates a regular contact list of key administrative focal points to help schedule in external meetings with project advisory group members.
• Helps \maintain an appropriate schedule of all project related regular meetings
• Updates and maintains the project websites with updated information in close consultation with the project team
• Performs other related administrative duties, as required (e.g., operational travel programme; monitoring accounts and payment to vendors and individual contractors for services; physical space planning; identification of office technology needs and maintenance of equipment, software and systems; organizing and coordinating seminars, conferences and translations).
• May be responsible for guiding, training, and supervising the work of more junior General Service staff

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION:

• Assists with day-to-day administration of contracts between the UN and external contractors for outsourced services.
• Audits the contractors' invoices against the goods and services provided by the contractor and approved by the UN.
• Processes the payment of contractors' invoices and monitor payments.
• Prepares and processes all UN forms and permissions for contractual and work Unit, Section or Service UN staff, including: UN grounds passes, property passes, UN parking permits, swipe-card access and door keys.

Competencies

• PROFESSIONALISM: Ability to perform a broad range of administrative functions, e.g., budget/work programme, human resources, database management, etc. Ability to apply knowledge of various United Nations administrative, financial and human resources rules and regulations in work situations.

Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.

Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.

• PLANNING AND ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
• CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients" and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

Seven (7) years of experience in administrative services, finance, accounting, audit, human resources or related area, is required.

The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to five (5) for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher.

Experience As Time Administrator using Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system such as UMOJA is required. Experience working directly with Senior Management within the United Nations Common System or a comparable international organization is required. Experience in supporting humanitarian coordination mechanisms is required. Experience liaising with Inter-Agency Standing Committee member organizations is desirable. Experience using talent management platforms such as Inspira is desirable. Experience working with Salesforce or any CMR type of database is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Appointment or assignment against this position is for an initial period of one year. Extension of the appointment is subject to extension of the mandate and the availability of the funds. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-general and to assignment by him or her.

In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.

At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect.

The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities.

An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules.

Applicants for positions in the General Service and related categories must be authorized to work for the United Nations in the duty station where the position is located.

Eligible applicants selected from outside the duty station are responsible for any expenses in connection with their relocation to the duty station.

Staff members subject to local recruitment are not eligible for allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts.

The term "sexual exploitation" means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.

The term "sexual abuse" means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

The term "sexual harassment" means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator's working relationship.

Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.

The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c).

Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised.

This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.

Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on "Manuals" in the "Help" tile of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines.

Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening.

No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted.

Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING).

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS' BANK ACCOUNTS.

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