Staff Assistant, Addis Ababa at Economic Commission for Africa 111 views0 applications

Special Notice

This position is open only to internal candidates of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa due to the on-going Recruitment Freeze against General Service positions. External candidates will only be considered when none of the internal candidates are successful. Such external candidates, if selected, will be offered Temporary Appointment through 31 December 2017. Recruitment for this position is done on a local basis, whether or not the candidate is a resident of the duty station. Passing the Global General Service Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Services category in the United Nations. External candidates will be responsible for any travel expenses incurred in order to take the GGST examination and, in the event of an employment offer, any cost related to travel and relocation to the duty station on appointment and separation. The candidate will also be responsible to obtain any visas and work permits in order to take up the appointment. If selected, external candidates will be recruited on a local basis and would not be entitled to international benefits. Candidates who are short-listed for this position will be scheduled to sit for the GGST at a later date

Organizational Setting and Reporting

Under the overall direction of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Knowledge Generation, and the Special Advisor to the Executive Secretary, the incumbent is required to perform secretarial and administrative functions and reports directly to the supervising officer.

Responsibilities

Within limits of delegated authority and depending on location, Staff Assistants at this level may be responsible for the following duties:

• Performs, under minimal supervision, the full range of office management and administrative support functions; typically provides direct assistance to a senior officer or manager responsible for a major programme, such as a branch or division.
• Maintains liaison with the Executive Office and with senior officials in other units regarding on-going programmes and other administrative matters; monitors processes and schedules related to the unit’s outputs, products, tasks, etc.
• Ensures smooth and efficient information flow within the unit; prepares and processes confidential information; assists in the development of office administrative systems and procedures.
• Researches, compiles and summarizes background materials for use in preparation of reports, briefs, speeches, etc.
• Provides assistance in the coordination of service-wide activities (meetings, training, etc.), special projects and events.
• Orients new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provides general assistance to other office support staff, as required; may coordinate the work of office support staff in providing meetings servicing/administrative support to various sessions of commissions and other bodies.
• Attends meetings, prepares minutes, monitors follow-up activities.
• Responds or drafts responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications; uses standard word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports.
• Manages, updates and further develops internal databases; updates website; generates a variety of standard and non-standard statistical and other reports from various databases.
• Carries out quality control function for outgoing documents; proofreads and edits texts for adherence for format, grammar, punctuation and style.
• Responds to complex information requests and inquiries (e.g. answers requests requiring file search, etc.).
• Assists in the preparation of presentation materials using appropriate technology/software.
• May provide some specialized support to unit (e.g. technology support, editing, desktop publishing, etc.).
• Maintains calendar/schedules; monitors changes and communicate relevant information to appropriate staff inside and outside the immediate work unit.
• Performs a variety of administrative duties (e.g. leave recording, meeting organization, reservations, office supply and equipment orders, etc.), including preparing and/or processing administrative requests/documents (e.g., travel requests, expense claims, vouchers, visa applications, etc.).
• Maintains files (both paper and electronic) and databases for work unit.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work implies frequent interaction with the following: Staff in related organizational units across the institution. Visitors and representatives from Permanent Missions, UN Common System Organizations, etc. Contacts in other international organizations, government institutions, non-governmental organizations, universities, the media, etc.

Results Expected: Provides the full range of office management and administrative support at unit level, working under minimal supervision. Effectively tracks, monitors and provides quality control of key deliverables. Effectively organizes and manages records and data. Discretely handles confidential material/matters. Appropriately applies relevant policies, guidelines, procedures and processes. Establishes effective working relationships with internal and external contacts at all levels.

Competencies

• Professionalism – Knowledge of general office and administrative support including administrative policies, processes and procedures. 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.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• Planning& 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.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent. Must have passed the United Nations Administrative Support Assessment Test (ASAT) at Headquarters or an equivalent locally-administered test at Offices Away.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five years of experience in general office support or related area.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
• For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required.

Assessment

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

United Nations Considerations

Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

The United Nations shall place 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. (Charter of the United Nations – Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on ‘The Application Process’ and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on ‘Manuals’ hyper-link on the upper right side of inspira account-holder homepage.

Applications are pre-screened by the system according to the published requirements of the job opening on the basis of the information provided in the application. In relation to the requirements of the job opening, applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their qualifications, including their education, work experience, and language skills. Each applicant must bear in mind that submission of incomplete or inaccurate applications may render that applicant ineligible for consideration for the job opening. Initial screening and evaluation of applications will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted. Applications cannot be amended following submission. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to a reference-checking process to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at midnight (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.