ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT (Temporary Job Opeening) [Temporary]

This post is located in the Central and Southern Africa Division within the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) in New York.The Department provides close support to the Secretary-General and his Special Envoys, as well as to United Nations political missions deployed in areas of tension around the world with mandates to help defuse crises or promote lasting solutions to conflict as well as political and executive direction to UN Peacekeeping operations around the world and maintains contact with the Security Council, troop and financial contributors, and parties to the conflict in the implementation of Security Council mandates

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader of the Great Lakes region and Southern Africa the incumbent is responsible for the following duties:

• Providing administrative support to desk officers and senior officials in the Division;
• Undertaking necessary administrative tasks such as photocopying;
• Assisting the Team in preparing and finalizing various documents such as briefing materials and notes, talking points, personal profiles, and other correspondence;
• Researching and updating factual data/statistics, and providing quality assurance of documents being submitted by the Team (e.g. formatting, style);
• Drafting responses to routine correspondence;
• Handling routine inquiries and process incoming and outgoing correspondence;
• Coordinating extensively with service units and liaise with internal team members both at HQ and in the field;
• Providing administrative support to the inter-agency task forces and working groups;
• Providing administrative support to the visits of the Special Envoy and other visiting senior officials;
• Assisting in coordinating and preparing internal and external meetings, tele- and video-conferences as necessary;
• Providing administrative support to the preparation of meetings related to the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework, including the Regional Oversight Mechanism;
• Maintaining files of rules, regulations, administrative instructions and other related documentation;
• Maintaining up-to-date work unit files (both paper and electronic);
• Serve as focal point for specific Division-wide administrative tasks under the supervision of the Administrative Assistant Focal Point in the Central and southern Africa Division;
• Performing other related work as required.

Competencies

Professionalism: Shows pride in work and in achievements; 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; 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.

Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to leam 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.

Work Experience

A minimum of three year of experience in general office support or related area is required.

Experience within UN Secretariat, UN Common System or other international organization is desirable.

Experience providing support to field operations is desirable.

Experience working in an International Organization is desirable.

Experience providing support to high-level officials is desirable.

Experience with ERP system, such as UMOJA, is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working knowledge of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in written and spoken English required. Knowledge of French is an advantage.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

• This position is temporarily available until 30 October 2021, with possibility of extension. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.
• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post.
• Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.
• This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15.
• Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply.Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.
• Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as “retirement.” Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.

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.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side 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.