Senior Meetings Services Assistant (Temporary Job Opening) [Temporary]

The position is located in the Evaluation and Monitoring Unit of the Management Support Section, Central Planning and Coordination Division, Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM), New York. The Meetings Services Assistant reports to the Chief of the Section.

Responsibilities

Within limits of delegated authority, the Senior Meetings Services Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

• Contributes to the collection of feedback and data validation of new IT systems, such as gData 2.0 and gDoc 2.0 implemented by the Department, from all relevant duty stations.
• Assists the designing and conducting of in-depth and thematic evaluation of programmes.
• Reviews resolutions and decisions of assigned committees and meetings/conferences.
• Prepares draft programme of work of assigned committees and meetings/conferences for clearance.
• Tracks resolutions and other legislative decisions that affect programme and oversees the preparation of the relevant database(s) to ensure the incorporation of programmatic and other changes enacted by legislation.
• Runs SQL queries to extract required statistics from departmental databases and assists in the preparation of reports and analysis on key performance indicators to enable management to monitor the performance of the Department.
• Drafts procedural notes for the chairpersons of assigned committees and conferences.
• Prepares preliminary list and annotation of agenda items.
• Prepares invitations to member states, specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations to attend sessions of committees and meetings/conferences.
• Ensures that all preliminary logistic arrangements are made in advance for the efficient conduct of committees and meetings/conferences.
• Proposes solutions to problems and leads projects for enhancing efficiency and level of services provided in the conference room.
• Ensures that all required services, including the availability and distribution of documents, and personnel are available in order for committees and meetings/conferences to convene according to the schedule.
• Serves as focal point for coordination, monitoring and expedition of implementation activities and participates in programme evaluation, including study design of evaluations, preparing and validating evaluation instruments, liaising with diverse organizational units to obtain clarification on evaluation findings and formulating relevant statistics.
• Reports on the proceedings of committees and meetings/conferences and submits reports, if required, to the supervisor.
• Organizes and coordinates preparatory meetings with relevant offices and delegations regarding procedural and organizational arrangements for the sessions of committees and meetings/conferences.
• Prepares floor plan of seating arrangements in accordance with meeting requirements and UN protocol.
• Undertakes research and provides reference materials for preparation of briefs, notes and statements for the chairperson of committees and meetings/conferences.
• Prepares monthly statistics on translation productivity.
• Determines the material and human resources requirements of meetings and prepares the cost estimates for consideration by the requesting office.
• Allocate conference facilities and meeting rooms.
• Maintains an accurate record of speakers and/or an attendance record and coordinate with delegations on their position on the list of speakers.
• Makes arrangements for and coordinates video and teleconference activities at headquarters.
• Responds to queries from delegations and Secretariat.
• Serves as Late Duty and Weekend Duty Officer for the Unit.
• Undertakes and coordinates special projects assigned and take lead in implementation of such initiatives.
• Participates in the recruitment of temporary assistants and schedules and supervises their work.
• Trains and provides supervision to junior staff.
• Performs other duties as required.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Knowledge of internal policies, processes and procedures generally and in particular those related to conference management. Knowledge of planning and processing of documents and planning and programming of meetings. 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& 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.

Work Experience

A minimum of ten years of experience in statistics, data evaluation and analysis, meetings management, documents management or a related area is required.

At least three years of relevant experience within the UN system or similar international organization is required.

Experience in conference servicing area is desirable.

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. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

This temporary job opening may be available until the period ending 31 May 2022, with a 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.

This positions is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment. Passing the Global General Service Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Services and related categories in the United Nations Secretariat. Applicants who have not passed the GGST at the time of application may be invited for the test after submitting an application. Staff members who were granted a fixed-term, continuing or permanent appointment as a result of having passed a predecessor test recognized by the Office of Human Resources Management, and who have continuously held such appointments, are not required to take the new test.

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. 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. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

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.