Organizational Setting

The Forestry Division (NFO) leads FAO’s work in promoting sustainable forest management and providing leadership on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of forestry, including its contributions to poverty reduction and food security and nutrition. It liaises with member countries, civil society and the private sector in aspects ranging from development of effective forest policies to forest conservation and management issues and strengthens the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Division also collects, analyses and disseminates information on the world’s forest resources and on the production, trade and consumption of wood and non-wood forest products.

The Support Hub serves the Division to effectively achieve its objectives by assisting the NFO Executive Management Team to coordinate administrative, budgetary, programming and project cycle matters and to respond swiftly to implementation, administrative, human resources, monitoring and operational support requests.

The position is located in the Support Hub of the Forestry Division (NFO) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Main Purpose

The Office Assistant performs a large variety of routine administrative transactions and office support functions contributing to the smooth and efficient running of the work unit.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Office Assistant reports to the Coordinator of the Support Hub of the Forestry Division and receives guidance from a higher graded Office Assistant/Executive Associate.

He/she acts independently in routine matters. Supervision received is focused on the quality of the work performed and provides for on-the-job learning.
Working Relationships

The Office Assistant usually interacts with a wide variety of colleagues within the work unit and with immediate clients within the Organization, providing routine administrative and office support services.

Key Functions/Results

•    Arrange appointments for the supervisor, receive visitors, place and screen telephone calls and respond to routine requests for information.
•    Provide office, administrative and logistics support to meetings, committees, conferences, etc.
•    Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions.
•    Respond or draft responses to standard/ routine correspondence and other communications; use word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports.
•    Proofread documents and format texts for accuracy, grammar, punctuation and style, as well as for adherence to established standards.
•    Initiate general administrative tasks in the computerized financial/travel/human resources systems.
•    Make travel and hotel arrangements and prepare travel authorizations/claims for staff as required.
•    Provide assistance in the administrative processing of vacancy announcements and consultants’ contracts.
•    Research, compile and organize information and reference materials from various sources for reports; create spreadsheets and presentations; manage and update databases for mailing lists and other information; and maintain electronic and paper files.
•    Perform other duties as required.

Impact of Work

The incumbent’s work impacts on the timely and efficient delivery of office support services and on the overall output of the work unit.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education.
Experience: Three years of relevant experience in office support work.
Languages: Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English.
IT Skills: Good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.

Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical Skills

•    Good knowledge of communication and documentation standards.
•    Good knowledge of corporate computerized financial / travel / human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies.
•    Good knowledge of the organizational structure.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

•    Good knowledge of MS Excel.
•    Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of French or Spanish.
•    Experience in handling confidential matters.
•    Experience in monitoring and reporting on various human resources/administrative matters.
•    Experience in regular liaison with different clients.