Temporary Assistant, Consultative Committee

Org. Setting and Reporting

Please note that this is a locally recruited position, restricted to Swiss nationals and/or legal residents of Switzerland. With its 192 member countries, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a specialized agency of the United Nations, is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players. It helps to ensure a truly universal network of up-to-date products and services.

Responsibilities

Work as an assistant on routine DACAB/REM and Consultative Committee Programme matters – Gather information as instructed. – Format documents prepared and drafted by the program manager and the team. – Ensure that Program documents and other work are distributed and published on UPU CC webpage. Traditional secretarial duties – Administer mail, and e-mail correspondences (reception, sorting, formatting and dispatch). – Ensure the receipt of key information (contracts, reports, etc.). – Help with the organization of internal and external meetings/events (reserving rooms and equipment, invitations, preparing and submitting documents, etc.). – Take responsibility for filing and archiving documents. – Coordinate travel arrangements (authorizations, tickets, bookings, visas, trip planning and documentation) with the other Assistant. Work as an assistant for organizing Consultative Committee (CC) CA, POC and Congress meetings and conferences/events – Interface with the logistics services for the physical organization of meetings and take charge of organizing online meetings (ie MS Teams, Zoom meetings) or webinars as requested. – Gather, according to instructions, the information needed for preparing and drafting certain documents (including CC membership letters for prospects in (and out) of the pipeline, preparing and sending invoices, etc.) – Format documents, ensuring that the different language versions are available and that the documents are distributed in the required quantities within the deadlines set. – Send out invitations and ensuring that all information is provided.

Competencies

1. Independence (in relation to instructions to be followed). 2. Sense of initiative. 3. Flexibility. 4. Ability to work under stress and to manage priorities. 5. Oral and written communication skills. 6. Practical mindedness. 7. Ability to work with people of different nationalities.

Education

Achieved secondary school in secretarial training or training in the field of commerce, business administration or accounting (CFC type).

Job – Specific Qualification

1. Excellent knowledge of secretarial or administrative practices is required. 2. Knowledge of office software tools (Word, PowerPoint and Outlook) is required. 3. Good knowledge of Excel is required. 4. Very good knowledge of the procedures to be followed in preparing and making available or distributing meeting and conference documents is required. 5. Experience in taking notes and in re-reading and editing documents (in either French or English) is required.

Work Experience

Three years’ initial experience as an assistant is required. The above experience in an international environment is desirable.

Languages

Proficiency in English or French with the ability to communicate in the other language. Knowledge of another UN language would be an asset.

Assessment

Applicants will be contacted directly if selected for written test. Additional testing/interviewing may be used as a form of screening.

Special Notice

Duration: 11 months Scheduled date for taking up appointment: As soon as possible. Monthly salary: 5,739.60 CHF French is the official language of the UPU. English and French are the working languages of the UPU International Bureau. Candidates might be considered for other similar posts (for a period not exceeding one year). The UPU is committed to encouraging diversity within its workforce. Interested candidates from minority groups and/or with disabilities are encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated equally and in the strictest confidence. Candidates must ensure that they provide relevant contact details so that they can be contacted at any time, to prevent them from being excluded from the selection process.

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.