Administrative Assistant

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

The FAO Investment Centre (CFI) provides investment and finance solutions to FAO member countries and investors in order to build more efficient, sustainable, inclusive, and resilient agrifood systems. It operates through collaborations with governments, international and national financing institutions, the private sector and farmers, research institutions, and academia and civil society organizations. The Centre’s four main areas of work include support to strategic investment planning and policy, public investment, private investment, and innovative finance. These are complemented by the knowledge for investment and capacity development for investment programmes that serve to share knowledge, learn and build capacities at the country level. The Centre is a multidisciplinary team and is comprised of a central unit and five regional services: Asia and the Pacific; Near East and North Africa, and Europe and Central Asia; West and Central Africa; East and Southern Africa; and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The FAO Investment Centre has a significant portfolio in China. It offers assistance by employing subject-specific consultants to address the needs of the Government and its International Financing Institutions (IFIs) partners. This work involves various administrative tasks, notably the recruitment process and travel arrangements, as well as handling payments.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in China, the direct supervision and guidance of the Service Chief of CFIB, the incumbent receives day-to-day operational advice from the Assistant FAORep (admin), and works closely with CFIB and FAO China team, performs the tasks described below,

Technical Focus

The objective of the assignment is to support the operation of the Asia and Pacific Service of the FAO Investment Centre (CFIB) in China, with a specific focus on national consultants’ recruitments, GRMS-related work, and local travel arrangements for its staff members and consultants.

Tasks and responsibilities

GRMS and Contracts:

• Receive recruitment requests from CFIB and reach out to consultants for their availability.
• Discuss the daily rate in consultation with the country office and with CFIB Service Chief as needed. Ensure selection of consultant and determination of the rate is documented and FAO’s policies and local Standard Operations Procedures (SoP) on HR management are adhered.
• Request and assist consultants to complete required documents like mandatory trainings, Taleo profile updates, and provide medical certificates.
• Obtain Clearcheck from the Regional Office
• Provide CFIB with budget projection including honorarium and travel estimate expenses based on the TORs, in line with FAO-China’s travel policies.
• Provide CFIB with revised budgets in case of additional honorarium and travel expenses upon request from the CFIB, monitor budget and expenditure.
• Initiate EPPRs in the GRMS to hire CFIB National Consultants upon receipt of signed budgets by CFID Budget Group.
• Upon GRMS approval, generate contracts based on TORs and submit them for consultants’ signature.
• Share the signed contracts with CFIB.
• File the signed contracts and all hiring document in the FAO China registry, maintain accurate records of CFIB consultants.
• Assist consultants with activating email accounts, uploading bank information and completing FAO mandatory training courses as you@fao.
• Follow up with consultants on delivering assignment, receive timesheets and send them to CFIB for approval/follow-up.
• Initiate timecards in GRMS and get them approved by CFIB.
• For final payment, obtain timesheet, ASR, and deliverables from consultants, send all those to CFIB for their review and approval, and submit timecards in the GRMS for final approval. Follow up with CFIB and consultants on Quality Assessment completion and archive.
• Following security policies and procedures, work with FAO Security Focal Points to support consultants’ security compliance.

Travel Arrangement:
• Prepare Local Travel Authorizations (LTAs) and Ticket Purchase Orders in GRMS for local field missions for FAO Staff and consultants.
• Assist CFIB staff members, consultants with local travel arrangements as per FAO travel policy rules and SOPs.
• Ensure that travel arrangements adhere to FAO system requirements.
• Purchase tickets for local field visits, book hotels, assist with visa application, coordinate with UN travel agents, and handle other travel-related tasks.
• Review and process Travel Expense Claims (TEC), Back-to-Office Report submitted by travellers by updating GRMS and maintaining records in the FAO China registry.
• Communicate with and set up UNDSS briefings for CFI staff and consultants on field assignments to China as per UNDSS requirement and arrange security clearances for travellers.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in a field related to business administration, human resource management, financial management or related discipline.
• At least three years of relevant experience in administration and operations to provide specialised support to HR, travel, procurement etc.
• Working knowledge of English and Chinese
• National of China or resident of the country with valid work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Selection Criteria

• Extend and relevance of experience in the field of human resource management, procurement, and other operations relevant areas.
• Demonstrated analytical and judgemental skills and ability to apply rules and regulations is the subject field.
• Knowledge of UN or standard operational /administrative management rules and procedures.
• Basic knowledge of FAO’s corporate systems and database, or knowledge of other ERP would be considered an asset.
• Effective communication skill, good organizational and planning skills.
• Proficiency in current office software applications.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing).
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
• For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

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