Administrative Assistant

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Headquarters Client Support Service (HQCSS), Division of Administration, New York, Department of Operational Support (DOS). The Administrative Assistant reports to the Human Resources Officer, DOS. The HQCSS also provides administrative support to the Global Compact Office (GCO), Human Security Unit (HSU), Office of Administration of Justice (OAJ), Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) System-Wide Evaluation Office, Office of Special Coordinator on Improving the United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG-CAAC), Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (OSRSG-SVC), Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children (OSRSG-VAC), Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services, Office of Victims’ Rights Advocate (OVRA), United Nations Ethics Office, United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP), United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the Trust Fund in Support of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti; Office of the Data Protection and Privacy, Liaison offices of the: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in New York, United Nations Institute for Training and Research. In line with the Secretary-General’s management reform report effective 01 January 2019 DOS will focus on operations, services, transactions and surge support to entities in weak environments. It will service and support the entire Secretariat – at Headquarters, the regional commissions and offices away from Headquarters and in the field.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Administrative Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Budget:

• Provides support with respect to the review, analyses and preparation of the medium-term plan and its revisions.
• Prepares supporting documents (narrative and supporting tables) with respect to finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of non-staff requirements.
• Assists managers in the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions.
• Undertakes research and provides support to higher level Finance & Budget Officers with respect to budget reviews of relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies.
• Monitors expenditures and compares with approved budget; prepares adjustments as necessary.
• Reviews requisitions for services to ensure (a) correct objects of expenditure have been charged, and (b) availability of funds.
• Assists in preparation of budget performance submissions and finalization of budget performance reports, analysing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Monitors integrity of various financial databases.
• Verifies accuracy of input data, ensuring consistency of data in previous allotments to new allotments issued.
• Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports. Administration of Consultants and Individual Contractors:
• Performs technical evaluation and verification of eligibility of individuals in accordance with the guidelines on the recruitment and administration of consultants
• Review, assess and determine fees for all individuals based on the Terms of Reference (TOR), Personnel History Profiles (PHP), contract for services
• Prepare and submit requests for clearance to OHRM for hiring of retirees/separated staff members and approval of fee rates above level D
• Review requests for the services of Consultants/Individual Contractors (CIC) for the initial quality control, advise hiring manager on processes and procedures, follow up with hiring managers on pending/missing documentation and ensure upload of documents to centralized repository in the SAP based ERP System (Umoja),
• Prepare contracts for CIC using the relevant ERP module and coordinates with the hiring managers to endure contracts and other mandatory documents are signed/provided and uploaded on the central repository
• Create or update Umoja mini master record(s) (if applicable) and take necessary technical steps in the system;
• Review and approve request for payments of CICs (SES)
• Monitor /report on expired contracts and advise client departments on outstanding payments and liquidation of outstanding obligation.
• Determine and advise if a request for exception (if applicable) should be sent to the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) for approval of fee rates above Level D.

General:

• Keeps up-to-date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to programme, ensuring compliance with intergovernmental recommendations and decisions as well as with United Nations policies and procedures.
• Drafts or prepares correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant financial and budget matters.
• Maintain and keep up-to-date files.
• May be responsible for providing guidance, training and daily supervision to other general service staff in the area of responsibility.
• Performs other related duties, as assigned.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven years of experience in finance, budget, accounting, administrative services or related are is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to five for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher. Experience in the administration of Consultants and Individual Contractors within the United Nations Common System or similar Organizations is desirable. Experience with HR modules of ERP based systems such as SAP Umoja or other similar platforms is desirable. Experience using recruitment platforms such as Inspira or similar is desirable

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/240626?language=en