Administrative Associate, Dhaka (Local Post for Bangladesh Nationals and Applicants with Valid Work Permit)

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 was launched in 2021 and the corresponding UN Women Bangladesh Strategy Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh, is aligned with the UNSDCF. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Under the direct supervision of the Operations Manager in the Bangladesh Country Office (CO) the Administrative Associate serves as a member of the country operations team. S/he supports the Office Operations by performing a variety of standard administrative processes ensuring high quality and accuracy of work. The Administrative Associate promotes a client, quality, and results-oriented approach.  S/he works in close collaboration with the Operations, Programme and office wide staff team including in Cox’s Bazar sub office to ensure consistent service delivery and to resolve complex administration related issues.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.Provide general administration and operations support to the Bangladesh Country Office and Cox’s Bazar Sub Office in compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and strategies:

• Prepare work plan for administrative team;
• Manage the office running expenses such as cost estimation, issuing E-Requisition and contact procurement colleagues for next process;
• Prepare payment requests of operational expenses and submit to finance;
• Coordinate and supervise administrative support staff in Dhaka;
• Coordinate and supervise shipments and customs clearance arrangements;
• Coordinate and supervise travel arrangements (such as obtaining visa, issuing note verbal, hotel booking, airport transfer etc).
• Act as travel processor (back up) to ensure travel compliance through the ERP Quantum;
• Coordinate and facilitate the organization of conferences, workshops, and retreats;
• Oversee protocol matters with MoFA, registration of staff, coordination with local authorities on space and other administrative matters;
• Manage and improve filing system ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials;
• Serve as Procurement Review Committee (PRC) Secretary when required.

 2.Coordinate and organize asset management:

• Manage office stationery supplies including maintenance of stock list of stationery, distribution of stationery and keeping a log of distribution;
• Coordinate fleet management and common services for example car-pooling when in common UN premises;
• Coordinate assets management in the office, prepare and submit periodic inventory reports, coordinate physical verification assets and of inventory items;
• Review procurement requests and initiate procurement procedures for office and project equipment, supplies and services;
• Perform the role of ICT focal point, supervise the IT help desk person and contact person for outsourced company;
• Provide inputs to the preparation of procurement plans for the office and monitor their implementation;
• Prepare purchase requisition and initiate procurement procedures for office and project equipment, supplies and services.

3. Office lease and other service contracts management including the following:

• Management of lease agreement including in common premises;
• Utility services such as phone, electricity, water, waste disposal;
• Maintenance contract of the generator, printer photocopiers;
• Vehicle insurance, servicing maintenance;
• Vehicle fuel and mileage log maintenance;
• Premises cleanliness maintenance;
• Safeguarding office fixtures& fittings.

3. Provide security support for the office:

• Act as deputy Security Focal point and assist the Operations Manager;
• Perform various security activities such as share security advisories with colleagues, act as administrator of the security communication WhatsApp groups, maintain and update security training data;
• Update UNDSS staff data online file and phone call tree monthly;
• Update UN Women Safety Security checklist, staff data in Everbridge platform, BCCMA protocols and share with colleagues as required;
• Act as office occupational health and safety (OSH) focal point, plan, and coordinate implementation of OSH measures in the office;
• Represent the office in the interagency administration group meetings as part of Business Operations Strategy (BOS), review and update UN Women Bangladesh data in the BOS platform;
• Serve as a zone warden, organize safety and security drill in collaboration with UNDSS;
• Ensure access control of the office premises.

4.Provide administrative support to knowledge building and knowledge sharing:  

• Organize trainings for the operations/ projects staff on administrative related matters in close consultation with the OM;
• Compile lessons learnt and best practices in administration, procurement, and human resources;
• Brief staff members on general administrative matters; provide advice and administration support.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: Describe the size of the team and levels of personnel under the position’s direct supervision. Include matrix management relationships and all affiliate personnel. The incumbent leads a team of five personnel including support staff – drivers, messengers. 

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: 

Functional Competencies

• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Excellent knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Excellent IT and web-based management skills;
• Ability to extract and interpret data.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required;
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or related fields is desirable.

Experience

• At least 6 years of progressively responsible experience in administration, ICT, security, procurement, or logistic support service;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages

• Fluency in English and Bangla is required;
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

UN Women Statement on Diversity and Inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.  

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.  

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.  All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from ;

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.