Senior Administrative Assistant

Under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Beirut, and the direct supervision of the Senior Operations Officer, the incumbent provides high-level administrative and support services in a range of specialized areas and plays a lead role within the unit in ensuring application and compliance with the rules, regulations, policies and practices in place.

The incumbent provides senior level support in the processing of a range of specialized areas and plays a lead role in these areas. The incumbent independently consolidates data and prepares reports, non-routine correspondence and documentation, ensures the functioning of internal control systems and ensures that the office’s financial resources and expenditures and fully and adequately accounted for.  The incumbent’s work has a direct impact on the quality of services provided by the administrative unit.

General Accountabilities:

• Act as certifying officer up to an authorized level delegated by the Chief Financial Officer;
• Provide guidance and interpretation on administrative rules, regulations and procedures;
• Advise on operational and technical routine transactions;
• Recommend process and system related modifications and improvements to support successful administration and financial monitoring and control;
• Interpret provisions and provide guidance on complex and non-recurring issues;
• Supervise activities related to office maintenance, security, transport and similar services, as necessary.

Finance Accountabilities:

• Ensure that the Office’s financial resources and expenditures are fully and properly accounted for and that internal control systems are adequate and functioning, schedule payments and disbursement of funds;
• Ensure accurate and timely processing of assigned accounts, developing budget estimates and monitoring expenditures, participating and advising in the preparation of financial statements and budgets;
• Assist in the preparation and coordination of financial activities under RP funds and Voluntary Contributions.
• Compile and consolidate data from various sources into financial statements, prepare worksheets.
• Monitor expenditures, review payments and reconcile accounts.
• Investigate anomalies and erroneous charges and take corrective action.
• Provide assistance and guidance to undertake coding and data entry task and to extract information and run financial reports.

Budget Accountabilities:

• Prepare Regular Programme and Voluntary Contributions budget reports and communicate on them;
• Assist and advise on planning and budgetting and recommend modifications;
• Prepare budget proposals and cost estimates and ensure that data is correct;
• Identify irregularities and undertake transactions to correct errors/omissions.

HR Accountabilities:

• Handle non-routine or complex cases, prepare associated documents/ correspondence for personnel actions based on oral instructions and previous experience;
• Follow-up on coming HR actions and oversee maintenance, update and clean-up of database;
• Issue non-staff contracts, advise on recruitment process and entitlements;
• Liaise with central services based at Headquarters, to discuss and obtain additional information, clarifications and policy interpretation.

Logistics:

• Procurement: research and retrieve information on supply sources, vendors by commodity and obtain specifications on the market.
• Review contractual documents (TOR, budget, contract nature and type).
• Resolve issues/ problems related to delivered goods.
• Prepare requisitions for supplies and equipment; ensure that payments are processed and provide information to the assigned Sector on invoicing and payment issues.
• Arrange for control and distribution of inventory records.
• Security: Ensures compliance of staff with security travel requirements and monitor completion of mandatory security trainings.

Education:

• Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational education.

Work Experience:

• At least eight (8) years of relevant work experience in financial and administrative services, preferably in an international professional environment, or in related fields.

Skills :

• Excellent organizational and coordination skills.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, including drafting skills.
• Capacity to handle information objectively, precisely and confidentially.
• Ability to perform tasks in an autonomous manner.
• Flexibility in adjusting to work schedules and setting priorities, and to manage multiple tasks.
• Discretion, good sense of judgement and capacity to deal efficiently and tactfully with a variety of stakeholders in a multicultural environment.
• Excellent IT skills with proficiency in the use MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, etc.)

Languages:

• Excellent knowledge (oral and written) of Arabic and English.

Education:

• Specialized training or courses in one or more of the following disciplines: administration, finance, accounting and/or procurement.

Work Experience:

• Relevant experience within the United Nations System or another international organisation;
• Experience with an Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP).

Languages:

• Working knowledge of French.
• Knowledge of other UNESCO official languages (Chinese, Russian, Spanish).

Source: https://careers.unesco.org/job/Beirut-Senior-Administrative-Assistant/817207702/