Senior Administrative Assistant

The Department of Chef de cabinet supports the office of the Regional Director and has the responsibility for planning, execution and evaluation of WHO programmes at the regional and country level and in strengthening the alignment and joint work across the three levels of the organization.

Duties: 

Management Of The Office Of The Director:

• Assist in all confidential matters of the Department;
• Manage the Departmental internal and external communications flow on all issues and develop and maintain follow-up systems/mechanisms to monitor administrative work progress and Department submissions’ deadlines;
• Develop administrative capacity within the Department by ensuring that:
• new staff are properly oriented;
• guide, train and coach team members across the full range of departmental support functions.
• The incumbent will train and coordinate other training opportunities in the Department;
• Follow-up with technical staff to ensure implementation of decision and resolutions of Reginal Cabinet Meetings, Regional Committees, Executive Board and World Health Assembly;
• Prepare action points of departmental meetings, circulate to all staff and ensure implementation of these decisions
• Bring to the attention of the Director any problems with regard to staff performance and attendance as well as implementation of decisions.

Supervisory Role:

• Plan and organize administrative work within the Department, distribute assignment to other support staff in an equitable manner, ensure proper coverage during leaves and absences in coordination with respective Regional Advisors and supervisors;
• Arrange regular departmental meetings for administrative staff; and,
• Update staff of new developments and procedures.

Monitoring Of Hr Matters:

• Work closely with the Administrative Assistant on the liaison with HRS on the necessary actions for the recruitment of staff in the department:
• Support the director on the shortlisting process including guidance on STELLIS for all positions
• Prepare and recommend the final list for approval of the Director for GS level posts
• Act as a member of interview panel for GS positions
• Liaise with HRS on the finalization of position descriptions when submitted for technical review.

Compliance, Risk Management & Quality Validation:

• Act as the department compliance and risk management focal point (jointly with designated P-staff)
• Review administrative compliance and carry-out quality check of Department’s administrative documents, to ensure adherence to WHO rules and policies;
• In the context of the GSM and e-workflows, act as first level approver/reviewer and validate information and attachments. Identify discrepancies and recommend appropriate options/solutions to originators;
• Review and analyze the compliance monthly dashboard/cockpit of the department, circulate it to all staff with supporting reports (including PMDSs, TRs, leaves, awards, donor reports… etc);
• Create the Risk Register for the department on annual basis, and regularly update data on the cockpit tool;
• Upload all needed documents, update and address all issues related to the “Periodic Attestations” on the compliance cockpit; and,
• Complete the Internal Control Framework Assessment checklist for the department on a yearly basis, and address any surveys/questionnaires related to it; and to the risk and compliance assessment.

Programe Management, Budget And Financial:

• Act as focal point for administrative matters related to operational planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting;
• Coordinates the administrative process of the divisional submissions for planning, mid and end-term reporting and other adhoc office-wide exercises such as corporate funding requests, funding forecasting etc.;
• Monitor and follow-through with relevant staff in the department to ensure that award management actions (e.g. AAR, AMR, ADR, planned costs, award budgets) are implemented timely;
• Supports the Director in preparing donor proposals and reports in term of quality check and preparation of human and financial resources breakdown. Monitors reporting deadlines to donors and follow-through relevant staff as required.
• Request and collate inputs from relevant staff, and draft briefing and summaries/reports as required;
• Responsible for ensuring all the HR actions, are in compliance with approved HR plan, including:
• generate reports and performs initial analyses, for various HR review exercise;
• liaise with PME, HRs and BFU colleagues as needed; and
• in coordination with the Programme Management Officer, provide advice regarding amendments proposed to be made to the HR plan.

Required Qualifications:

Education:

Essential:

• Completion of secondary education supplemented by training in related administrative fields.

Experience:

Essential:

• At least ten years’ progressive experience in programme administration and management.

Skills:

• Excellent time management and stress management skills.
• Ability to lead, direct and manage a team.
• Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with multi-cultural staff.
• Excellent communication skills and analytical skills.
• Thorough knowledge and the ability to apply WHO/UN rules, manuals, practices, procedures and WHO Style Guide as applicable to the administrative level.

Language Skills:

Essential:

• Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of Arabic.

Source:  https://careers.who.int/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=2402433