Senior Administrative Assistant

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Through the resolution “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument” (UNEP/EA5/L23/REV.1), the United Nations Environment Assembly requested to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), commencing its work during second half of 2022, with the ambition of completing its work by the end of 2024. The resolution established that the INC should develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, which could include both binding and voluntary approaches, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, taking into account among other things, the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, as well as national circumstances and capabilities, including provisions. The position is based at the Nairobi duty station and reports directly to the Administrative Officer under the overall guidance of the Executive Secretary, INC Secretariat. The Senior Administrative Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Responsibilities

General Administration

• Provides guidance, training and daily supervision to other general service staff in the area of responsibility.
• Provides assistance in drafting of host country agreements, budget agreements, or contributions for grants or other activities as appropriate. • Identifies and resolves diverse issues/problems as they arise and determines appropriate actions.
• Coordinates extensively with service units and liaises frequently with internal team members both at Headquarters and in the field.
• Performs other related administrative duties, as required (e.g., operational travel programme, monitoring accounts and payment to vendors and individual contractors for services, physical space planning and the identification of office technology needs and maintenance of equipment, software and systems, organize and coordinate seminars, conferences and translations).
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.

Travel and Conference Management

• Prepares invitations to member states, specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations to attend sessions of the INC Secretariat meetings/conferences.
• Ensures that all preliminary logistic arrangements are made in advance for the efficient conduct of the INC Secretariat meetings/conferences. • Prepares travel authorizations in UMOJA for both staff and non-staff members and associated expense reports in conformity with UN Rules.
• Proposes solutions to problems and leads projects for enhancing efficiency and level of services provided in the conference room.
• Ensures that all required services, including the availability and distribution of documents, and personnel are available in order for meetings/conferences to convene according to the schedule.
• Works with senior officers and coordinate with host countries on scope and requirements and provides logistical support for INC Secretariat meetings/conferences to be held away from Headquarters, other UN Offices or Regional Offices.

Contract Administration

• Assists with day-to-day administration of contracts between the UN and external contractors for outsourced services.
• Audits the contractors’ invoices against the goods and services provided by the contractor and approved by the UN.
• Processes the payment of contractors’ invoices and monitor payments.
• Prepares and processes all UN forms and permissions for contractual and work Unit, Section or Service UN staff, including: UN grounds passes, property passes, UN parking permits, swipe-card access and door keys.

Procurement

• Reviews, records and prioritizes purchasing requests and obtains additional information/documentation as required; provides assistance to requisitioners in preparing scope of work and specifications of goods and services; proposes product substitutions consistent with requirements to achieve cost savings; determines the availability of funding sources.
• Identifies and recommends sources of procurement; e.g. Invitations to Bids, Requests for Proposals and Requests for Quotation based on the nature of the Secretariat’s requirements and cost of procurement involved.
• Initiate requisitions for goods and services, liaises with UNON/UNEP Procurement Sections for timely procurement of goods & services; monitor receipt of deliverables and ensure timely payments in alignment with rules and regulations.
• Prepares and finalizes purchase orders, low value acquisitions and shopping carts for approval by the authorized officials.
• Resolves issues/problems related to delivered goods, including discrepancies between purchase orders and items/quantities shipped or received; prepares and signs Return to Vendor forms for unacceptable and/or damaged goods received. Liaises with Financial Resources management Section and other relevant stakeholders for matters related to vendor payments, as may be required.
• Consolidates, analyzes and incorporates data into the UN Supply Chain Planning Tool and liaises with colleagues from various offices at various levels.
• Performs other duties as required.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Work Experience

• At least ten (10) years of experience in administrative functions, travel, procurement, budget, finance, accounting, audit, human resources or related area is required. The minimum years of progressively responsible experience is reduced to eight (8) for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher. Experience in organizing large conferences and events is required. At least five (5) years of experience within the United Nations Common System or any large international organization similar to the United Nations is desirable. Experience with ERP systems such as Umoja or Inspira for the processing of financial and administrative action is desirable. Experience working with the United Nations Common System’s Travel, Procurement and Financial Rules and Regulations is desirable. One (1) year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage. Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of “fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of “confident” in two of the four areas.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/238348?language=en