Org. Setting and Reporting
This position is located in the Humanitarian Leadership Strengthening Section (HLSS), Operations and Advocacy Division (OAD), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Geneva, Switzerland. OCHA is part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response efforts. OCHA’s mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies; advocate the rights of people in need; promote preparedness and prevention and facilitate sustainable solutions.
The Staff Assistant (TJO) reports to the Programme Management Assistant at HLSS.
Responsibilities
Within limits of delegated authority and depending on location, Staff Assistants at this level may be responsible for the following duties:
• Performs, under minimal supervision, the full range of office management and administrative support functions; typically provides direct assistance to a senior officer or manager responsible for a major programme, such as a branch or division.
• Maintains liaison with the substantive offices and with senior officials in other sections regarding on-going programmes, senior officials’ inductions, in-briefings, schedule meetings and other administrative matters; monitors processes and schedules related to the section’s outputs, products, tasks, etc.
• Ensures smooth and efficient information flow within the section; prepares and processes confidential information; assists in the development of office administrative systems and procedures.
• Researches, compiles and summarizes background materials for use in preparation of reports, briefs, speeches, etc.
• Provides assistance in the coordination of service-wide activities (retreats, meetings, training, etc.), special projects and events. Serves as focal point for administrative coordination of programme/project implementation activities, involving extensive liaison with a diverse organizational sections to initiate requests, obtain necessary clearances, process and follow-up on administrative actions, e.g. recruitment and appointment of personnel, consultants, interns, travel arrangements, training/study tours, authorization of payments, disbursement of funds, procurement of equipment and services, asset management etc.; may coordinate the work of office support staff in providing meetings servicing/administrative support to various sessions of commissions and other bodies.
• Attends meetings, prepares minutes, monitors follow-up activities.
• Responds or drafts responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications; uses standard word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports.
• Prepares, maintains, and updates files (electronic and paper) and Salesforce database; updates SharePoint/website; generates a variety of standard and non-standard statistical and other reports from various databases.
• Carries out quality control function for outgoing documents; proofreads and edits texts for adherence for format, grammar, punctuation, and style.
• Responds to complex information requests and inquiries (e.g. answers requests through the Section’s mail box, requiring file search, etc.).
• Assists in the preparation of presentation materials using appropriate technology/software.
• May provide some specialized support to unit (e.g. technology support, editing, desktop publishing, etc.).
• Maintains Section Chief’s and Team’s calendar/schedules; monitors changes and communicates relevant information to appropriate staff inside and outside the immediate work unit.
• Performs a variety of administrative duties (e.g. leave recording in UMOJA and monitoring, meeting organization, reservations, office supply and equipment orders, etc.), including preparing and/or processing administrative requests/documents (e.g., travel requests, expense claims, vouchers, visa applications, etc.).
• Maintains files (both paper and electronic) and databases for work section.
• 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.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
Competencies
• PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of general office and administrative support including administrative policies, processes and procedures. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Able to perform analysis, modeling and interpretation of data in support of decision-making. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.
• TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• PLANNING& ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
Education
High school diploma or equivalent is required.
Work Experience
A minimum of five (5) years of experience in programme or project administration, technical
cooperation or related area is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to three (3) years for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher.
Experience in using an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) such as Umoja is required.
Experience using talent management platforms such as Inspira is required.
Experience with the UN Common System (or with similar international organization) in
budget preparation, monitoring, and reporting is desirable.
Experience working with Salesforce or any CMR type of database is desirable.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.
Assessment
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Special Notice
This position is temporarily available for a period of 6 months with possibility of extension. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.
• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post.
• Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.
• This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15.
• Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.
• Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as “retirement.” Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.
This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. Applicants for positions in the General Service and related categories must be authorized to work for the United Nations in the duty station where the position is located. Eligible applicants selected from outside the duty station are responsible for any expenses in connection with their relocation to the duty station. Staff members subject to local recruitment are not eligible for allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.
United Nations Considerations
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.
Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.
By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.
Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage.
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
How to apply
Apply here