Team Assistant

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. 

Unit Context:

Brazil experienced an economic rebound in recent years, following a financial crisis in 2014-15 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Growth in 2022-24 has reached about 2.5-3.0 percent per annum, driven mostly by agriculture as well as household and government consumption. Brazil’s growth is expected to hover around 2.0 percent in the next few years.

• From 2001-12, Brazil’s poverty rate was cut in half (with 27 million Brazilians lifted out of poverty), due to strong growth, increased labor formalization, and the expansion of social policies (including especially Brazil’s flagship Bolsa Familia program), but it stagnated with the 2014 financial crisis at about one-quarter of the population, where it remains today. Nearly half of Brazil’s children, the country’s future workforce, are now growing up in poor households.
• Brazil also faces significant climate change impacts, as changing temperature and rainfall patterns result in reduced water availability and extended droughts. Continued deforestation remains a matter of urgency, as it is the main source of greenhouse (GHG) emissions in Brazil. Strengthening resilience to climate change and protection of natural assets is essential for environmentally-sustainable economic growth.
• The IBRD program in Brazil currently has about 40 active operations and another 40 under preparation. The Brasilia Country Office has about 100 regular staff, of which about a dozen are internationally recruited. Lending is expected to exceed $3b per annum over the coming years, with about two-thirds of loans extended directly to subnational entites (the 26 states, a half-dozen larger municipalities, and a range of domestic development banks) that are able to borrow from IBRD directly when the federal government agrees to provide IBRD with a repayment guarantee.

Role & Responsibilities :

The selected candidate will be assigned to work as an assistant to the World Bank office in Brasilia, and mainly to provide administrative support to the Senior Admin Officer, as well as for tasks associated to the Unit’s overall work program. The Team Assistant’s duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Provide comprehensive administrative assistance to the Senior Administrative Officer. The Team Assistant will assume primary responsibility for organizing and coordinating the workflow of messengers and drivers under Senior AO supervision.
• Coordinating general office administration: help oversee delegated activities of the unit. Work program is determined by the Unit’s business needs and the Senior AO’s own work program requirements. The TA will contribute to the smooth operation of the office administration work and related systems by assuming responsibility for organizing and coordinating workflow in order to better meet the clients’ demands.
• The TA should also establish effective working relationships with counterparts in other Bank units, actively fostering open communication and a teamwork environment to ensure smooth operation of ongoing office administrative functions including, space, equipment, working environment and information retrieval systems. Actively foster cooperation and teamwork through effective delegation and regular discussion and review of issues with staff.
• Record keeping and guidelines update: Provide assistance on record keeping, making sure it is organized and up to date. Review and maintain local guidelines ensuring they are up to date and according to WBG rules and policies.
• Coordinate CMU Admin Procurement, Contracts, Processes and Purchases: Ensure provision of specialized support (e.g., database management, knowledge management, task management, major event/course planning, etc.); coordinate local office administrative requests, monitor budget related to administrative contracts, provide market researches and purchase items.
• Monitor Facilities Management Services and Security for Brazil CMU : Assist Senior Admin Officer on monitoring and ensuring quality of all third party services hired.
• IRS Relocation Processes for Brazil CMU and General Foreign affairs support: Support relocating staff and families, in coordination with Global Mobility & Relocation Services and Senior Administrative Officer; establish contact with third-party vendor, so called Destination Services Provider (DSP), to provide IRS with on-the-ground relocation support customized to their needs; feed and update Global Mobility Portal for IRS to get acquainted with their new duty station; establish contact with local lawyer on housing rental contracts for expatriate staff; liaise with WBG Security Specialist and UNDSS for the Residential Security Survey prior to house clearance. Give support to demands with consular matters, Foreign Affairs guidance and procedures.
• Provide other administrative support as needed: Ensure adaptability to an ever changing environment when meeting new demands.

The team assistant will also provide cross-support and back-up support to other sectors in the office, on an on-demand basis. This includes tasks as:

• Drafting routine correspondence and proofreading materials using proper grammar, punctuation, and style.
• Assisting with the preparation and logistical planning for various events, e.g. conferences, workshops, negotiations, meetings, missions, etc.; liaising with Resource Management team for compliance with Bank policies.
• Coordinating schedules taking priorities into account, monitoring changes, and communicating the information to appropriate staff, inside and outside the immediate work unit, including officials outside the World Bank Group.
• Filing correspondence in WBDocs/Sharepoint site.
• Processing contracts in the Bank’s electronic system (Admin Portal).
• Collecting and inputting project related data provided by Task Team Leaders (TTLs) into the Bank’s Operations Portal
• Helping maintain up-to-date distribution lists, travel and leave schedules.
• Providing assistance in arranging activities such as reserving meeting rooms, arranging catering services, AV equipment, video and tele-conferencing coordination, etc.
• Assisting with travel arrangements (TRs, flight & hotel booking, transportation).
• Providing back-up/cross-support to colleagues in the Brasília Office during absences or peak periods as needed.
• Performing other ad-hoc duties as required by the Senior Executive Assistant or Country Operations Manager.

Selection Criteria

• Minimum Education/Experience: High school diploma plus 3 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Verbal and written proficiency in English and Portuguese.
• Ability to retrieve reference materials from various sources (e.g. databases, filing systems, Internet, etc.).
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with utmost discretion.
• Ability to produce high-quality work under pressure.
• Committed, self-motivated team player with good inter-personal skills, and the ability to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• The selected candidate may be required to work flexible hours.

Source: https://worldbankgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=29911&site=1