This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.
Passing the Global General Service Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Services and related categories in the United Nations Secretariat. Applicants who have not passed the GGST at the time of application may be invited for the test after submitting an application. Having passed the Administrative Support Assessment (ASAT) Test in English at the United Nations Headquarters, Economic Commission for Africa, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, United Nations Office at Geneva, United Nations Office at Vienna, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, may be accepted in lieu of the GGST.
Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
This position is located in the Global Operations Division (GOpD) of Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT), and the incumbent of the post will be under the overall supervision of the Director of GOpD.
Within delegated authority, the Staff Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:
• Performs, under minimal supervision the full range of secretarial and administrative support functions for the Director of GOpD, including, but not limited to: managing the Director's calendar, collating and coordinating the provision of background material, supporting the organization of meetings, assisting in travel requirements, following up with requests for information from the Director, keeping files that pertain to the Director's area of purview.
• Ensures smooth and efficient information flow within the Division; prepares and processes confidential information; assists in the implementation of a pilot electronic filing system and collaboration tool in the Division including migrating documents from existing repositories to one unified system.
• Researches, compiles and summarizes background materials for use in preparation of reports, briefs, speeches, talking points and briefing material for the Division's meetings with dignitaries and other high-level officials.
• Provides assistance in the coordination of service-wide activities (meetings, conferences, training, etc.), including special projects and events.
• Maintains liaison with the Front Office of the Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO), senior officials in other offices in the UN system and with delegations and government officials regarding on-going programmes and other administrative matters; monitors processes and schedules related to the Department's outputs, products, tasks, etc.
• Supports the preparation of budget utilization reports for the Division in coordination with other colleagues in OICT.
• Assists in the monitoring of tasks and in the preparation of status reports for designated initiatives.
• Orients new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provides general assistance to other office support staff, including the CITO's Staff Assistant; may coordinate the work of office support staff in providing meetings servicing and/or administrative support to various events.
• Attends meetings, prepares minutes, monitors follow-up activities and assists in stakeholder and outreach 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 and carries out quality control function for outgoing documents; proofreads and edits texts for adherence for format, grammar, punctuation and style, ensuring proper terminology and reference.
• Assists in the preparation of presentation materials using appropriate technology/software.
• Performs digitization tasks to achieve a paperless, more environmentally friendly service; manages and updates electronic filing system and collaboration tool for the Office of the Director.
• Responds to complex information requests and inquiries (e.g., answers requests requiring file search, etc.).
• Maintains calendar/schedules; monitors changes and communicate relevant information to appropriate staff inside and outside the immediate work unit.
• Performs a variety of administrative duties (e.g., leave recording, 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, consultant contracts and payments, etc.) for the Director.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Professionalism: Knowledge of general office and administrative support including administrative policies, processes and procedures. Knowledge of relevant operational and administrative policies, processes, and procedures, including records management/filing procedures. Ability to research and organize data and information required for reports, briefings etc. Demonstrates ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given. Knowledge of the functions and organization of a front office, and of the organizational structure and respective roles of related Services of the Office. 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. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspect 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 and 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.
High school diploma or equivalent.
A minimum of five years of experience in general office support, or related area is required. Experience coordinating complex meetings with participants from multiple duty stations and levels, preparing meeting notes/minutes, and managing director-level agenda in Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes, is required. Experience using software applications including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, is required. Experience using Microsoft Visio, Project, and other advanced functions including Pivot Tables is desirable. Experience supporting inter-agency cooperation meetings is desirable. Experience working in a large international organization or government, involving interaction with a wide range of high-level officials, is desirable. Experience working in a front office environment is desirable.
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 desirable.
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
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, including but not limited to, respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to, whether they have committed or are alleged to have committed criminal offences or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
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.
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on "The Application Process" and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.
The screening and 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, including but not limited to, their education, work experience, and language skills, according to the instructions provided on inspira. Applicants will be disqualified from consideration if they do not demonstrate in their application that they meet the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations. Applicants are solely responsible for providing complete and accurate information at the time of application: 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 a reference-checking process to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at midnight (New York time) on the deadline date.
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.