Call for Interest - Office Assistant - Short Term Opportunity 4 months

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and  advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.

The Office of the President and Vice-President of IFAD (OPV) provides strategic oversight and direction to the entire organization, including all decentralised offices and is responsible for IFAD¿s strategic leadership and all departments and offices report to it.  

OPV is the highest-level of political and strategic engagement with IFAD Member States, the Rome-based agencies, the other UN agencies and IFIs, leveraging the Fund¿s resources, knowledge, relationships and reputation to ensure that IFAD achieves its mandate, through IFAD funded-programmes and non-lending activities providing sustainable impact to its target groups.  

The Office also serves as the primary liaison with the Senior Executive Management Team and supports general governance of the organization. The Office of the President and Vice-President leads the strategic planning for the organization, as well as develops or champions new initiatives to improve organizational efficiency, visibility, and organization-wide leadership development.

OPV oversees the Corporate Services Support Group (CSSG) and supervises the Protocol Unit. The CSSG comprises the: (i) Office of Audit and Oversight (AUO), reporting to the President; (ii) Planning, Organizational Development and Budget Division (POB) reporting to the Vice-President and (iii Ethics Office (ETH), a stand-alone unit reporting administratively to the President.  

This is a temporary assignment(s) to cover OPV front office functions. Overall, s/he is accountable to contribute to the administration, operational, communications and secretarial support services to enhance the smooth running of the organizational unit and its workflows and management of information.

The incumbent will play a crucial role as a member of the administrative team of the Office of the President and Vice-President (OPV). This team aids the executive office to fulfil IFAD¿s corporate objectives and is expected to operate under pressure and tight deadlines.

The Office Assistant reports the Chief of Staff and Transformation Officer for day to day matters but reports directly to the Administrative Assistant of the President for overall performance and administrative matters to ensure the effective functioning of the Office of the President and Vice-President. 

General description of tasks and objectives to be achieved:

EXECUTIVE SUPPORT: 

The incumbent leads on the day-to-day support to the Chief of Staff and Transformation Officer by:

• Maintaining the Executive Manager¿s calendar and preparing briefing materials for meetings and engagements
• Preparing briefing materials for official trips or meetings;
• Drafting responses to written inquiries on routine and non-routine queries and coordinating responses to sensitive or complex issues;
• Liaising with internal (HQ and field) and external clients for the smooth functioning of business operations;
• Organizing the logistics of internal and external meetings/committees;
• Reviewing all correspondence and official documents for style, factual and grammatical accuracy, as well as conformance with established guidelines and procedures;
• Preparing the submission of correspondence for the supervisor`s signature.
• Contributing to organization of GC50 engagement plan for President, Vice President and Chief of Staff. 
• Serving as an entry point for foreign embassies and high-level offices, directly initiating and responding to inquiries and requests using formal diplomatic language when required.
• Monitoring OPV workflows, identify bottlenecks or duplications with supporting evidence, propose improvements and contribute to their testing and implementation, including training
• Departmental and Front Offices on the correct use of corporate tools
• Backstopping other OPV functions to ensure business continuity

HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE SECRETARIAT ASSISTANCE: 

The incumbent contributes in the effective management of the Secretariat where Chief of Staff is the Secretary (e.g. Executive Management Committee) by:

• Organizing and driving the preparation of the annual agenda, providing guidance to Departmental Front Offices to consolidating information for the Secretary¿s approval. 
• Analysing and maintaining the Committee Rolling Agenda, recommending appropriate sequencing based on Executive Management participation and corporate commitments.
• Issuing deadlines for the timely receipt of documentation and official circulation of documentation ahead of the meeting. 
• Facilitating the circulation of items to be reviewed electronically in lieu of presentation at physical meeting. 
• Track critical deadlines and delivery, alerting Secretary and EMC Advisor. 
• Managing the organization and logistics, including ensuring appropriate participation of committee members, resource people or guests.
• Managing and maintaining EMC records and information on intranet and sharepoint is complete and up to date. 
• Applying confidentiality and discretion in the official transmission and tracking of decision notifications, as related to Committee rules and regulations.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING: 

The Office Assistant contributes in the planning and delivery of the divisional/departmental work plan(s) and budget. Accountabilities include but are not limited to: 

• Consolidating divisional/departmental budgets including regular and non-regular budgets; 
• Assisting in the assessment of budget trends and future requirements; 
• Preparing and delivering presentations and reports on budget utilization if required; 
• Originating and/or administering the procurement of goods and services (e.g. non-staff recruitments, commercial and non-commercial entity contracts);

UN WATER LIAISON FACILITATION: 

The incumbent contributes to the effective collaboration with UN Water in support to the President¿s role as the Chair of UN Water by:

• Monitoring and tracking UN Water activities, alerting Senior Advisor and Executive Assistant of deadlines and actions needed;
• Monitoring President bilaterals and events, alerting Senior Advisor and UN Water Specialists of potential opportunities for UN Water activities. 
• Reviewing all correspondence and official documents for style, factual and grammatical accuracy, as well as conformance and consistency with established UN Water guidelines and procedures; 
• Liaising with Protocol unit and UN Water Secretariat for the preparation and timely release of note verbale and President as UN Water Chair letters.
• Ensuring organization and logistics for meetings and events; 
• Providing guidance to UN Water on IFAD corporate administrative processes
• Originating and managing the procurement of goods and services, monitor service render and overall budget use. 

Office Assistants typically report to a senior professional staff member or to a team leader. Therefore, the scope of key results is limited to the organizational unit. The Administrative Assistant provides support in the application of established rules and procedures as well as in typical, non-specialized support work. The work is standard in nature; there are no specialized administrative activities that would require formal training performed on a regular and recurring basis. Key performance indicators include the timely and accurate performance of assigned activities. 

Office Assistant ensures tasks are carried out with high quality and in a timely manner; the incumbent protects the confidentiality of the Office. The incumbent supports time management of Chief of Staff/Director giving importance to priority matters, organization of divisional meeting/retreats/events. The incumbent ensures that EMC meetings are well scheduled, by supporting the management in preparation of the yearly and quarterly Agenda prioritizing most urgent items, and liaising on the work of IFAD Departments/Divisions, to bring actions forward in the agreed timeframe. Ensure background documentation is circulated timely and the minutes are posted on IFAD Intranet.

Office Assistants are accountable for the exchange of routine, and less frequently non-routine, information with counterparts within IFAD. Routine exchange of information within the Fund includes arranging travel, procurement and information technology support. Typical contacts within the division, office or department as well as external contacts consist of responding to inquiries. 

Officer Assistant in OPV interacts with various departments/divisions in IFAD to obtain information as required. 

Organizational Competencies:

Level 1:

• Building relationships and partnerships - Builds and maintains effective working relationships
• Communicating and negotiating - Communicates effectively; creates understanding between self and others
• Demonstrating leadership - Personal leadership and attitude to change
• Focusing on clients - Focuses on clients
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating - Continuously seeks to learn, shares knowledge & innovates
• Managing performance and developing staff -
• Managing time, resources and information - Manages own time, information and resources effectively
• Problem-solving and decision-making - Demonstrates sound problem-solving and decision-making ability
• Strategic thinking and organizational development - Personal influence
• Team working - Contributes effectively to the team

Education:

• Level - High school diploma
• Areas -  Social Studies, Math, English language arts, Economics

Experience:

• At least three (3) years of progressively responsible secretarial and administrative experience.
• Position specific
• Work in a multi-cultural organization or national organization providing support on a global scope is desirable
• Experience in an Executive Office is desirable 
• Knowledge of office work and administrative procedures is essential.

Languages:

• English (4 - Excellent)
• Desirable: French, Spanish, or Arabic (3 ¿ Good) 
• Desirable: Italian (3 - Good)

For IFAD internal staff: in line with section 2.3.2 (iii) HRIP - IFAD staff holding an indefinite, or fixed-term appointment, and IFAD staff holding a short-term appointment, who, on applying to the vacancy, have commenced employment under an appointment for six months or longer or have completed six months of service (cumulative) without an interruption of more than thirty days, are eligible to apply. This Call for Interest is advertised as a short-term assignment with a duration of initially 4 months and expected to start shortly after selection. The movement would be implemented as a Short-term Assignment through the applicable provisions. Applicants should verify and obtain their supervisors' support to be released in the event they are selected.

Applicants should note that IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD. In accordance with IFAD's Human Resources Policy, the President can decide to assign them to any of the activities of the Fund. 

In accordance with IFAD¿s provisions, all new staff members will normally be placed at the first step in the grade level for which they have been selected. For information on IFAD¿s remuneration package, please visit on our website. Applicants are invited to use the ICSC compensation calculator to estimate the salary and benefit entitlements. .

In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful.

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation in line with its and  .

Please be aware of fraudulent job offers. IFAD does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Official communication from IFAD will always come from e-mails ending in @ifad.org