SECRETARIAL ASSISTANT

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, and the direct supervision of the Director of the Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, the incumbent shall provide a full range of office and administrative support as well as some technical assistance to the supervisor and to the Division as whole. Within this context, the incumbent will\:

• Coordinate and lead secretarial support services for high-level meetings, service- or organization-wide training and special projects/events.
• Analyze and distribute incoming correspondence and documents; determine the importance and priority of documents received, propose follow-up actions to the supervisor's approval. Establish deadlines for required action or reply; follow-up with section Chiefs and other professionals on deadlines for answers or other required action.
• Manage the agenda of the Division Director; provide administrative and organizational support for meetings and missions.
• Prepare correspondence and answer requests for information on programs and activities; review correspondence and other documents prepared in English and/or French for the signature of the Senior Management; make or recommend changes to format, style, spelling or grammar.
• Prepare process and verify various documents (briefs, reports, contracts, budget, workplans etc.); prepare draft contracts and enter contract details in ERP (SAP). Verify invoices against contract terms and conditions, prepare contract modifications and requests for payments.

EDUCATION

• Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational education.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• A minimum 5 years of relevant work experience in secretarial and/or administrative tasks in an international environment.

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including excellent drafting skills in English or French.
• Attention to detail, meticulousness.
• Ability to work as part of a team, to take initiatives and to provide quality and timely support and services.
• Flexibility to adjust work schedules and priorities. Capacity to work effectively under pressure.
• Discretion and capacity to deal efficiently and tactfully with people of different cultural backgrounds.
• Excellent computer skills with proficiency in the use of MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.) and databases.

LANGUAGES

• Excellent knowledge of English or French and good knowledge of the other language.

EDUCATION

• General secretarial and/or administrative training.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Working experience in similar function within UNESCO, UN agency or other international organization.

SKILLS/COMPETENCIES

• Knowledge of UNESCO’s systems, policies and standard practices as well as administrative policies, processes and procedures.
• Knowledge of UNESCO administrative tools (SISTER, SAP etc.).

LANGUAGES

• Knowledge of another official UNESCO language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).