PROGRAMME ASSISTANT

Paris

Organization: UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Location: Paris
Grade: Administrative support - G-4, General Service - No need for Higher Education - Locally recruited position
Occupational Groups:
- Administrative support
- General Administrative Support
- Project and Programme Management
Closing Date: Closed

Under the authority of the Director of the Division for Heritage (CLT/HER) and the direct supervision of the Chief of the Arab States Unit of the World Heritage Centre, the incumbent shall exercise the functions of Programme Assistant and provide secretarial and specialized administrative support to the Chief and other Professionals therein working on the implementation of the World Heritage Convention with the logistical and operational aspects of the programme. In particular, the incumbent will\:

Provide secretarial services to the Arab States Unit, ensure timely preparation of letters and communications (reports, working documents, etc.) in English and/or French, draft general correspondence in accordance with the standard formats and procedures established within the World Heritage Centre and UNESCO, informally translate correspondence, provide information related to the World Heritage Convention in response to various types of queries from different stakeholders, prepare briefing notes and presentations for the supervisors, arrange day-to-day appointments and meetings of the Chief of the Arab States Unit, and maintain the Unit’s files and reference systems, as well as electronic filing up to date.
Prepare and ensure timely execution of contracts, including for International Assistance Requests, prepare contract amendments and follow up all measures concerning payments, draft reminder letters and ensure follow-up on the terms of contracts.
Provide secretarial support in the preparation of UNESCO statutory documents related to the World Heritage Convention and to the UNESCO Governing Bodies, maintain a calendar for the Unit’s timely delivery of these documents.
Assist in the preparation and organization of the statutory meetings of the World Heritage Committee, its Bureau, of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, prepare and monitor logistics linked to meetings, workshops or conferences.
Ensure planning and travel arrangements (bookings arrangements, travel orders, travel records for staff, calculate travel costs) for missions, training or expert meetings organized by the Arab States Unit, travel for the Chief and other Professionals of the Unit and for experts participating in these meetings funded by UNESCO.

Education

Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational education.

Work experience

A minimum of three years of work experience in administrative and/or secretarial tasks.
Experience in administrative support at national and/or international levels.

Skills/Competencies

Good organizational and coordination skills.
Excellent drafting skills in English and/or French.
Good interpersonal skills; discretion, good sense of judgement and capacity to deal efficiently and tactfully with people from different cultural backgrounds.
Ability to identify and negotiate best conditions for travel.
Service oriented with ability to take initiative and to provide quality and timely support and services.
Excellent IT skills with proficiency in the use of MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.).