Programme Management Assistant

This post is located in the Debt Management and Financial Analysis Programme (DMFAS) in the Debt and Development Finance Branch (DDFB) of the Division on Global Development Strategies (DGDS) at UNCTAD, Geneva.

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Officer of the DMFAS Programme and the overall supervision of the Chief of the DMFAS Programme, the incumbent will perform the following duties:

• Administrative support in respect of Consultants/Individual Contractors and meeting participants: Provide support in administrative transactions including INSPIRA and UMOJA, in particular related to the organization of official travel and the preparation of contracts and payments as follows: prepares travel requests for consultants, meeting participants or resource persons; prepares contracts for consultants and individual contractors; reviews travel claims for completeness and submits them to the Travel Unit; initiates payments to consultants and individual contractors.
Prepares requests for FA and for procurement.

• Programme support: Assists in the monitoring and evaluation of the DMFAS maintenance fees, in collaboration with the Project Management Unit; categorizes, updates, tracks and analyses data, carries out periodic status reviews, identifies issues and initiates requisite follow-up actions; prepares requests for payments; contracts, correspondence. Assists in project support to all DMFAS clients.
Assists in the monitoring and evaluation of DMFAS consultants.

• Events organization support: Participates in the preparation and support of the biennial Debt Management Conference and other workshops/meetings organized by the DMFAS Programme at UNCTAD Headquarters and in countries and regional centres. Liaises with national counterparts, relevant UN and other participating agencies.

• Office support: Assists in the development of office administrative systems and procedures. Provides general office assistance; responds to complex information requests and inquiries. Provides guidance/training to new/junior staff.

• Documentation support: Participates in the production of the Programme's internal and external documentation by preparing desktop publishing layout of the final product in relevant language for reproduction in hard copy and electronic dissemination. Assists in the preparation of presentation materials using appropriate technology/software.

• Reference support: Researches, compiles, analyses, summarizes, and presents basic information/data on capacity building and other activities. Updates and further develops internal databases; designs and generates a variety of standard and non-standard statistical and other reports, graphic content, spreadsheets, and other background materials for the Programme from various databases.

Professionalism: Knowledge of Word processing, spreadsheets and pivot tables, e-mail systems and internet. Knowledge of internal policies, processes and procedures generally and in particular those related to programme/project administration and technical cooperation. Ability to work well with figures, undertake basic research and gather information from standard sources. Demonstrated ability to apply good judgment in the context of assignments given. Demonstrated knowledge of ERP system. Shows pride in work and in achievements; 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 aspects of work.

Planning & 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.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects, Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Completion of secondary school or its equivalent commercial school.

At least five (5) years of experience in programme or project administration, technical assistance or related area is required.
Out of these, three (3) year's experience within the UN Common System is desirable.

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English and French is required. Fluency in Spanish, Russian or Arabic is desirable.

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by competency-based interview.

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 United Nations Administrative Assessment Support Test (ASAT) at Headquarters, ECA, ESCWA, UNOG, UNOV, ICTR, ICTY or the Global General Services Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Service category in the United Nations Secretariat.

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.

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. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

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 Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The 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 according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. 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 reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (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.