Administrative Assistant

Background  

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an international organization headquartered in Gurgaon, National Capital Region of India.  The vision and mission of the ISA is to provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource rich countries where the global community, including bilateral and multilateral organizations, corporates, industry, and other stakeholders, can make a positive contribution to assist and help achieve the common goals of increasing the use of solar energy in meeting energy needs of the ISA Member Countries in a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable and sustainable manner.  

The Administrative Assistant will perform the full range of office management and administrative support functions.  S/he will deliver a wide range of business support processes and activities to facilitate effective service delivery. The Administrative Assistant will report to the Chief of Operations.

Duties and Responsibilities  

1. Effective administrative and logistical support

• Support in procurement of office equipment/items/stationery; 
• Prepare contracts, documents and manage agreement and signature processes;
• Support implementation of procurement plan, as per direction of Procurement Committee;
• Arrange travel and hotel reservations, prepare travel requests, travel authorizations, etc., process requests for visas, identity cards and other documents;
• Support management of transportation/travel arrangements for staff travelling for official purposes; 
• Reconcile and process travel vendor invoices and maintain travel records;
• Assist in the coordination of service-wide activities (meetings, training, etc.), special projects and events; 
• Support organization of events, trainings and workshops including preparation of budgets, booking of meeting facilities and other services.

2. Office maintenance and assets management

• Maintain records of ISA furniture and assets and property inventories;
• Maintain files and records relevant to office maintenance;
• Support proper upkeep of premises and services;
• Ensure establishing and management of office facilities for new and existing staff.

3. Implementation of operational strategies

• Respond to standard queries and provide timely and accurate guidance;
• Process and manage routine administrative and financial tasks in various functional areas, to contribute to the effective and timely management of resources;
• Manage and maintain records and databases, to ensure information is organized and readily available for staff;
• Maintain relationships with a range of individuals through provision of business support to assist in information sharing and service delivery to staff;
• Contribute to improvement of business procedures and processes;
• Ensure smooth and efficient information flow within the unit; prepares and processes confidential information; assists in the development of office administrative systems and procedures;
• Attend meetings, prepares minutes, monitors follow-up activities;
• Maintain files (both paper and electronic) and databases for work unit.

Perform any other related duties in area of work, as assigned.

Competencies

Professionalism: 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. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors’ language, tone, style, and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Planning and Organizing: Ability to plan and organize assignments. Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required. Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work. Uses time efficiently. Demonstrates high degree of autonomy in the discharge of assignments.

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.

Qualifications  

Education: 

• Completion of secondary school education.
• Bachelor’s degree in Arts, Science, Commerce, Engineering, Management, Business Administration, public administration or related field is desirable.   

Experience:

• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible and relevant experience in administration, travel, protocol, procurement or related fields is required.
• Relevant experience working with administrative software applications (such as Microsoft Outlook, SharePoint, Word, Excel, and Power Point) is desirable. 
• Experience in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (such as SAP) for administrative related tasks, specifically in travel arrangement, protocol and procurement matters is desirable. 
• Experience in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (such as SAP) for administrative related tasks, specifically in travel arrangement, protocol and procurement matters is desirable.

Language and IT skills: 

• The role demands substantial writing and verbal communications skills. As English is the official and working language of the Organization, excellent command of both written and spoken English is required.
• Knowledge of other languages (i.e., French, Spanish and Arabic) would be an advantage.
• Satisfactory skills in Outlook, MS Office products, and various ERP systems is highly desirable.

Recruitment Guidelines

Qualified candidates must apply for the above-mentioned vacancy on-line, through ISA’s portal. Any applicants who have difficulties applying through the online portal should immediately contact the ISA secretariat at recruitment@isolaralliance.org.

The ISA is striving to achieve gender parity at all levels as it proceeds with the recruitment of both locally and internationally recruited staff.  In this regard, female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for all positions within the organization.

The ISA maintains a retirement age of 65 years.

Please note that only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted for an interview and will receive notice of the outcome of the selection process. 

The ISA retains the right to cancel the selection process if it is determined in the best interest of the Organization.

The ISA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names, and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

In addition to the salary, the ISA will provide the following allowances to the selected candidate:

a. Dependency allowances (for eligible spouse and up to 3 children)

b. Annual and sick leave (Annual leave accredited at 2.5 days per month)

c. Health insurance premium contribution as per ISA rules

d. Pension contributions (ISA will contribute a lump sum payment equivalent to UN common system rates (15.8% of net salary).

e. Income tax reimbursement (the ISA provides for national income tax reimbursement upon proof of payment