Administrative Assistant - G5 (DC)

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the humanity to unprecedented crisis affecting millions of people around the globe.  In South Asia, the crisis has unveiled the weaknesses of the current labour market structure where informal employment is prevalent in all sectors and most of the workers and economic units were little or inadequately protected. With containment measures such as lockdown, the workers in the informal economy, who had mostly earned meagre amount to support their livelihoods, lost earning opportunities. With no savings, no access to social protection measures, and no or limited access to information to protect themselves from infection and to access relief measures, the workers in the informal economy faced challenges in fulfilling their basic needs of food and shelter and were threatened for survival.
Recognizing the urgent need to protect workers in vulnerable situations, the Government of Japan has come forward to provide financial contribution to support national efforts in extending protection to workers in vulnerable situations and promoting resilience and decent work through formalization of the informal economy in South Asia. The Japan-funded programme “Building resilience for the future of work and the post COVID19 in South Asia” consists of the following two components:

⦁    Promoting rights and social inclusion through organization and formalization (PRS)
⦁    Strengthening integrated policy framework for formalization and decent work (STRIDE)
 

The Programme will operate in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, and support on-going efforts of workers’ and employers’ organizations in organizing workers and economic units in vulnerable situations with focus on women workers and supporting them to protect their livelihood and prepare for the better future of work and the post COVID19.

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The Programme will also support governments’ initiatives and measures aimed at protecting workers and economic units in vulnerable situations. Social dialogue will be promoted to share knowledge and identify solutions for strengthening institutional framework and mechanisms for protecting workers and building a resilient society.  

In this context, the ILO Country Office for Bangladesh is seeking the service of a General Staff to coordinate and support the implementation of the project in Bangladesh.

Reporting lines

The Administrative Assistant will perform his/her duties under the overall guidance of the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) of the project based in Nepal and under the supervision of the ILO Program Officer Dhaka. S/He will work in close collaboration with the Finance teams in ILO Dhaka and DWT Delhi, the ILO Specialist on Gender in the Decent Work Team Delhi and ILO projects in Bangladesh as required
 

Description of Duties

1.    Serve as focal point for coordination of project implementation administrative-support activities, involving liaison with various organizational units in the field and at DWT New Delhi to initiate requests, obtain necessary clearances, process and follow-up on administrative actions.

2.    Provide general office assistance, handles administrative tasks, provide  advice and guidance to staff with regard to administrative procedures, processes and practices including support to project-related missions and activities, preparing budgets, coordinating travel and lodging of officials and participants, recruitment and payment of resources persons, and taking notes at meetings/seminars.

3.    Prepare background information, working papers and tables for briefing and review sessions by identifying and consolidating data and relevant information on development and/or subject matter activities of the area. Clear outgoing documents for conformity with established procedures and accuracy of statements before being signed by the supervisor. 

4.    Develop, maintain and update relevant programme and technical cooperation information systems and database, records/registers/control plans on the status of projects and programmes at each project cycle and programming activities for monitoring and evaluation purposes.  

5.    Draft non-substantive correspondence on projects and programme activities and reports related to project activities in accordance with the requirements of the Office. Update information on web sites.

6.    Liaise with concerned ministries, ILO constituents, implementing agencies and social partners (organizations of employers and employees) if and when needed. Maintain their up-to-date directories. 

7.    Organise, coordinate and provide logistical support to meetings, workshops, seminars and other events conducted by the project, draft minutes of meetings, contribute to drafting project reports and communication pieces. Assist in translation.

(continued from duties above)

8.   Review financial reports of project implementing partners, ensuring compliance with ILO rules and conformity with the budget and financial requirements of the project,         before submitting to the Finance Unit. 

9.    Provide administrative and financial backstopping and guidance for project staff and consultants, with respect to payments, entitlements, travel claims, and other requirements relating to accounts and finance. 

10.    Provide guidance and training to and monitor the work of new/junior administrative staff as needed to ensure the smooth, uninterrupted implementation of the project/programmes.

11.    Classify and assign budget codes, verify and process payment claims, vouchers and invoices. Prepare payment vouchers ensuring the accuracy and documentation of all financial transactions. 

12.    Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Required qualifications

Education

Completion of secondary school education.

Experience

At least five years of relevant work experience. Similar experience with the United Nations Common System or an international organization is desirable. Practical experience on standard office software packages, email and automated information management system required by the work unit (e.g. WORD, EXCEL, PowerPoint). Experience of dealing with confidential matters with discretion. Supervisory experience would be an asset. Knowledge of the relevant project and programme area and the Office’s operations would be ideal.

Languages

Excellent knowledge of the working language of the duty station, and good knowledge of English.

Competencies

⦁    Ability to organize own work.

⦁    Ability to prioritize work assignments, organize own schedule, perform routine work independently, meet deadlines and adapt to changing demands and multitasks. 
⦁    Proficient in basic computer software (Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Adobe Reader) and ability to use other software packages required by the Office
⦁    Ability to obtain services from other work units inside or outside the office for completion of tasks
⦁    Ability to work as a member of a team and manage a heavy workload under time pressure.
⦁    Thorough knowledge of practices and procedures for preparing administrative documents and maintaining file system;
⦁    Ability to determine relevant background and reference materials for others, and to screen requires for urgency and priority
⦁    Ability to respond to requests from officials from government offices, ministries, ILO constituents and NGOs. 
⦁    Accuracy and ability to pay attention to details
⦁    Ability to search and retrieve information from databases and compile reports;
⦁    Excellent oral and written communication skills;
⦁    Customer service experience in order to provide courteous, prompt and efficient responses to internal clients.
⦁    Ability to deal with confidential matters with discretion
⦁    Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.