Office Assistant

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

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Staff in the General Service category are recruited locally from the Primary Location area, which is where the office is located

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member nations and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold our values. FAO has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and FAO, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

This vacancy announcement is for two positions located as follows:
• One position in the Investment Centre (CFI) promotes investment in food security, agriculture, rural development, natural resource management and agro-processing in developing countries and countries in transition, assisting governments and country stakeholders, main development partners, in particular international financing institutions with the strategic planning and implementation of their investments to achieve food security and nutrition, make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more sustainable and productive, reduce rural poverty, make food value chains more efficient and inclusive and promote climate change adaptation and/or mitigation.
CFI is a multidisciplinary centre composed of four regionally focused services, namely Eastern, Central and Southern Africa Service, Asia and the Pacific Service, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean Service, and Near East, North Africa, and West Africa Service.
• One position in the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB) promotes integration of innovative approaches in the activities of the Organization, for the sustainable use, management and conservation of natural resources for food and agriculture. OCB assists member countries in their responses towards the challenge of climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as the development of adaptive capacities of agriculture, fisheries and forestry for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and other natural resources. It provides a coordination role on climate change, biodiversity and the environment. The Office also serves as the focal point for a multidisciplinary and global approach to UNFCCC, CBD and topics on bioenergy as well as undertaking work and providing support and guidance on assessment, management and tenure issues.

Main Purpose

The Office Assistant performs a large variety of routine administrative transactions and office support functions contributing to the smooth and efficient running of the work unit.

Supervision Received/Exercised

• The Office Assistant in CFI reports to one or more Professional staff and receives guidance from a higher graded Office Assistant/Executive Associate. He/she acts independently in routine matters. Supervision received is focused on the quality of the work performed and provides for on-the-job learning.
• The Office Assistant in OCB reports to the Coordinator of GCF team in OCB. The incumbent operates independently and takes decisions on work priorities and exercises initiative for dealing with cases without precedents. Supervision received is focused on the quality of work outputs. He/ she provides guidance and advice to other office support staff.

Working Relationships

The Office Assistant usually interacts with a wide variety of colleagues within the work unit and with immediate clients within the Organization, providing routine administrative and office support services.

Key Functions/Results

• Arrange appointments for the supervisor, receive visitors, place and screen telephone calls and respond to routine requests for information;
• Provide office, administrative and logistics support to meetings, committees, conferences, etc.;
• Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions;
• Respond or draft responses to standard/ routine correspondence and other communications; use word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports;
• Proofread documents and format texts for accuracy, grammar, punctuation and style, as well as for adherence to established standards;
• Initiate general administrative tasks in the computerized financial / travel / human resources systems;
• Make travel and hotel arrangements and prepare travel authorizations/claims for staff as required;
• Provide assistance in the administrative processing of vacancy announcements and consultants' contracts;
• Research, compile and organize information and reference materials from various sources for reports; create spreadsheets and presentations; manage and update databases for mailing lists and other information; and maintain electronic and paper files;
• Perform other duties as required.

Impact Of Work

The incumbent's work impacts on the timely and efficient delivery of office support services and on the overall output of the work unit.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education
Experience: Three years of relevant experience in office support work
Languages: Working knowledge (Level C) of English and limited knowledge (Level B) of one of the other FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish)
IT Skills: Good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment

Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical Skills

• Good knowledge of the communication and documentation standards
• Good knowledge of corporate computerized financial / travel / human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

• For position 0024783 in CFI: Good knowledge of consultant recruitment and travel corporate procedures; Knowledge of CFI investment operations and partners;
• For position 0056227 in OCB: Good knowledge of the organizational structure; Working knowledge of French; Good experience in organizing virtual meetings/events (zoom, teams)

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified applicants may include an assessment exercise and a technical / competency-based interview.

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