UN Women: Administrative Assistant

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

In this role as the global voice and advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women must deliver to an ambitious agenda as a centre of excellence on knowledge, partnerships, advocacy, and social mobilization, as well as a convener, thought leader and champion of gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

UN Women will take a lead role in helping to drive commitment and action on gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment as the imperative of our time. Such leadership is especially urgent at a time when Member States of the United Nations and all stakeholders have committed to accelerated implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in the context of the fact that no country has fully achieved gender equality and the empowerment of women;? It is also urgent at a time when Member States are committed to implementing a transformative Sustainable Development Goals agenda with gender equality and the empowerment of women as a stand-alone goal and with gender-specific targets integrated across the entire agenda.? 

In view of the crucial contribution of civil society organizations in the advancement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights, the role of civil society and the women’s movement as partners, supporting UN Women’s leadership, is seen as fundamental in the full realization of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment. UN Women’s unique and critical role in engaging civil society and partnership building with women’s organizations as stakeholders to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment will be key drivers in helping UN Women achieve its strategic goals and fulfil its organizational mandate. 

UN Women works to strengthen civil society’s historically crucial role in leading global action on gender equality including promoting reform, influencing policies, monitoring and upholding accountability of duty bearers.  

Under the supervision of the Deputy Director, the Administrative Assistant supports the Office Operations by performing a variety of standard administrative processes ensuring high quality and accuracy of work. The Administrative Assistant promotes a client, quality and results-oriented approach.

The Administrative Assistant works in close collaboration with the programme and projects staff and the Operations team to ensure consistent service delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide general administrative and logistical support to the Office in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and strategies

• Collect information on shipments, customs clearance arrangements, prepare documents for UN Women shipments (received/sent);
• Arrange travel and hotel reservations, prepare travel authorizations, process requests for visas, identity cards and other documents, collect information for DSA, as required;
• Create Travel Requests and process travel expense reports
• Provide administrative support to conferences, workshops, retreats;
• Maintain filing system, including the Division’s Sharepoint file repository, ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials.

Provide administrative support to the organizing of the Civil Society Division meetings and panels

• Research, compile and summarize background materials for use in preparation of reports, briefs, speeches;
• Manage the logistics of the Division’s meetings, including booking conference rooms, arranging catering, and facilitating building access for meeting participants; 
• Provide administrative support in organizing the Division’s meetings and panels, including arranging travel; finalizing memoranda, list of participants, and finalizing and sending letters of invitation and other documents

Provide administrative support to the Division in preparing for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

• Prepare NGO written statements for processing by UN Documents Publishing Unit and submit statements;
• Liaise and follow up with UN Document Control Section concerning publishing of written statements in the UN’s Official Document System, as needed;
• Support NGO registration, registering and directing CSW participants, and assist in recruiting, training and managing of volunteers;
• Provide administrative support in the management of the Yvonne Hebert programme to fund marginalized civil society representatives to attend CSW.

Provide administrative support to office and assets management

• Monitor and maintain office stationery supplies including maintenance of stock list of stationery, distribution of stationery and keeping a log of distribution, as required;
• Maintain records on assets management and prepare required reports;
• Maintain files and records relevant to office premises and related maintenance;
• Create requisitions and liaise with Procurement and Finance for issuance of purchase orders;
• Prepare Request for Quotations, ITBs or RFPs documents, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their preliminary evaluation.

Provide administrative support to the implementation of Human Resources services

• Liaise with HR concerning recruitment and extensions of Division personnel;
• Process new staff check-in;
• Orient interns, consultants or new staff to relevant administrative process and practices;
• Create and upload vacancy announcement, compile matrixes, organize interview panels, and other tasks, as assigned;
• Maintain staffing lists and reports, as required;
• Serve as Division Focal Point for Learning and staff well-being and the UN Personnel Validation System
• Perform the duties of Leave Monitor.

Provide administrative support to knowledge building and knowledge sharing

• Facilitate trainings for the operations/projects staff on administration.

Key Performance Indicators

• Adherence to UN Women rules and regulations;
• Timely and quality support to conferences and events, including travel arrangements;
• Timely and quality organization/maintenance of files, reports, databases and calendar;
• Timely and quality administration of financial and HR contracts
• Timely and quality support to team.

Competencies

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

Core Competencies: 

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues 
• Accountability 
• Creative Problem Solving 
• Effective Communication 
• Inclusive Collaboration 
• Stakeholder Engagement 
• Leading by Example 

Functional Competencies

• Ability to administer administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Good knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Good IT and web-based management skills.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women's Core Values and Competencies:  https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or related fields is an asset.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in administration, procurement, HR, or logistic support service.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.).
• Experience in the use of ATLAS and Sharepoint is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

GS fixed-term appointment (FTA) and temporary appointment (TA) positions located in New York are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application. 

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)