Administrative Assistant: Innovative Finance Lab

Details

Mission and objectives

The Regional Programme for Africa is a flagship programme for UNDP that responds to challenges and opportunities facing the African continent and to the priorities and aspirations of Africa as articulated by the African Union and other regional organs. These are convergent with the vision, areas of work and guiding principles of the UNDP strategic plan. The programme builds on the successes and responds to the lessons from past cooperation, with special attention to programme focus and effective engagement with the African Union and the regional economic communities through the development of long-term strategic partnerships. Underpinned by African ownership and leadership and cognizant of the rich diversity of the continent, UNDP regional work is based on five mutually reinforcing rationality principles, which define the added value of regional or sub-regional approaches to addressing development challenges. These are: (a) promotion of regional public goods and services, based on strengthened regional cooperation and integration; (b) management of cross-border externalities (challenges and opportunities) and spill-overs – such as trade, the environment and conflict prevention that are best addressed collaboratively on an inter-country basis; (c) advancement of awareness, dialogue and action on sensitive and or emerging development issues that benefit strongly from multi-country and regional experiences and perspectives; (d) promotion of experimentation and innovation to overcome institutional, financial and/or informational barriers that may be too high for an individual country to surmount; and (e) generation and sharing of development knowledge, experience and expertise – for instance, through South-South and triangular cooperation – so that countries can connect to, and benefit from, relevant experiences from across the region and beyond.

Context

In the context described above, this National UN Youth Volunteer assignment is part of UNDP’s Innovative and Inclusive Finance Project which UNDP is implementing in partnership with National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). The purpose of the project is to create access to finance for MSMEs, which are identified as missing middle. MSMEs are not getting finance neither from banks nor from micro-finance institutions because they don’t have collateral and too small in the first case and too big in the case of MFIs. To address this challenge, UNDP is setting up the lab that explores, identifies and testes the various possibilities, mechanisms and instruments before it is going to be scaled. Considering this, UNDP Ethiopia intends to recruit a full time UNV Administrative Assistant - National UN Youth Volunteer to Under the overall guidance of the Team Leader, IET Unit and direct supervision of the IFL Management Team, the Administrative Assistant provides support to the CO and IFL operations 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 IFL, Operations, Programme and projects staff in the CO and other UN agencies staff to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the overall supervision of the United Nations Development Programme’s Inclusive and Economic Transformation (IET) Unit Team Leader or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the Administrative Assistant will: A.Ensure implementation of operational strategies, focusing on achievement of the following results • Full compliance of administrative activities with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies; • Provision of inputs to the CO administrative business processes mapping and implementation of the internal standard operating procedures (SOPs); • Provision of inputs to preparation of administrative team results-oriented work plans. B. Ensure maintenance of registry system for the IFL focusing on achievement of the following results • Set up and maintenance of the office filing system in accordance with the UNDP Global Filing System and the Office intranet/E-documentation. • Opening of new subject files as required and disposal of old files in accordance with established retention schedule; • Maintenance of archives, making sure files are properly stored and accessible; safe keeping of documents according to the office E-documentation system; • Provision of photocopies of material from the confidential registry files, as requested by staff. Assistance in the collection of reference and background material from registry files; • Establishment and maintenance of records system of file movements within the CO and the IFL; maintenance of the office circulation and reading files using efficiently the office intranet system; • Preparation of correspondence and reports related to registry activities; • Participation in the creation and maintenance of an electronic registry/archive system in close cooperation with the IT staff. C. Ensure effective administrative and logistical support to the IFL, focusing on achievement of the following results • Arrangement of vehicle transportation, regular vehicle maintenance and insurance. • Act as Travel Processor (Level 1) for Travel Requests and Expense Reports in ATLAS ensuring accuracy of all computations, availability of budget and completeness of supporting documentation. • Review ATLAS reports to ensure that travel claims are completed, and records are closed in ATLAS after every trip has been finalized. Submission of exception reports where claims are outstanding and have not been completed in ATLAS. • Custodian for management of office stationery supplies including maintenance of stock list of stationery, distribution of stationery as required by staff and keeping a log of distribution. • Maintenance of the filing system ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials. • Follow up on deadlines, commitments made, actions taken and coordination of collection and submission of the reports to head of unit. • Assistance in the preparation of budget, provision of information for audit. • Assistance in the preparation of cost-recovery bills for mobile phones services used by staff. • Assistance in the preparation of cost-recovery bills for rent and common service contribution from agencies renting office space in the building. • Checking and recording of vehicle daily log and gas consumption, update, and maintenance of vehicle history report. D. Ensure provision of effective mail management using the office intranet and E-documentation to the CO and IFL focusing on achievement of the following results • Receipt, registration, coding and forwarding of incoming faxes, letters and other correspondence to proper department/unit/officer; • Registration and dispatch of the outgoing communications, including pouch, and follow-up distribution. Prepares the summary of enclosure forms and necessary documents and maintains the file on pouches received to ensure that all bags are accounted for; • Ensures cost recovery on Pouch Operations, prorating and billing of user. E. Support knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the CO and the IFL focusing on achievement of the following results • Participation in the training for the programme, operations and projects staff on procurement and travel. • Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.