ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Mission Support within United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Baghdad. The Administrative Assistance reports directly to the Chief of Service Delivery.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Administrative Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Human Resources Management:
• Initiates, reviews, processes and follows-up on actions related to the administration of the section’s/unit’s human resource activities, e.g., recruitment of staff and consultants, placement, promotion, relocation, performance appraisal, job classification reviews, separation of staff members, training etc., ensuring consistency in the application of UN rules and procedures.
• Responds to enquiries and provides information and advice to staff regarding their entitlements, administrative procedures, processes and practices, conditions of service, duties and responsibilities, and entitlements under the Staff Rules and Regulations.
• Oversees the maintenance of vacancy announcement files and keeps track of status of vacancy announcements.
• Monitors staffing table and prepares relevant statistical data/charts.

BUDGET AND FINANCE
• Assists in the preparation and review of financial and human resource proposals/requirements.
• Consolidates budget/work programme with respect to Headquarters’ budget, trust funds, grants and procurement.
• Monitors expenditures and compares with approved budget; prepares adjustments as necessary.
• Assists the supervisor when required in the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions.
• Assists in preparation of budget performance submissions and finalization of budget performance reports, analyzing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION:
• Drafts routine correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant administrative, financial audit, personnel matters.
• Coordinates extensively with service sections/units and liaises frequently with internal team members in the field mission.
• Performs other related administrative duties, as required (e.g., operational travel programme; monitoring accounts and payment to vendors and individual contractors for services; physical space planning; identification of office technology needs and maintenance of equipment, software and systems; organizing and coordinating seminars, conferences and translations).
• May be responsible for guiding, training, and supervising the work of more junior General Service staff.

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION:
• Assists with day-to-day administration of contracts between the section/unit and external contractors for outsourced services.
• Audits the contractors' invoices against the goods and services provided by the contractor as and when required.
• Processes the payment of contractors' invoices and monitor payments.
• Prepares and processes all forms and permissions for contractual and work Unit, Section or Service staff, including: UN grounds passes, property passes, UN parking permits, swipe-card access and door keys.
• Performs other duties, as required.

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. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects 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 the audience. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Planning& Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Work Experience

A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in the field in administrative services, finance, accounting, audit, human resources or related area is required.

Experience in data management, data analysis and preparation of analytical reports is desirable.

Experience working with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and Oracle Peoplesoft, or equivalent, is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in both English and Arabic is required.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.

All non-Iraqi applicants need to have a valid work permit for Iraq and need to upload a copy of such a work permit.

Applicants must ensure that their name in the application matches the name on their national passport or Government provided national Identification Document (ID). A discrepancy between the name in the applicant's application and national ID/passport may impact the recruitment process.

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.