Office Assistant

Post Number : PAX 306

Grade : G-4

Parent Sector : Priority Africa and External Relations Sector (PAX)

Duty Station: Paris

Job Family: General Administrative Support

Type of contract : Fixed Term

Duration of contract : 2 years

Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 14-DEC-2019

UNESCO Core Values: Commitment to the Organization, Integrity, Respect for Diversity, Professionalism

(Only candidates who are entitled to work in France may apply to this position).

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations (ADG/PAX) and the Director of the Division for External Relations (DIR/DRX), and the direct supervision of the Chief of the Asia and the Pacific Unit, the incumbent is responsible for providing programme and administrative support services.

The incumbent will, in particular:

• Collect and organize the pertinent information, data and documentation for the supervisor’s concept notes and reports.
• Register and analyse incoming correspondence (including electronic) and other documents, and determine their importance and priority; check on/monitor deadlines for required action or reply; follow-up on the preparation of correspondence, briefing notes and other documents for the Chief of Unit, the ADG/PAX as well as for the Deputy Director-General and the Director-General of UNESCO.
• Draft general correspondence; review correspondence and other documents prepared in English and/or in French to ensure conformity with UNESCO's and the Sector's standard practices and protocol and also make informal translation of documents.
• Prepare, process, verify various documents for the Unit (briefs, reports, contracts, budget, workplans etc.); prepare draft contracts and register contract details in FABS; verify invoices against contract terms and conditions and prepare contract modifications and requests.
• Assist in the organization of meetings and missions, by entering travel details, making travel/mission arrangements.

Education

• Completed secondary education and/or vocational education.

Work Experience

• A minimum of three (3) years relevant work experience in secretarial or administrative tasks at national and/or international levels.

Skills/Competencies

• Good interpersonal and communication skills, including ability to draft correspondence and correct documents.
• Good organizational and coordination skills.
• Discretion and capacity to deal efficiently and tactfully with people of different cultural backgrounds.
• Diplomacy and politeness in dealing with various organizations and individuals requesting information.
• Flexibility in adjusting to work schedules and priorities.
• Excellent IT skills with proficiency in the use of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).

Languages

• Excellent knowledge of either English or French (oral and written) and good knowledge of the other language.

Education

• General secretarial and/or administrative training.
• University degree in international relations or linguistics.

Work Experience

• Relevant experience within the UN system or in an international organization/institution.
• Experience in providing programme and administrative support services.

Skills/Competencies

• Knowledge of UNESCO’s administrative procedures and standard practices.
• Knowledge of UNESCO’s business applications/systems/tools (SISTER, SAP, DUO, etc.).
• Familiarity with the work and general functioning of the UN system.
• Excellent proofreading skills.

Languages

• Knowledge of another official language of UNESCO (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish).