Administrative Assistant United Nations Secretariat Experience: Atleast 7 years Cotonou, Benin Apply By: 13-12-2024

Org. Setting and Reporting

The UN Secretary-General’s launched on 1 January 2019 a bold and new global reform which repositioned the UN Development System to deliver more effectively and efficiently with the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. As part of this reform, UN Resident Coordinator Offices (UN RCO), under the leadership of an empowered and independent UN Resident Coordinator – the highest-ranking official of the UN Development System and Representative of the UN Secretary-General at country level – support countries in the achievement of their development priorities and the attainment of the SDGs. In the Resident Coordinator Office in Benin, the position will report to the Head of the Resident Coordinator Office. This position is located within the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator (Head RCO) in Benin and reports to the DCO Strategic Planning and RCO Team Leader.

Responsibilities

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

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT:

• Under the supervision of the Head of RCO follows-up on actions related to the administration of the unit’s human resource activities, e.g., recruitment of staff and consultants, service contracts/internships/UN Volunteers management.

BUDGET AND FINANCE:

• Assists in the preparation and review of financial and human resource proposals/requirements.
• Consolidates budget/work programme for the RCO and the UNCT including locally mobilised resources and pooled funding for the UNCT and with respect to Headquarters’ budget, trust funds, grants and procurement.
• Monitors expenditures and compares with approved budget; prepares adjustments as necessary.
• Assists managers 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.
• Prepares or customizes financial reports from system generated reports.
• Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.
• Input transactions on IRIS and the Enterprise Resources Planning system (know as Umoja in the UN), as needed.
• Regularly reconcile inputted & processed requests.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION AND LOGISTICS:

• Acts as the backup of the Executive Assistant/Assistant to RC in their absence.
• Drafts routine correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant administrative, financial audit, personnel matters.
• Drafts routine meeting notes and reports.
• Coordinates extensively with service units and liaises frequently with internal team members both at Headquarters and in the field.
• 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).
• Facilitates and prepares team members travel, Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) payments and logistics.
• Prepares and maintains assets lists; follows up on ICT matters with team members.
• Provides logistical and administrative support to the planning and organizing of events.
• Initiates, reviews, processes and follows-up on actions related to the recruitment of consultants.
• Acts as a focal point for Umoja requisitioner and petty cash custodian for the Country Office.
• May be responsible for guiding, training, and supervising the work of more junior General Service staff.

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION/PROCUREMENT:

• Provides operational coordination and administrative services in Umoja, to support procurement projects and activities, following standard processes; raise requests for goods, services, and hiring of consultants/individual contractors.
• Reviews and prepares requirements and scope of work and specifications of goods and services and necessary documentations in consultation with relevant stakeholders.
• Coordinates with day-to-day administration of contracts between the UN and external contractors for goods and services.
• Maintains internal files and relevant documentations for procurement activities.
• Inspects and receipts goods/services received against the purchase order, invoices provided by the contractor and perform asset management activities.
• Processes the payment of contractors’ invoices and monitor payments upon satisfactory receipt and performance.
• Prepares and processes all UN forms and permissions for contractual and work Unit, Section or Service UN staff, including: UN grounds passes, property passes, UN parking permits, swipe-card access and door keys.

COORDINATION SUPPORT:

• Provide secretariat to the Operations Management Team (OMT) and keep the RC and RCO updated on the developments under the Business Operations Strategy.
• Take part in OMT meetings, workshops and retreats.
• Stay abreast of OMT sub-groups discussions and proposals.
• Review the contracts, agreements, proposals and reports proposed by the OMT before transmission to the Head of RCO and RC.
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• Performs other related tasks as assigned.

Education

• Completion of High school diploma or equivalent, is required. Additional certification or training on human resources, administration, audit, finance, management and/or event organization or a similar area, is highly desirable

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in administrative services, finance, accounting, audit, human resources or related area is required.
• The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced by two (2) years for candidates who possess a first level University degree. Work experience with an Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system, such as Umoja or similar, is desirable. Work experience with the United Nations or similar international organization is desirable. Work experience of one (1) year or more in data analytics or related area is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English and French is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage. NOTE: “Fluency equals a rating of “fluent” in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and ” Knowledge of” equals a rating of’ confident” in two of the four areas.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/248332?language=en