SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT (Paris, France) contract

Post Number : ADM 101

Grade : G-6

Parent Sector : Sector For Administration and Management (ADM)

Job Family: Administration

Type of contract : Fixed Term

Duration of contract : 2 years, renewable

Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates

Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 25-NOV-2024

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

Only candidates who are entitled to work in France can apply to this position

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for the Administration and Management (ADG/ADM), guidance from the Chief of Section for Administrative Support and the Operations Management Officer and the direct supervision of the Finance and Administrative Officer, the incumbent provides high-level administrative and support services in a range of specialized areas and plays a lead role within the unit in ensuring application and compliance with the rules, regulations, policies and practices in place.

In particular, the incumbent will be responsible for the following:
 

General Accountabilities

• Act as a certifying officer up to an authorized level delegated by the Certifying Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

• Provide guidance and interpretation on administrative rules, regulations and procedures; 

• Advise on operational and technical routine transactions; 

• Recommend process and system related modifications and improvements to support successful administration and financial monitoring and control;

• Interpret provisions and provide guidance on complex and non-recurring issues;

• Supervise activities related to office maintenance, security, transport and similar services, as necessary. 

Budget Accountabilities

• Prepare Regular Programme and Extra-budgetary reports and communicate on them;

• Assist and advise on planning and budgetting and recommend modifications;

• Prepare budget proposals and cost estimates and ensure that data is correct;

• Identify irregularities and undertake transactions to correct errors/omissions.

Financial Accountabilities

• Ensure that the Office’s financial resources and expenditures are fully and properly accounted for and that internal control systems are adequate and functioning; schedule payments and disbursement of funds;

• Ensure accurate and timely processing of assigned accounts, developing budget estimates and monitoring expenditures, participating and advising in the preparation of financial statements and budgets;

• Assist in the preparation and coordination of financial activities under RP and EXB funds.

• Compile and consolidate data from various sources into financial statements; prepare worksheets.

• Monitor expenditures, review payments and reconcile accounts.

• Investigate anomalies and erroneous charges and take corrective action. 

• Provide assistance and guidance to undertake coding and data entry task and to extract information, to run reports from FABS/ SISTER or other online financial systems.

Human Resources Accountabilities

• Handle non-routine or complex cases, prepare associated documents/ correspondence for personnel actions based on oral instructions and previous experience;

• Follow-up on coming HR actions and oversee maintenance, update and clean-up of database;

• Issue non-staff contracts, advise on recruitment process and entitlements;

• Liaise with central services to discuss and obtain additional information, clarifications and policy interpretation.

Logistics Accountabilities

• Procurement: research and retrieve information on supply sources, vendors by commodity and obtain specifications on the market;

• Review contractual documents (TOR, budget, contract nature and type);

• Resolve issues/ problems related to delivered goods; 

• Prepare requisitions for supplies and equipment; ensure that payments are processed and provide information to the assigned Sector on invoicing and payment issues;

• Arrange for control and distribution of inventory records.

Safety and Security Accountabilities

• Collaborate with the Headquarters Security Services on all security-related issues.
• Ensure compliance of all the personnel with security travel requirements and monitor completion of mandatory security training. 

Education 

• Completed secondary, technical or vocational school education. 

Work Experience

• Minimum of 8 (eight) years of relevant work experience in the area of general administration, finance and budget, HR, and logistics.

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; strong service orientation and ability to deal efficiently with partners at different levels. 
• Ability to prepare reports and analyze, interpret financial data and monitor budgets.
• Excellent organizational and coordination skills; ability to take initiatives, establish priorities and monitor own work plans. 
• Capacity to work effectively within tight deadlines. 
• Ability to work as part of a team, to take initiatives and provide quality and timely support and services.
• Discretion and diplomacy. 
• Commitment and reliability.  
• Good IT skills, including MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and database packages.

Languages

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

Education

• University degree in Public/Business Administration/ Finance or related fields;
• Training/certification in accounting, finance or administration (CIPS or other). 

Work Experience

• Relevant experience in similar functions within the UN system or any international organization/institution.
• Proficiency in word processing, financial spreadsheet applications and ERP systems.

Skills & Competencies

• Experience in the use of SAP or similar ERP system.
• Familiarity with the work and general functioning of international organizations and/or the UN system. 

Languages

• Knowledge of another official language of UNESCO (Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) would be an asset.

UNESCO’s salaries consist of a basic salary and other benefits which may include if applicable: 30 days annual leave, family allowance, medical insurance, pension plan etc.

The approximate annual starting salary for this post is 48 526 €.

For full information on benefits and entitlements, please consult our Guide to Staff Benefits.