Senior Administrative Assistant Job at UNESCO

  • Post Number : 6KEADM0701RP
  • Grade : G-6
  • Parent Sector : Sector For Administration and Management (ADM)
  • Duty Station: Nairobi
  • Job Family: Administration
  • Type of contract : Fixed Term Field
  • Duration of contract : 2 years, renewable
  • Recruitment open to : Internal and external candidates
  • Application Deadline (Midnight Paris Time) : 09-OCT-2024

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

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

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Under the overall authority of the Director of the Office 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 carry out the following responsibilities:

General Accountabilities:

  • Act as certifying officer up to an authorized level delegated by the CFO.
  • Provide guidance and interpretation on administrative rules, regulations and procedures.
  • Advice on operational and technical routine transactions.
  • Recommend process and system related modifications and improvements to support successful administration and finance monitoring and control.
  • Interpret provisions and provide guidance on complex and non-recurring issues.
  • May supervise activities related to office maintenance, security, transport and similar services.

Finance Accountabilities:

  • Ensure that the Office’s financial resources and expenditures are fully and properly accounted for and that internal control system are adequate and functioning; schedule payments and disbursements 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 Regular funds and voluntary contributions.
  • Compile and consolidate data from various sources into financial statements, prepare worksheets.
  • Monitor expenditure, 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 iRIS, SISTER or other online financial systems.

Budget Accountabilities:

  • Prepare RP and voluntary contributions budget reports and communicate on them.
  • Assist and advise on planning and budgeting and recommend modifications.
  • Prepare budget proposals and cost estimates and ensure that data is correct.
  • Identify Irregularities and undertake transactions to correct errors/omissions. 

HR 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, advice on recruitment process and entitlements.
  • Liaise with contract services (ADS, HRM,BFM, etc) 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 issue.
  • Arrange for control and distribution of inventory records.
  • Security; ensure compliance of staff with security travel requirements and monitor completion of mandatory security trainings.

Additional activities that may be required to ensure the success of the work team.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

  • Accountability (C)
  • Communication (C)
  • Innovation (C)
  • Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)
  • Planning and organizing (C)
  • Results focus (C)
  • Teamwork (C)
  • Professionalism (C)
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For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

  • Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational school education.

Work Experience

  • Minimum of 8 (eight) years of relevant work experience in administrative, finance or related area.

Skills and competencies

  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; strong service orientation and ability to deal efficiently with partners at different levels. 
  • Ability to analyze, interpret financial data, and monitor budgets.
  • Excellent organizational and coordination skills; ability to take initiatives, establish priorities and monitor own work plans. 
  • Good knowledge of MS office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and database packages.
  • Ability to work as part of a team and under tight deadlines, to deal with complex and sensitive situations and flexibility to adjust work schedules.

Languages

  • Excellent knowledge (spoken and written) of English language.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education

  • ICPAK (The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya) Member.
  • University degree in Finance/Accounting and Administration.

Work Experience

  • Relevant experience in similar functions within the UN system or any international organization/institution.

Skills and Competencies

  • Self-motivated and ability to work with minimum supervision.
  • Strong analytical problem solving skills.
  • Ability to work collaboratively in a multicultural and dynamic team environment.
  • Strong competencies in attention to detail and time management.

Languages

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

BENEFITS AND ENTITLEMENTS

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 3 123 710 Shillings.

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