Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The overall objective of the UN System Coordination Division is to develop and oversee the implementation of the strategy for UN Women’s role to “lead, coordinate and promote the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and the empowerment of women” at global, regional and country level. There are three main areas of work, to be implemented by sub-units, to engage the UN system in gender mainstreaming as well as gender balance: working through the established coordination mechanisms; developing, promoting and monitoring strategies for enhanced accountability in the UN system for gender mainstreaming; promoting and monitoring gender balance within the UN system staffing.
 
The Executive Associate reports to the Director of the UN System Coordination Division and is responsible for providing support to the Director through the administration and execution of a variety of activities and transactions to ensure the efficient flow of information and communication to and from the office of the Director to facilitate timely action and decision making, arranging and scheduling meetings and events; and collecting, verifying and organizing information, materials and documentation for the Director’s easy access and use.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:
  • Administrative support;
  • Administration of information and communication in the Director’s Office;
  • Support to the Division’s budget preparation and financial services and operations.

Administrative support:

  • Manage the Director’s calendar of activities, events and travels. Prioritize and schedule requests for meetings with the Director. Follow appropriate protocol procedures in scheduling meetings and events;
  • Arrange travel, hotel accommodations and other logistics for the Director;
  • Collect, review and organize briefing materials for the Director for appointments, meetings, official missions and other activities;
  • Maintain the roster of Director’s contacts for easy access and reference;
  • Facilitate the Director’s interaction with various partners within the UN System and externally such as, other UN entities, donor country delegations, parliamentarians and high-level senior officials through collaborative and proactive relationship with counterparts and colleagues in those offices;
  • Organize official events and meetings hosted by the Director and oversee the timely and efficient completion of administrative and logistics arrangements. 
Administration of information and communication in the Director’s Office:
  • Review, prioritize and promptly route correspondence to and from the Office of the Director. Take proactive follow-up action and keep the Director and internal/external clients and stakeholders informed of status;
  • Review and verify completeness of required documentation and/or clearances (as appropriate) prior to submission for the Director’s approval/signature;
  • Respond and/or direct queries to the appropriate office or staff member for timely action and/or response.
  • Type and/or design presentation materials and other documents for the Director’s meetings and events.
  • Draft routine correspondence;
  • Maintain and organize up to date hard and electronic files for easy access and retrieval. Ensure safekeeping of confidential materials;
  • Recommend and/or establish systems and streamline procedures to enhance the flow of information/communication to and from the Office of the Director;
  • Follow up on deadlines, commitments made and actions taken. Coordinate the collection, verification, organization and/or submission of reports to and other briefing materials for the Director.
 Support to the Division’s budget preparation and financial services and operations:
  • Prepare materials, estimates and other documents to support budget review, planning and preparation;
  • Review the Division’s operating budget to monitor expenditures for timely use as allocated and ensure compliance, completeness and accuracy of transactions according to rules, regulations, allocations and objectives. Keep the Director informed for timely intervention and/or action;
  • Maintain internal expenditures control system to ensure vouchers processed are matched and completed;
  • Review and verify accuracy of supporting documents for payments. Submit systematic financial report to the Director for management monitoring and/or action;
  • Prepare and/or recommend budget revisions to the Director’s office budget.

Impact of Results:

  • The efficient and prompt delivery of services impact on a whole range services and operations in the Division and result in meeting client (internal / external) needs and satisfaction;
  • The accurate analysis and presentation of information strengthens the capacity of the Director to act/respond promptly and appropriately.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles:

Integrity:
  • Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

  • Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

  • Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.
Core Competencies:
 
Ethics and Values:
  • Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.
Organizational Awareness:
  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
Development and Innovation:
  • Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

  • Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

  • Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

  • Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

  • Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:
  • Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

  • Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

  • Ability to perform a broad range of administrative activities aimed at effective and efficient functioning of the Director’s office, including data/schedule management, maintenance of protocol, information flow;
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality and discretion;  
  • Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering, elaboration and implementation of new data management systems;
  • Creates, edits and presents information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality;
  • Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities;
  • Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints;
  • Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships with clients, demonstrating understanding of client’s perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Secondary education is required. University Degree is an advantage but not required.

Experience:

  • 6 years of administrative experience preferably in a large or international corporation or organization.

Language Requirements:
  • Fluency in English is required. Proficiency in another UN working language is desirable.

GS fixed-term appointment (FTA) and temporary appointment (TA) positions located in New York are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York.

Selection to GS fixed-term appointment positions at Headquarters requires passing a UN administered clerical test (ASAT).

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.