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 Policy Division develops and implements the UN Women program of work on analysis, research and knowledge management that provides the evidence base for the advice and guidance UN Women provides to the intergovernmental process, the UN system, and to UN Women staff working at country and regional level on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment. It identifies emerging issues and trends, and develops and proposes new strategies for achieving the agreed goals through innovative approaches and lessons learned about what works in practice. It also designs and oversees the training and capacity development programs of UN Women, working closely with the UN Women training facility in Santo Domingo.

Under the supervision of the Chief of Section, Leadership and Governance, the incumbent is responsible for the provision of secretarial, clerical support services to the supervisor, and carries out some basic administrative work for the Section.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

• Secretarial Support to the Section Chief;
• Administrative Support;
• Support to procurement processes and budget management;
• Facilitation of knowledge sharing and management.

Secretarial Support to the Section Chief:

• Carry out secretarial work for all assignments submitted by the Unit. This involves, presentation, spell-checking, formatting, drafting and typing basic correspondence for approval and signature of the Director of the Division;
• Assist the officers in finalizing reports: word-processing, spell-checking, formatting and setting up the text as required, adhering to instructions given and subsequent mailing of the reports to participants, observers and other parities as instructed;
• Mails out, faxes or sends by email correspondence related to meetings and other substantive assignments to relevant parties, ensuring accuracy. Compiles mailing lists according to each officer’s requirements and instructions;
• Draft routine correspondence replies to inquiries which do not require any specific technical information and acknowledges receipt of correspondence;
• Answer routine questions pertaining to secretarial/practical matters falling within the Section’s responsibility of implementation (upon instruction). Assist in collecting information either through publications or phone contacts to parties concerned;
• Provides secretarial support services as assigned during meetings and conferences, including incorporating changes to drafts, finalizing reports, photocopying and assisting delegates and NGOs.

Administrative support:

• Arrange travels in liaison with the travel agency and prepare travel authorizations;
• Establish and maintain a comprehensive filing system;
• Coordinate administrative services for events, workshops and other senior level meetings including arranging venue, travel and hotel reservations. Process visa, identity cards and other documents;
• Maintain office supplies in the Section;
• Serve as a back-up for the administrative assistant and the programme associate in their absence;
• Assists the officers in the process of preparing meetings and workshops assigned to them: Drafting Aide-Memoires, letters of invitation, background papers, up-dating the selection of experts, follow-up on travel itineraries and practical arrangements;
• Photocopies reports and related materials for distribution;
• Compile documents required by participants during CSW session, General Assembly Committees, UN bodies, Permanent Missions to the UN, NGOs and individuals.

Support to procurement processes and budget management:

• Process requisitions Prepare payment vouchers;
• For travel related purchase orders of the Leadership and Governance Section only:

            - Create and prepare purchase orders;
            - Create vendors;
            - Complete processing of approved POs;
            - Monthly review of purchase orders.

• Process and follow-up on submission of contracts;
• Process vendor contracts (SSAs, institutional and individual vendors, etc);
• Prepare procurement processes (requests for proposals, request submissions, AMRCs and issuing contracts);
• Follow up on contracts until final payments have been issued;
• Institutional agreements (partner implementation);
• LTAs.

Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

• Provide basic administrative support for effective knowledge management and sharing within the Section;
• Systematic gaining and sharing of knowledge and experience related to operations management;
• Synthesis of lessons learned and best practices in operations related issues;
• Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice related to programme operations.

Impact of Results:

The key results have an impact on the overall effectiveness of the Leadership and Governance section implementation and on the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of corporate resources, human, financial and material.

Competencies

Core values and 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 administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to extract, interpret, analyze data and resolve operational problems;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Ability to support a team and team building skills;
• Good knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Strong IT skills;
• Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new system;
• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary education is required;
• University degree will be an asset.

Experience:

• A minimum of 4 years of clerical and secretarial experience preferably in a large or international corporation or organization;
• Completion of UN Administrative Support Assessment Test (ASAT) – formerly known as the UN Clerical Test.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Proficiency in another UN working language is desirable.

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.  

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.