Background
In September 2009, the UN Secretary-General designated H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands as his Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA). As UNSGSA and Honorary Patron of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), Queen Máxima raises awareness and advocates specific policies, investments and actions with governments, regulators, private companies, international institutions and diverse additional stakeholders, all with view of how inclusive financial systems can help to reduce poverty, equalize opportunity and accelerate progress toward numerous development goals. She does so through country visits, speeches, meetings, convening of stakeholders and other outreach. This requires careful, comprehensive and rigorous analysis of local conditions, policies, available services and public priorities, as well as the needs of households, enterprises and communities.
The UNSGSA’s work is done in partnership and with wide consultation among the many stakeholders working to advance financial inclusion—and those affected by it. She collaborates closely with an advisory Reference Group of leading international organizations in financial inclusion to share expertise and suggest strategic opportunities that she can advance through advocacy and partnerships. Reference Group members include: Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Better Than Cash Alliance, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and The World Bank. The UNSGSA also consults and/or cooperates with the UN Rome based agencies and the wider UN system, the UN secretariat, UN country teams, multilateral organizations, private financial institutions, companies, donors, civil society organizations and the media.
A small team works closely with Queen Máxima and her secretariat in The Hague to coordinate and advance her UN and G20 activities. The Office of the UNSGSA is housed at BERA/UNDP in New York and receives financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Office of the UNSGSA is seeking a part-time administrative assistant, with excellent computer skills, attention to detail and organizational abilities, to support a fast-moving team. It is anticipated that the consultant will work three (3) days per week with additional flexibility to work during peak periods and in response to urgent needs. The precise working hours will be negotiated. The consultant will be requested to conduct his/her work from the Office of the UNSGSA in New York City. Travel is not anticipated. The consultant will report to the Programme Analyst, Office of the UNSGSA.
The consultant will begin as soon as possible, and be responsible for, among other deliverables:
- Support the timely and efficient organization by the Office of events, meetings and initiatives including assisting with logistics, preparing invitations, maintaining participation lists, compiling, printing and organizing background materials into briefing books;
- Support travel management processes by coordinating travel arrangements (booking itineraries, coordinating visa applications, obtaining security clearances when appropriate, preparing travel requests and travel claims in line with travel entitlements for UNSGSA staff and consultants);
- Continue population and maintenance of the Office database of contacts;
- Maintenance of the filing system ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials;
- Research and retrieval of statistical data from internal and external sources; preparation of statistical charts, tables and reports.
- Follow up on deadlines, commitments made, actions taken and coordination of collection and submission of the reports to head of unit;
- Assistance in the preparation of budget, provision of information for audit.
Expected deliverables:
- November 2015 – Coordinate travel to Bangladesh; assist with compilation of briefing book for Bangladesh Country Visit including printing and organizing briefing book binder(s). Coordinate travel to Basel, Switzerland and assist with compilation of briefing book including printing and organizing binder. Prepare post travel claims;
- December 2015 – Coordinate travel to Washington, DC and Mexico. Assist with preparation of briefing book (compiling background materials, printing and organizing binder). Prepare post travel claims;
- January 2016 – Coordinate travel to Davos, Switzerland. Assist with compilation of briefing book for Davos, including printing and organizing binder. Prepare post travel claims;
- Ongoing (Nov. 2015 – Jan. 2016) – update office contact database, assist with electronic filing of documents, provide logistics support during events organized by the office.
Competencies
Development and Operational Effectiveness:
- Exhibit sharp attention to detail and ability to track and organize multiple issues;
- Very effective at multi-tasking;
- Strong initiative-taker.
Creative solutions:
- Works toward creative solutions by analyzing problems carefully and logically.
Priority setting:
- Sets priorities, produces quality outputs, meets deadlines and manages time efficiently.
Achieving results:
- Focuses on achieving results for external and internal clients.
Technical knowledge:
- Demonstrates sufficient technical knowledge to perform effectively in own specialty;
- Familiarity with UNDP and UN system is an asset.
Team player:
- Displays open, co-operative behavior with other team members;
- Have a can do, whatever it takes to get it done attitude, comfortably with a certain fluidity and a fast-pace;
- Convey a sense of humor, and ability not to be flustered and to find solutions across cultures;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Secondary education;
- University Degree or equivalent would be desirable, but it is not a requirement.
Experience:
- 5 years of relevant experience in administration or project support services (travel, budget, event planning, logistics, protocol, etc.);
- Familiarity with UN/UNDP finance and operations policies and guidelines is an asset;
- Knowledge of ERP systems i.e., Atlas, PeopleSoft is desirable;
- Adept in use of multiple media –computers, smart phones, databases, etc. with strong skills in MS Word and Excel;
- Experience in functioning in a fast paced environment in multinational organization with high level senior executives and professionals is desirable. Strong inter-personal skills are key;
- Pro-active assistant able to carry out tasks with a high degree of initiative and independence in delivering required outputs.
Language:
- Fluency in spoken and written English.
Working knowledge of another UN language is a plus.
Application Requirements
All interested applicants should submit the following documents. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.
- Updated P11 or Resume/CV;
- Statement of Interest (cover letter) with a brief narrative as to why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable candidate for the assignment;
- Candidates short-listed for this position will be requested to submit a “Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability” form (attached);
- Candidates short-listed for this position may be requested to undergo an interview which will be used to validate their suitability for the candidacy.
Evaluation
Shortlisted candidates will be rated according to the following criteria:
- Secondary education. University Degree or equivalent would be desirable, but it is not a requirement - (5 points);
- Five (5 ) years of relevant experience in administration or project support service (travel, budget, event planning, logistics, protocol, etc.) - (20 points);
- Familiarity with UN/UNDP finance and operations policies and guidelines is desirable. (20 points);
- Excellent computer skills including MS Office Suite (Excel) and databases - (10 points);
- Knowledge of ERP systems i.e., Atlas, Peoplesoft is desirable - (10 points)
- Experience working in fast paced environment in multinational organization with high level senior executives and professionals is desirable - (15 points);
- Ability to carry out tasks with a high degree of initiative and independence in delivering required outputs - (15 points);
- Ability to communicate effectively - (5 points).
NB: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% in the Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation
Cumulative Analysis will be used in determining the best candidate for this assignment. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract is made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as responsive/compliant/acceptable, and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria:
Technical Criteria weight: 70%
Financial Criteria weight: 30%
Others:
- No travel is envisaged for this assignment;
- Annex 1- general terms and conditions_ individual consultant (IC)