UNDP Jobs - 107337- Administrative Assistant (Premises Management)

Administrative Assistant (Premises Management)

Location :

Brussels, BELGIUM

Type of Contract :

NPSA (Regular)

Starting Date :

01-Aug-2022

Application Deadline :

01-Jul-22 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

NPSA-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year (renewable)

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The UN House in Brussels is administered by UNDP and is at present comprised of 14 UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes dedicated to maintaining, nurturing and developing the partnership between the UN, the European Union institutions, the Belgian government and other partners.

Working in close collaboration with the UN House Management Committee (UNHMC) (including as necessary, with the Operations/Administrative personnel of the UN House agencies), the Administrative Assistant provides support to the UN House agencies by ensuring that quality service is provided and sustained to i) maintain a high standard of shared common utility services and ii) provide a comfortable and safe working environment.

With excellent communications skills, the Administrative Assistant must be self-motivated, with the capacity to take initiatives. S/he should display a client-, quality- and results-oriented approach whilst promoting the values of the United Nations.

Duties and Responsibilities

Committed to the judicious and transparent use of UN resources, the Administrative Assistant will carry out the following tasks in consistency with the UNDP corporate rules, regulations and policies:

Planning and implementation of common service activities:

Manage the common building services as detailed in the lease agreement documents concerning the Occupancy and Use of the UN House by UN agencies; establish and maintain an organized, centralized, chronologically updated and user-friendly repository of all related UN House documents enabling easy access, retrieval and understanding of processes conducted.
Establish collaborative arrangements with the landlord and service providers to ensure the smooth management of the UN House, including UN premises oversight; arrange and coordinate with the landlord, any repairs, remodeling and renovation work to be done with respect to the UN House, Common Areas, offices, including any offices not allocated to an agency, if such work affects the building; participate in evaluation of works implemented, including quality management; maintain an accurate and updated registry/log of all service works implemented by the maintenance companies in the building.
Create and maintain the data base of suppliers and service providers; provide efficient general services and logistical services, including common services organization; coordinate (between the UN House agencies and external service providers) the management of and performance monitoring/review/evaluation/assessment of outsourced common premises services, including but not limited to janitorial and cleaning services, etc.; support with UN House procurement, in collaboration with UNDP.
Calculate office space requirements and relevant costing for agencies requesting expansion or reduction of space; assess the available capacities in terms of office space for new tenants and providing these with pro forma space costs; review of economic and available facilities and services for the UN agencies, providing recommendations on these to the UNHMC; optimize the use of existing in-house resources and apply cost optimization strategies whenever possible.

Invoice Management for common services

Estimate the pro forma cost-shared and non-shared amounts for common area services and other related expenses (including UN Coordination activities) for the ensuing calendar year to assist agencies in their budget planning; prepare and, upon Finance department clearance, provide each agency with the UN House cost distribution as invoiced by the landlords, including the relevant supporting documents for these invoices; based on the report provided by the Finance department, provide each agency with an itemized accounting of the Annual Base Cost, Common Area Expenses and other expenses (including UN Coordination activities) for the preceding year actually incurred and paid, together with a tabulation of the amounts collected, and showing any amounts over or below the actual expenditures.
Maintain electronic and hard copy filing systems which may be inspected at any reasonable time by the authorized staff of any agency.

Communications

Disseminate information and communications on UN House updates to UN House agencies; ensure smooth communication with members of the UNHMC and its sub-committees.

Other functions

Maintain UN House Conference Room bookings; update and maintain list of UN Belgium entities for internal circulation; carry out regular property inspections; handle move-ins and move-outs inspections.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Chair of the UNHMC, the Administrative Assistant will ensure the effective delivery of premises maintenance and administrative services, facilitate the efficient running and maintenance of the said services, guarantee satisfactory performance of any outsourced common services providers, and the accurate billing and charging of shared costs across UN House Agencies.

As designated Common Premises Focal Point, the Administrative Assistant will report to and support the UNDP Deputy Director as Chair of the UNHMC and the UNHMC in the daily administration of the UN House.

Whilst performing the duties, s/he will work in close collaboration with the Operational/Administrative units of the UN House and with UNDSS Belgium.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Strong interpersonal skills with proven ability to communicate at all levels and establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, external building management, and service providers.
Focuses on the impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback.
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude, whilst exercising discretion, impartiality and diplomacy.
Ability to work under pressure and manage complexities.
Shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills.
Solid knowledge and understanding of UNDP corporate rules, regulations and policies.
Good knowledge of services provided to the UN House agencies to be able to respond to various questions when they occur.
Ensures common premises correspondence, reports and documents comply with established UNDP standards.
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.
Experience in the usage of software packages (Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc) and handling of web-based management systems.

Core Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
Demonstrates commitment to UN’s mission, vision and values by supporting corporate goals.
Complies with UNDP’s rules, regulations and code of conduct.
Demonstrates the ability to remain objective, neutral and independent vis-à-vis all parties involved.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Academic Education

Secondary education.
University degree in Business Administration/Management, Finance/Accounting, Public Administration or related field an asset.

Minimum years of relevant work experience

Secondary Education with minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in management, office administration, finance/accounting is required at the national or international level;

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration/Management, Finance/Accounting, Public Administration or related field plus 2 years of relevant administrative experience.

Desired additional skills and competencies

Demonstrated responsibility and practical experience in building management or office administration.
Qualifications with supplemental training in building and office infrastructure maintenance, procurement and logistics an asset.

Required Language(s) (at working level)

Fluency in French and English (oral and written).
Knowledge of other UN official languages is an advantage.

Other

Must hold a valid residence and work permit for Belgium for the duration of the assignment.

The following documents shall be required with all applications:

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.
A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.
Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.