Jobs - 57449- Administrative Assistant

Administrative Assistant

Location :

Freetown, SIERRA LEONE

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

15-Jul-2015

Application Deadline :

03-Jul-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

Until 31 December 2015

Languages Required :

English

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 Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. Its mission is to mobilize and coordinate humanitarian action effectively in partnership with national and international actors to intervene consistently in emergency situations, to alleviate human suffering, advocate for rights of people in need, promote preparedness and prevention of disasters and facilitate the development of sustainable solutions.

In 2014, Sierra Leone became the second country to contract Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) from neighboring Guinea. Since then, Sierra Leone has registered the second highest cases of EVD. Experts warn that the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in parts of West Africa is now the largest, longest, most severe and most complex in nearly four-decade history of this disease.

Ebola crisis has had a negative and unprecedented impact on the social, economic and political situation in Sierra Leone: the health service is under tremendous strain with serious consequences to delivery of other essential services; livelihoods are lost with closure of companies, agricultural fields have been abandoned - people have fallen deeper into poverty; closure and/or controls at border points disrupted local markets due to interruptions in trade flows affecting prices of commodities. The EVD outbreak has also a) strained government finances, b) increased the national deficit and resulted in substantial shortfalls in domestic revenue, c) highlighted the countries’ weaknesses in terms of infrastructure generally, such as lack of access to health facilities; improved sources of water, sanitation and electricity and d) poor roads and bridges with limited maintenance.

OCHA has set up a presence in Sierra Leone to support coordination activities from response to recovery. OCHA Sierra Leone is involved in the coordination of an effective Ebola response through continued engagement of needs analysis to identify priorities and enable timely decision making.

The Administrative Assistant is therefore needed to provide support to administrative services ensuring high accuracy of work.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Administrative Assistant will work under the supervision of the Head of Office of OCHA-Sierra Leone. Related functions will include:

Maintenance of the Head of Office online calendar, contacts with visitors, arrangement of appointments and meeting, and acting as note taker when required;
Preparation of routine correspondence, faxes, memorandums, etc.;
Extracting, inputing, copying and filing data from various sources;
Maintenance of files in Administration;
Receipt of documents for needs of procurement and logistics. Preparation of all related documentation for follow-up actions;
Arrangement of travel and hotel reservation, preparation of travel authorizations, mission’s orders, best routing, buying flight tickets, checking security clearance;
Processing travel authorization and travel claims in line with travel entitlements for staffs, Consultants, UN and visitors;
Processing requests for visas for all UN travelers, as well as requests for Resident permit and Diplomatic identification card for international staff;
Processing of application and renewal of UNLP for UN staff;
Administrative support to organization of conferences, workshops, retreats, meetings, etc.;
Collection of information for DSA, travel agencies and other administrative surveys;
Management of reception and telephone communications services;
Make monthly cost recovery on telephone communications and other delivery services;
Preparation of timely physical inventory, and submission of periodic inventory reports;
Management of physical assets disposal;
Receipt of supplies and preparation of receiving vouchers;
Proper control of supporting documents of funds and activities, requisitions and Purchase orders;
Management of office vehicles, drivers and gas consumption;
Coordination and transportation services, regular vehicle maintenance and insurance;
Checking and certifiying of vehicle daily log and gas consumption, update and maintenance of vehicle history report;
Prompts reporting and investigation of cases of vehicle accidents, damage, loss or theft of items, update and maintenance of vehicle history report;
Preparation of monthly maintenance and fuel cost & consumption reports per vehicle;
Checking vehicle logs and preparation of the draft vehicle history reports and maintenance plans.

Competencies

Integrity;
Professionnalism;
Client orientation;
Team work;
Working under pressure;
High motivation;
Ability to manage stress;
Good communication skills;
Good knowledge of the UN is an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Secondary education with certification in Administration, Business Management or related field preferable.

Experience:

6 years’ of relevant experience in Administration or Programme support service;
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (Word, Excel, Power Point);
Experience in handling of web-based management systems.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English required (Writing skills will be tested);
Knowledge of one additional UN langage is preferable;
Knowledge of national languages is an asset.