Administrative Assistant

Organizational Setting

The FAO Representation in Tajikistan has been operating as a fully-fledged representation since May 2016, while FAO has been operational in Tajikistan for the last 25 years. The FAO Representation is implementing technical assistance and humanitarian projects aimed at the development of agricultural sector and rural development, projects to support agricultural sector reforms, to tackle climate change impact in agricultural production, to support the emergency response and many others. The FAO Representation’s technical and administrative staff is located in two offices in Dushanbe town.

The position is located in the FAO Representation in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Main Purpose

The Administrative Assistant coordinates and performs the full range of office support, management support and administrative tasks, providing for the smooth and efficient running of the Office. He/ she ensures quality and consistency of the flow of office work and information in the work unit.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Administrative Assistant reports to and receives guidance from the FAO Representative. The incumbent operates independently and takes decisions on work priorities and exercises initiative for dealing with cases without precedents. Supervision received is focused on the quality of work outputs. He/ she provides guidance and advice to other office support staff.

Working Relationships

The Administrative Assistant works closely with a wide range of colleagues in the division /region, with central units and external clients, performing and coordinating office- and management support services, and providing procedural guidance and information.

Key Functions/Results

• Maintain financial records and monitoring systems for the office; maintain imprest accounts; reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements and other data for day-to-day transactions and reports; manage the Country Office petty cash; monitor project and programme accounts for which responsibility is assigned. • Retrieve, enter, select and analyse data from a wide variety of sources, including FAO's corporate systems and data bases; verify accuracy of data documents; make necessary calculations. • Verify availability of funds under all programmes; ensure that operational expenditures are in accordance with approved budgets and that all committing documents are complete and consistent. • Prepare correspondence of administrative and financial nature; draft correspondence to verify data, answer queries, and obtain additional information on transactions and financial matters, as required. • Maintain detailed records of budget estimates, obligations and available balances; participate in the consolidation of budget proposals; prepare financial data for budget estimates and financial planning. • Provide reports on budgetary performance of office accounts, and, if required, of project accounts; report variations from budgets. • Maintain local inventory records with responsibility for proper recording of assets, their maintenance and safeguard. • Maintain a filing system of administrative and financial documents. • Monitor the receipt of Government contributions and the transfer of ownership of the Organization's equipment. • Maintain liaison with local banks and financial institutions to keep up-to-date with financial and regulatory information (exchange and interest rates, procedures and rules, maintenance of bank accounts, etc.). • Support the streamlining of procedures and practices and the introduction of new information technologies to the office. • Support the administration of personnel and equipment. • Perform other related duties as required.

Impact Of Work

The incumbent's work impacts on the timely and efficient delivery of office support services and on the overall output of the work unit.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education Experience: Four years of administrative, accounting and office management experience. Languages: Working knowledge (Level C) of English. Limited knowledge (Level B) of other FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) will be considered an advantage IT Skills: Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment

Competencies

• Results Focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building Effective Relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical Skills

• Very good knowledge of the communication and documentation standards • Very good knowledge of corporate computerized financial / travel / human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies

Desirable Qualifications And Skills

• Secondary school education.with a focus on finance, administration or human resources management • Working knowledge of Russian and Tajik Assessment Evaluation of qualified applicants may include an assessment exercise and a technical / competency-based interview.