Administrative Associate

Overview

Lead and coordinate administrative and management support functions for the Office.

You have:

• Secondary school education.
• Five years of progressively responsible administrative, accounting and office management experience.
• Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of English and local languages (Pashto and/or Dari).
• Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.

Organizational Setting

FAO Afghanistan is investing, across all 34 provinces, in resilience reinforcing actions that focus on protecting agriculture livelihoods and local ecosystems, boosting local production of nutritious foods and cash-incomes, and safeguarding critical agriculture sectoral development gains achieved over the past couple of decades through revitalizing rural markets and economy. In 2022-2023, FAO will, under the life-saving assistance Outcome (1) of the UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF), focus on the following four priority actions: (i) Safeguarding Wheat Seed Security, (ii) Enhancing Local Production of Nutritious Food, (iii) Livestock Protection and Dairy Sector Support, and (iv) Restoring Irrigation Structures to Boost Cash Incomes. Additionally, FAO will contribute towards resilience building activities under Outcome 2 of the TEF.

The position is located in the FAO Representation in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Main Purpose

The Administrative Associate leads and coordinates the office- and management support functions of the Office. He/she ensures the smooth flow of office work and information by setting priorities and organizing the day-to-day work. The job role requires in-depth knowledge and interpretation of office policies, procedures and practices. The incumbent provides procedural guidance to managers and staff in the division or location.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Administrative Assistant works under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) in Afghanistan and under the direct supervision of the Assistant FAOR (Administration). Work is performed autonomously, showing a high degree of initiative and independent judgment. Supervision received is focused on facilitating service delivery. The incumbent effectively organizes and supervises other office support staff and provides relevant guidance and training.

Working Relationships

The incumbent maintains a wide range of contacts with managers, staff and counterparts both within and outside the Organization. Work relations may be on a high organizational level, requiring very good communication skills and experienced handling of issues.

Key Functions/Results

• Support the management and administration of financial records and monitoring systems for the office; monitor project and programme accounts for which responsibility is assigned; maintain imprest accounts; reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements and other data for day-to-day transactions and reports; manage the Country Office petty cash. • Provide and coordinate the retrieval, entry, selection and analysis of data from a wide variety of sources, including FAO’s corporate systems and databases; verify accuracy of data and 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. • Independently compose and finalize correspondence of administrative nature; initiate and 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. • Prepare recurring reports on programme, project and office accounts, report variations from budgets; prepare special reports on budgetary performance. • Maintain liaison with local banks and financial institutions. • Advise other staff in the area of office/administrative management; actively support the streamlining of procedures and practices and the introduction of new information technologies to the office. • Advise international staff on administrative and financial matters. • Make administrative arrangements for the Country Office and perform administrative duties to ensure security and office maintenance. • 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.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS - candidates will be assessed against the following

Education: Secondary school education. Experience: Five years of progressively responsible administrative, accounting and office management experience. Languages: Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of English and local languages (Pashto and/or Dari). IT Skills: Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.

Residency: General Service Staff are recruited locally. To be eligible for this position, candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing visa/work permit, and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application. "Commuting distance" means the distance within which staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence.

Competencies

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

Technical Skills

• Thorough knowledge of the communication and documentation standards. • Thorough knowledge of corporate computerized financial management systems. • Thorough knowledge of organizational structure, administrative procedures and policies, and matters of protocol.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: fao.org