Office Assistant

Organizational Setting

OED anchors the evaluation function in the Organization. Evaluation in FAO provides results accountability to both member countries and the Director-General, giving more in-depth understanding and objective basis for their decision-making and oversight. Evaluation also contributes to corporate learning, feeding lessons into a robust feedback loop. Evaluation provides a sound basis for improvements in the Organization's programmes in terms of their relevance to countries, definition of objectives, their design and implementation. The Office also participates in system-wide evaluation initiatives, thereby contributing to assessments of development effectiveness by the UN system.

The post is located in the Office of Evaluation (OED) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Main Purpose

The Office Assistant performs a large variety of routine administrative transactions and office support functions contributing to the smooth and efficient running of the work unit.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Office Assistant works reports to a higher graded Office Assistant. He/she acts independently in routine matters. He/she acts independently in routine matters. Supervision received is focused on the quality of the work performed and provides for on-the-job learning.

Working Relationships

The Office Assistant usually interacts with a wide variety of colleagues within the work unit and with immediate clients within the Organization, providing routine administrative and office support services.

Key Functions/Results

• Arrange appointments for the supervisor, receive visitors, place and screen telephone calls and respond to routine requests for information. • Provide office, protocol, administrative and logistics support to meetings, committees, conferences, etc. • Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions. • Respond or draft responses to standard/routine correspondence and other communications; use word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports. • Proofread documents and format texts for accuracy, grammar, punctuation and style as well as for adherence to established standards. • Initiate general administrative tasks in the computerized general administration/procurement/financial/travel/human resources systems. • Prepare purchase orders, purchase requisitions and support the preparation of Letters of Agreement (LOA), obtain clarification and follow up, when necessary. • Make travel and hotel arrangements and prepare travel authorizations/claims for staff and affiliate workforce as required. • Provide assistance in the administrative processing of vacancy announcements and consultants' contracts. • Research, compile and organize information and reference materials from various sources for reports; create spreadsheets and presentations; manage and update databases for mailing lists and other information; and maintain electronic and paper files. • Perform other 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: Three years of relevant experience in office support work. Languages: Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of another official FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). IT Skills: 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

• Good knowledge of communication and documentation standards. • Knowledge of FAO's organizational structure. • Good knowledge of corporate computerized financial/travel/human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

• Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of Spanish. • Knowledge of evaluation policies and procedures. • Experience with evaluation missions in emergency countries. • Experience with FAO websites and data management. • Knowledge of procurement procedures and policies. • Familiarity with Journal Vouchers (JV) to process contributions for evaluations.