Office Assistant

Organizational Setting

The Forestry Division (NFO) leads FAO's work in promoting sustainable forest management and providing leadership on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of forestry, including its contributions to poverty reduction and food security and nutrition. Staff of the Division liaises with Member Nations, civil society and the private sector in aspects ranging from development of effective forest policies to forest conservation and management issues, and strengthens the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Division also collects analyses and disseminates information on the world's forest resources and on the production, trade and consumption of wood and non-wood forest products. The post is located in NFO at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD ) Team, which supports developing countries in their efforts to mitigate climate change through the implementation of REDD activities while contributing to national sustainable development.

Main Purpose

The Office 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 Office Assistant reports to the Senior Forestry Officer, Team Leader REDD , under the overall guidance of the Deputy Director of NFO.The incumbent operates independently, 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 Office 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

• Screen requests for appointments with supervisor; maintain supervisor's calendar; confirm mutually convenient schedules and arrange appointments; receive visitors; place and screen telephone calls; respond to queries and correspondence, often of a sensitive, confidential or technical nature. • Coordinate office support services for meetings, trainings, seminars, committees and special projects and events; attend meetings, prepare minutes, monitor follow-up activities; make arrangements for formal editing, translation, etc., of documents and publications. • Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions; prepare draft responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications, often requiring knowledge of technical terminologies and/or detailed office procedures; carry out quality control functions for outgoing documents; proofread texts for adherence to format, grammar, punctuation and style. • Perform a variety of administrative duties, e.g. contract extensions and requests for temporary staff, leave and attendance recording, budget preparation and follow-up; coordinate with other units to ensure smooth running and expedition of work within the unit. • Research, compile and organize background information and reference materials from various sources for reports, briefs and speeches; generate a variety of statistical and other reports from various databases. • Coordinate the work of other office support staff, establish priorities and ensure equitable distribution of work; train new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provide general assistance as required. • Create and maintain the work unit's filing and reference systems; review the efficiency of office procedures and make recommendations for improvements; update office websites. • Perform other duties as required.

Impact Of Work

The incumbent's work impacts directly on the smooth and efficient running of the Office. He/she plays a lead role in the provision of office support services for successful achievement of the organizational unit's mandate.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education. Experience: Four years of relevant experience in office/ management 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: 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

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

Desirable Qualifications And Skills

• Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of French and/or Spanish. • Experience with supporting multi-partner trust funds, in particular UN Joint Programmes, and/or other large bilateral and multilateral initiatives, such Green Climate Fund and related REDD results-based payments. • Very good knowledge of the UN-REDD programme, its governance mechanism and relevant processes. • Experience in organizing multi country/multi-region online and in presence meetings and large conferences. • Ability to plan and guide the work of others, work under pressure and within tight deadlines, including providing guidance and manage requests from FAO Decentralized Offices and personnel. • Experience with operational support to trust fund projects and programmes, especially for the areas of procurement/subcontracting (LoAs), support to accounting processes and payments. • Experience with HR support, strong knowledge of the organization's related rules and regulations.