Office Assistant

Organizational Setting

FAO's Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER) leads the Organization's efforts to support Members in their endeavours to save agricultural livelihoods of people and communities and enhance their resilience in the face of disasters, crises and conflicts. The Organization strives to secure sustainable development gains while ensuring that all interventions to support agriculture and food systems are risk-informed and sustainably productive. Food crisis contexts require a well-organized, highly prioritized, and well-resourced humanitarian and resilience programme to play a meaningful role in the relevant fora at national, regional and global levels. To claim its rightful place and to contribute meaningfully to relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in food crises contexts, timeliness and speed in generating quality information and analysis together with agility in processes, partnerships, and delivery are central. In short, prevention and mitigation of disasters, whether related to natural hazards, plant and animal pests and diseases and/or conflict, together with being prepared and able to respond when disasters hit, require structured and agile system that is able to carry out effective processes of risk assessment and risk management.

Main Purpose

The Office Assistant performs a 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 reports to one or more professional staff and receives guidance from the Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer in the Country Support Team, OER.

He/she acts independently in routine matters and consults with supervisor(s) on new and/or more complex issues and procedures. Supervision received provides for technical and procedural guidance and on-the-job learning.

Working Relationships

The Office Assistant interacts with a variety of colleagues from within the work unit. Interactions relate to the exchange of routine information and the provision of standard office support services.

Key Functions/Results

• Type, format and draft routine correspondence; collate tables, reports, presentations, publications, and other documentation. • Receive, screen and direct telephone calls and visitors; respond to routine internal and external enquiries and/or refer to appropriate contacts/units. • Enter, retrieve, structure and update selected information and data from various sources (e.g. Intra-/Internet, office files, etc.); present results in standard format. • Set up and maintain office files and reference systems according to standard procedures. • Initiate, view and track a variety of administrative transactions in the computerized financial/travel/human resources systems. • Support the organization and administration of meetings, workshops and events (e.g. arranging for meeting rooms and other facilities). • Assist with arranging for travels: organize transport, logistics, accommodation, documents. • Ensure availability of office supplies and appropriate maintenance of office equipment. • Perform other duties as required.

Impact of Work

The Office Assistant participates as part of a team in the provision of administrative and office support services. Actions reflect on the immediate and wider work unit.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education. Experience: Two 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: 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

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

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

• Knowledge of FAO human resources, procurement, budget procedures. • Experience in emergency operations would be an asset. • Availability to travel to support operations in crisis countries is required.