Programme Assistant SSA5, 6-month contract, Johannesburg

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WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group is comprised of ARC Agency, a Specialised Agency of the African Union founded in 2012; and ARC Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd), a hybrid mutual insurer and the commercial affiliate of the Group founded in 2014.

ARC Agency was established to help African governments improve their capacities to better plan, prepare, and respond to natural disasters triggered by extreme weather events, as well as outbreaks and epidemics. On the other hand, ARC Ltd offers complementary risk pooling and risk transfer services. Together, the two provide Member States with capacity building and contingency planning services, access to state-of-the-art early warning systems, and risk pooling and transfer facilities towards building resilience against natural disasters such as droughts and tropical cyclones. In the process, the Group strives to apply gender equality principles and achieve inclusivity in the programme to ensure that no one is left behind.

JOB PURPOSE

Reporting to the Director, Research and Development Department, the Programme Assistant is responsible for providing a range of specialised operational programme support and administrative support pertaining to the following Departments: Research and Development; Legal; Communications; Monitoring and Evaluation; Outbreak & Epidemic .

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Provide program and administrative support in the preparation of program of work, plans, budgets, and proposals on program implementation arrangements.
2. Liaise with concerned stakeholders to support with effective collaboration and monitoring of project/programme implementation against established milestones, ensuring timely compliance with agreed deadlines.
3. Monitor on-going government partnerships, cost sharing arrangements, fund reservations and other data.
4. Prepare and assemble briefing materials, prepare presentations, papers and reports for the programme and workshops to be held.
5. Identify sources, undertake basic research and performing comparative analysis of project/programme related data.
6. Ensure timely and accurate data management, including entry in and extraction of data from Africa Risk Capacity (ARC)/World Food Programme (WFP) systems (e.g., Teamworks/SharePoint Information system; WINGS, etc).
7. In line with administrative rules and procedures, initiate, process and maintain records of the administrative actions including support with human resources requests/tracking (contracting of staff, government coordinators and experts, consultants, translators and interpreters including the relevant processing of entitlements and benefits, timely Performance Evaluation completion on PACE system)
8. Assist Head of Unit initiating, processing and maintaining records of all procurement actions (issuance of PRs, MPOs, tenders. Liaise with Procurement department on LTA establishments. Request vendor records updates when required. Follow up the procurement cycle ensuring timely payments of the relevant invoices);
9. Initiate and provide other office and logistic support including logistical arrangements related to missions, workshops and presentations in the country (e.g., liaising with CO colleagues, raising purchase orders.
10. Assist in coordinating the agenda of Programme staff meetings and prepare the minutes.
11. Coordinate the Department's schedule; maintain mission plans and calendar.
12. Liaise with other units to resolve issues and clarify or obtain additional information.
13. Draft office correspondence relating to the area of responsibility for signature by Head of Unit.
14. Establish and maintain office records including filing systems (hard copy and electronic); upload and profile required documents in the respective Library and sharing information with project partners. Set up, classify and maintain accurate records and files within the field of work.
15. Perform other related duties, as required.

OTHER SPECIFIC JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Specialized knowledge in one or more of the following areas pertaining to travel, HR, procurement, inventory control, record management, budget, etc.
• General knowledge of HR, Travel, Procurement systems
• Good analytical skills and the ability to identify and recommend corrections to procedural issues.
• Organizational, planning and prioritizing skills and abilities.
• High sense of confidentiality, initiative and good judgment.
• Ability to work effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to work in a team environment to achieve common goals and to provide guidance to more junior support staff.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in Social Sciences and/or Business Administration (or other related functional area is desirable).

Experience: At least five (5) years of progressively responsible administrative or programme experience. Previous experience working for the UN, will be an added advantage).

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English is required. Knowledge of French, Portuguese, Arabic is highly desirable.

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CONTRACTUAL INFORMATION

• This is a 6-month renewable Special Service Agreement
• Gross Monthly Salary Range: R20872 - 32870
• Benefits: Medical Insurance

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The Vacancy Announcement will close on 26 February 2023

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This position is open to SA citizens and Permanent Residents of South Africa

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.