Office Assistant (World Food Forum)

The Office Assistant (World Food Forum) 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.

Responsibilities

• Screen requests for appointments with supervisor; maintain supervisor's calendar; confirm mutually convenient schedules and arrange appointments; receive visitors; screen and send e-mails; 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, including an e-book for signatures; review the efficiency of office procedures and make recommendations for improvements; update office websites.
• Perform other duties as required.

Requirements

• Secondary School Education.
• Four years of relevant experience in office/management support work.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English.
• Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.
• 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 valid visa to work or a valid work permit and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application.
• 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.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is desirable.
• Knowledge of liaison with partners and high-level government representatives and protocol of the Organization is desirable.
• Ability to draft standard and complex correspondence, and to proofread texts/outgoing correspondence and formal documents is desirable.
• Experience in organizing High Level events is desirable.
• Knowledge of major web platforms used for the organization of virtual events is desirable.

Skills

• Office Management
• Microsoft Office applications
• Internet usage
• Office technology equipment
• Communication standards
• Documentation standards
• Corporate Financial Systems
• Corporate Travel Systems
• Human Resources Systems
• Administrative Procedures
• Organizational Structure Knowledge
• Drafting Correspondence
• Proofreading
• Event Organization
• Online Event Platforms

Languages

English