Senior Administrative Assistant

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Description

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Under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Beirut, and the direct supervision of the Senior Operations Officer, the incumbent provides high-level administrative and support services in a range of specialized areas and plays a lead role within the unit in ensuring application and compliance with the rules, regulations, policies and practices in place.

The incumbent provides senior level support in the processing of a range of specialized areas and plays a lead role in these areas. The incumbent independently consolidates data and prepares reports, non-routine correspondence and documentation, ensures the functioning of internal control systems and ensures that the office’s financial resources and expenditures and fully and adequately accounted for.  The incumbent’s work has a direct impact on the quality of services provided by the administrative unit.

General Accountabilities:

• Act as certifying officer up to an authorized level delegated by the Chief Financial Officer;
• Provide guidance and interpretation on administrative rules, regulations and procedures;
• Advise on operational and technical routine transactions;
• Recommend process and system related modifications and improvements to support successful administration and financial monitoring and control;
• Interpret provisions and provide guidance on complex and non-recurring issues;
• Supervise activities related to office maintenance, security, transport and similar services, as necessary.

Finance Accountabilities:

• Ensure that the Office’s financial resources and expenditures are fully and properly accounted for and that internal control systems are adequate and functioning, schedule payments and disbursement of funds;
• Ensure accurate and timely processing of assigned accounts, developing budget estimates and monitoring expenditures, participating and advising in the preparation of financial statements and budgets;
• Assist in the preparation and coordination of financial activities under RP funds and Voluntary Contributions.
• Compile and consolidate data from various sources into financial statements, prepare worksheets.
• Monitor expenditures, review payments and reconcile accounts.
• Investigate anomalies and erroneous charges and take corrective action.
• Provide assistance and guidance to undertake coding and data entry task and to extract information and run financial reports.

Budget Accountabilities:

• Prepare Regular Programme and Voluntary Contributions budget reports and communicate on them;
• Assist and advise on planning and budgetting and recommend modifications;
• Prepare budget proposals and cost estimates and ensure that data is correct;
• Identify irregularities and undertake transactions to correct errors/omissions.

HR Accountabilities:

• Handle non-routine or complex cases, prepare associated documents/ correspondence for personnel actions based on oral instructions and previous experience;
• Follow-up on coming HR actions and oversee maintenance, update and clean-up of database;
• Issue non-staff contracts, advise on recruitment process and entitlements;
• Liaise with central services based at Headquarters, to discuss and obtain additional information, clarifications and policy interpretation.

Logistics:

• Procurement: research and retrieve information on supply sources, vendors by commodity and obtain specifications on the market. 
• Review contractual documents (TOR, budget, contract nature and type).
• Resolve issues/ problems related to delivered goods.
• Prepare requisitions for supplies and equipment; ensure that payments are processed and provide information to the assigned Sector on invoicing and payment issues. 
• Arrange for control and distribution of inventory records.
• Security: Ensures compliance of staff with security travel requirements and monitor completion of mandatory security trainings.

Education:

• Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational education.

Work Experience:

• At least eight (8) years of relevant work experience in financial and administrative services, preferably in an international professional environment, or in related fields.

Skills :

• Excellent organizational and coordination skills.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills, including drafting skills.
• Capacity to handle information objectively, precisely and confidentially.
• Ability to perform tasks in an autonomous manner.
• Flexibility in adjusting to work schedules and setting priorities, and to manage multiple tasks.
• Discretion, good sense of judgement and capacity to deal efficiently and tactfully with a variety of stakeholders in a multicultural environment.
• Excellent IT skills with proficiency in the use MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, etc.)

Languages:

• Excellent knowledge (oral and written) of Arabic and English.

Education:

• Specialized training or courses in one or more of the following disciplines: administration, finance, accounting and/or procurement.

Work Experience:

• Relevant experience within the United Nations System or another international organisation;
• Experience with an Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP).

Languages:

• Working knowledge of French.
• Knowledge of other UNESCO official languages (Chinese, Russian, Spanish). 

Source: https://careers.unesco.org/job/Beirut-Senior-Administrative-Assistant/817207702/

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