STAFF ASSISTANT (Temporary Job Opening), G5

STAFF ASSISTANT (Temporary Job Opening), G5

Organization: UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Country: Switzerland City: Geneva Office: UNCTAD Geneva Closing date: Sunday, 31 October 2027

Org. Setting and Reporting: This position is located in the eTrade Initiatives Section of the E-Commerce and Digital Economy Branch of the Division on Technology and Logistics in the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Staff Assistant reports to the Chief of the eTrade Initiatives Section.

Responsibilities: Within limits of delegated authority, the Staff Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

• Performs, under minimal supervision, the full range of office management and administrative support functions; including preparing for consultancy contracts, travel of meeting participants, procurement, etc.
• Maintains liaison with the Executive Office and with senior officials in other units regarding on-going programmes and other administrative matters; monitors processes and schedules related to the unit’s outputs, products, tasks, etc.
• Ensures smooth and efficient information flow within the Section; prepares and processes confidential information; assists in the development of office administrative systems and procedures.
• Provides assistance in the coordination of service-wide activities (meetings, training, etc.), special projects and events.
• Orients new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provides general assistance to other office support staff, as required; may coordinate the work of office support staff in providing meetings servicing/administrative support to various sessions of commissions and other bodies.
• Attends meetings, prepares minutes, monitors follow-up activities.
• Responds or drafts responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications; uses standard word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports.
• Manages, updates and further develops internal databases; updates website; generates a variety of standard and non-standard statistical and other reports from various databases.
• Carries out quality control function for outgoing documents; proofreads and edits texts for adherence for format, grammar, punctuation and style.
• Assists in the preparation of presentation materials using appropriate technology/software.
• May provide some specialized support to the Section (e.g. technology support, editing, desktop publishing, etc.).
• Maintains calendar/schedules; monitors changes and communicate relevant information to appropriate staff inside and outside the immediate work Section.
• Performs a variety of administrative duties (e.g. leave recording, meeting organization, reservations, office supply and equipment orders, etc.), including preparing and/or processing administrative requests/documents (e.g., travel requests, expense claims, vouchers, visa applications, etc.).
• Maintains files (both paper and electronic as appropriate) and databases for work unit.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Competencies:

• Professionalism: Knowledge of general office and administrative support including administrative policies, processes and procedures. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

Education: High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Work Experience: Five years of experience in general office support or related area is required. Experience in technical cooperation is desirable. Experience with ERP software such as UMOJA or similar is desirable. Experience with recruitment platforms such as Inspira or similar is desirable.

Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English is required. Either Arabic or Chinese (Mandarin) or French or Russian or Spanish is desirable.

Assessment: Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by a competency-based interview.

Special Notice: This is a project funded position and its duration is subject to the availability of funds. The initial duration is until 30 April 2027, starting in January 2027. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. Candidates should have no expectation of any fixed-term appointment possibility after the end of this temporary assignment.