Office Assistant

Job Posting: 07/Jun/2024 Closure Date: 21/Jun/2024, 4:59:00 PM Organizational Unit: NSL - Land and Water Job Type: Staff position Type of Requisition: General Service Grade Level: G-5 Primary Location: Italy-Rome Duration: Fixed-term: one year with possibility of extension Post Number: 2010278 CCOG Code: 2101 IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device Staff in the General Service category are recruited locally from the Primary Location area, which is where the office is located.

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAOs values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

The Land and Water Division (NSL) aims at enhancing agricultural productivity and advancing the sustainable use of land, soil and water resources through their improved tenure, management, development and conservation. It provides technical and financial assistance to Member Nations in developing policies, programmes, best practices and management tools to address the challenges they face in ensuring productive and efficient use of land and water resources in order to meet present and future demands for agricultural products, while enduring the long-term sustainability of the land, soil and water quantity and quality. It promotes equitable access to and sustainable management of these natural resources with a view to enhancing productivity, livelihoods, social equality and ecosystem health - services.
The post is located in the Land and Water Division, NSL at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Main Purpose

The Office Assistant 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.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Office Assistant reports to the Director, NSL. The incumbent operates independently, takes decisions on work priorities and exercises initiative for dealing with cases without precedents. Supervision received is focused on the quality of work output. He/she provides guidance and advice to other office support staff.

Working Relationships

The Office Assistant works closely with a wide range of colleagues in the Division with central units and external clients, performing and coordinating office and management support services and providing procedural guidance and information.

Key Functions/Results

• Screen requests for appointments with supervisor; maintain supervisors 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 units 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.

Impact of Work

The incumbents work impacts directly on the smooth and efficient running of the Office. He/she plays a lead role in the provision of office support services for successful achievement of the organizational units mandate.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education.
Experience: Four years of relevant experience in office/management support work.
Languages: Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of English.
IT Skills: Very good knowledge of 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

• 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.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

• Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).
• Prior experience in front office management, in particular front office of large or high-level offices such as divisions or similar.
• Good planning and organizational skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and make progress on multiple tasks simultaneously.
• High degree of discretion in dealing with confidential matters.

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FAO staff are expected to adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency _______________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/

• The length of the appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to extension of appointments

• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.
• 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.
• No international benefits will be payable as selected candidates are recruited locally and paid in the local currency of the office location
• For additional information visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

REMUNERATION
A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link:
https://onehr.un.org/salary-survey/#/salary_scale
HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Once completed, please apply and submit your application, with language certificates as attachments. Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications. FAO reserves the right to request candidates to undertake a language test in the future, as appropriate
• Incomplete applications will not be considered

• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered

• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT