Organizational Setting

Within this setting, the Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP) coordinates Programme Priority Areas on gender equality and rural women’s empowerment and on inclusive rural transformation. The Division works with Members and other partners to achieve resilient and inclusive rural livelihoods for people in conditions of vulnerability, reduce gender inequalities and advance women’s economic empowerment and promote people-centred climate action and equitable access to natural resources. The Division also leads efforts to integrate the cross-cutting themes of gender, youth and inclusion throughout the work programmes of the Organization. The Rural Transformation and Gender Equality division (ESP) structures its work around three core Objectives: 1) Build sustainable and resilient livelihoods for vulnerable people in agrifood systems; 2) Achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment in agrifood systems; and 3) Promote equitable, inclusive, and sustainable climate action and natural resource management.

The post is located at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, in the Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP), and more specifically in the Social Protection Team, and provides routine administrative transactions and office support office that enable the team to contribute to all three Divisional objectives.

Main Purpose

The Office Assistant performs a large variety of routine administrative transactions and office support functions contributing to the smooth and efficient running of the work unit.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Office Assistant reports to one or more professional staff and receives guidance from the Senior Social Policy Offcer.  He/she acts independently in routine matters. Supervision received is focused on the quality of the work performed and provides for on-the-job learning.

Working Relationships

The Office Assistant usually interacts with a wide variety of colleagues within the work unit and with immediate clients within the Organization, providing routine administrative and office support services.

Key Functions/Results

•    Arrange appointments for the supervisor, receive visitors, place and screen telephone calls and respond to routine requests for information.
•    Provide office, protocol, administrative and logistics support to meetings, committees, conferences, etc.
•    Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions.
•    Respond or draft responses to standard/routine correspondence and other communications; use word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports.
•    Proofread documents and format texts for accuracy, grammar, punctuation and style as well as for adherence to established standards.
•    Initiate general administrative tasks in the computerized general administration/procurement/ financial/travel/human resources system.
•    Prepare purchase orders, purchase requisitions and support the preparation of Letters of Agreement (LOA), obtain clarification and follow up, when necessary.
•    Make travel and hotel arrangements and prepare travel authorizations/claims for staff and affiliate workforce as required.
•    Provide assistance in the administrative processing of vacancy announcements and consultants’ contracts.
•    Research, compile and organize information and reference materials from various sources for reports; create spreadsheets and presentations; manage and update databases for mailing lists and other information; and maintain electronic and paper files.
•    Perform other duties as required.

Impact of Work

The incumbent’s work impacts on the timely and efficient delivery of office support services and on the overall output of the work unit.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education.
Experience: Three years of relevant experience in office support work.
Languages: Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English.
IT Skills: Good knowledge of the 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

•    Good knowledge of communication and documentation standards.
•    Good knowledge of corporate computerized in administration/procurement/financial/travel/human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

•    Good knowledge of ESP organizational structure.
•    Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of one of the other working languages of the Organization (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).
•    Experience in contributing to budget monitoring.
•    Experience in reviewing quality of administrative documentation for conformity with FAO style.