Organizational Setting

The Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implements the IAEA’s Major Programme 2, “Nuclear Techniques for Development and Environmental Protection”. This Major Programme comprises individual programmes on food and agriculture, human health, water resources, environment and radiation technologies. These programmes are supported by laboratories in Seibersdorf, Monaco and Vienna. The Major Programme’s objective is to enhance the capacity of Member States to meet basic human needs and to assess and manage the marine and terrestrial environments through the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques in sustainable development programmes.

The Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences is responsible for assisting and advising Member States in research and development for the nuclear sciences, especially the physical and chemical sciences. Specifically, the Division provides support to Member States in the following fields: production of radioisotopes and radiolabelled products for applications in health care and industry; radiation source applications; research reactor utilization; applications of accelerators and nuclear instrumentation; nuclear and atomic data for applications; controlled nuclear fusion and isotope hydrology and geochemistry.

The Isotope Hydrology Section is responsible for planning and implementing the IAEA’s water resources programme. The programme assists Member States in the sustainable management of all aspects of their water resources, but with a particular focus on isotope hydrology. Major activities include internationally coordinated research, global isotope monitoring, capacity building, and technical assistance to Member States to help them with the assessment, development and use of water resources. The Section also operates a well-equipped laboratory for the analysis of stable and radioactive isotopes. The laboratory trains counterparts in using analytical techniques for high-quality measurements of isotopes in water samples.

Main Purpose

Under the supervision of the Section Head, the Programme Assistant provides administrative support to the organization of a variety of conferences, workshops and meetings, manages the administrative arrangements in the Section in coordination with clerical staff in the Subprogramme, and provides assistance to the Section Head and other professional staff in the Section.

Functions / Key Results Expected

Meetings and logistics
• Assist in the organization of conferences, workshops, seminars and research coordination/consultants’ meetings of the Subprogramme by communicating with participants and making all required travel and meeting arrangements.
• Coordinate activities and travel for Section staff members – provide logistical support for the Section’s activities, such as making travel arrangements, scheduling appointments and meetings, and assembling background material required for the above activities.
• Review travel requests for accuracy and forwarding to the Administrative Assistant. Prepare quarterly travel plans.

Administrative activities

• Provide administrative support to coordinated research projects by coordinating the yearly renewal of contracts, maintaining the financial plan of research contract funds, and updating the status of expenditures.
• Provide support and follow-up action related to the technical backstopping of in-house Technical Cooperation (TC) projects regarding preparation of procurement requests, expert requests, technical reports and evaluation of expert reports, etc.
• Manage overall administration of the Section’s office (procurement, supplies, equipment and furniture requests) and provide support in the preparation of the programme and budget, annual reports, programme performance appraisal and publishing/printing requirements.
• Coordinate office coverage and perform other related duties as required by the Section Head.

Correspondence and Documents Management

• Proofread technical documents and publications checking for spelling, punctuation, grammar, syntax, completeness and adherence to established style guidelines. Follow up with publishing staff for finalization.
• Collate information on Subprogramme activities for the semi-annual newsletter and for maintaining the Subprogramme’s website.
• Maintain and update the Subprogramme’s contact/mailing list and assist in maintaining and further developing databases operated by the Section.
• Receive, review and screen all incoming correspondence and documents and route to the appropriate officer or area for action and/or information, attaching information as needed and maintaining a follow-up system.
• Draft standard and non-routine correspondence, prepare meeting minutes and type reports and documents as required.

Competencies and Expertise

Core Competencies(Competency Framework)

Functional Competencies

Required Expertise

Qualifications, Experience and Language skills

• Completed secondary education.
• Minimum of five years of general office support experience, some of which in an international environment.
• Excellent oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.
• Administrative skills set to IAEA standard might be part of the selection process.