OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

The post is located in the UNESCO Dar es Salaam office. The incumbent works under the overall authority of the UNESCO Dar es Salaam Head of Office (HoO) and UNESCO Representative. He/she performs a variety of administrative and office support duties to contribute to the smooth and efficient running of the Office and the flow and management of information within the Office.

In particular the incumbent will:

• Arranges appointments for the HoO and Representative, receives visitors, places and screens telephone calls and responds to routine requests for information.

• Reviews, records, distributes and processes incoming mail; follows up on impending actions; routes information and queries for response as appropriate. Responds or drafts responses to standard/ routine correspondence and other communications. Uses word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports, including formatting more complex letters, reports, technical documents, newsletters and other material. Proofreads documents and edits texts for accuracy, grammar, punctuation and style, as well as for adherence to established standards for format. Searches, assembles, compiles and organizes information and reference materials from various sources for reports; creates spreadsheets and presentations; prepares graphs, charts and other visual aids.

• Provides secretarial, administrative and logistics support to meetings, committees, conferences etc.; prepares and types invitation letters; compiles and distributes working documents and other material; takes notes of internal meetings; makes travel and hotel arrangements and prepares travel authorizations/ claims for the supervisor and/or the participants; compiles, calculates and prepares cost estimations; prepares standard limited components of budget/ expenditure.

• Performs general administrative tasks (e.g., leave and attendance recording, input and retrieval of information in the automated systems; budget follow-up etc.).

• Maintains and updates the Office electronic and paper records/files (e.g. information databases, mailing lists, participant lists); classifies and codes material; provides information to colleagues on records management standards and practices; and facilitates file transfers and retrievals.

• Additional activities that may be required to ensure the success of the work team.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational education.

Work Experience

• A minimum three (3) years of relevant work experience in administrative, secretarial and/or related tasks.

Skills and competencies

• Ability to write compelling minute statements, response letters, position papers and information materials.
• Good knowledge of office applications (i.e. MS Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint).
• Excellent interpersonal and communcation skills.
• Discretion and capacity to deal efficiently and tactfully with people of different cultural backgrounds and high-level counterparts.
• Ability to systematize and synthesize information, be organized and know how to prioritize.
• Ability to operate with a considerable degree of autonomy, to take initiative and work effectively in a team.

Languages

• Excellent knowledge (spoken and written) of English language and Swahili (local language).

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Specialized training/certification in administration and/or secretariat.

Work Experience

• Similar experience working with diverse organizations in the region and in an international environment preferably a United Nation agency.
• Experience in coordinating secretarial support services for high-level and/or representational meetings.

Languages

• Knowledge of another official language of UNESCO (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish).