OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information (ADG/CI) and the immediate supervision of the Director of the Division for Freedom of Expression, Media Development and Media and Information Literacy (CI/FMD) and Secretary of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), the incumbent will coordinate and perform a full range of secretarial, office and management support, administrative tasks and provide direct assistance to the Director in order to ensure quality and consistency of the flow of Division work and information management (programme monitoring and budget/financial administration) of the Division CI/FMD and IPDC.

In particular, the incumbent shall be required to perform the following duties:

General support to CI/FMD and IPDC Secretariat:

• Maintain the Director’s agenda, screen requests for appointments according to their nature and urgency, schedule/reschedule, monitor and confirm appointments.
• Assist the IPDC Secretariat by administering the IPDC Secretariat mailbox, and coordinating the reception of IPDC project proposals and implementation reports; liaising with DBS when necessary for the smooth running of the project submission process.
• Provide general office assistance, receive, register, review and draft correspondence, emails and type a variety of reports and tables to document/transmit administrative or budgetary information; verify outgoing correspondence for completeness, accuracy and compliance with UNESCO format standards; maintain mailing lists and other contact lists.
• Attend meetings, prepare minutes, and monitor follow-up activities.

Administrative support to IPDC Secretariat:

• Coordinate and lead the logistical and administrative organization of the two statutory meetings of the IPDC as well as provide secretarial support services for high-level meetings, service- or organization-wide training and special projects/events.
• Prepare list of participants, draft invitation letters, make arrangements for formal editing, translation, etc., of documents and publications, process requests for webcasting, recording and transcription of debates.
• Arrange meeting facilities, compile documents and organize travels for participants.
• Carry out quality control functions for outgoing documents; proofread and edit texts for adherence to format, grammar, punctuation and style.

Programme Administration CI/FMD and IPDC Budget:

• Track and report on the status of programme activities; prepare project evaluations information, reviewing budgetary data/information; monitor the budget of the projects and programme activities within CI/FMD and the IPDC Secretariat in compliance with programme and budgetary requirements and financial regulations; alert the supervisor of errors/omissions/discrepancies observed and undertake corrective action.
• Collate information and draft regular and ad hoc budgetary/financial updates, reports, statistics and/or projections for use and scrutiny by management/staff as well as donors.
• Track, retrieve, research files, reports, other records and past practices; gather and collate background information; verify information for relevance and accuracy; analyze and summarize information linked to IPDC and CI/FMD.
• Initiate a variety of contractual documents using examples or templates and initiate contracts as approved by responsible officer.

Logistical support:

• Perform a variety of administrative duties (e.g., leave and attendance recording, arrangements for meetings and other events, reservations, budget preparation and follow-up, etc.).
• Coordinate with other units to ensure smooth running and expedition of work within the Division (e.g. following up contract extensions and requests for temporary staff).
• Orient new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provide general assistance to other office support staff as required.
• Create and maintain the Division filing and reference systems.
• Periodically review the efficiency of office procedures and make recommendations for improvement.
• Update office websites, knowledge management tools/databases etc.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

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REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational education.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant work experience in providing programme management and administrative support or related tasks, preferably in an international organization.
• Experience supporting a supervisor with senior managerial responsibility and/or high-level officials.
• Experience in budget/financial administration and programme management of a multinational funded project.

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent organizational and coordination skills with ability to take initiative, establish priorities and monitor own work plans.
• Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills in English or French.
• High attention to detail with excellent time management skills.
• Capacity to work effectively within tight deadlines and flexibility to adjust work schedules.
• Excellent knowledge of IT Tools with demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office tools, and proficiency in Microsoft Excel or other financial spreadsheet applications.
• Proficiency in the use of finance modules of ERP such as SAP.
• Tact, discretion, strong service-oriented skills and ability to deal efficiently and tactfully with partners and stakeholders.
• Ability to establish excellent working relationships within a multicultural team.

Languages

• Excellent knowledge of English or French and good knowledge of the other language.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Training or Certification in the field of administration, finance, accounting, and/or management.

Work Experience

• Experience in monitoring contributions and budget of projects.
• Experience in managing projects funded by Voluntary Contributions.

Skills & Competencies

• Familiarity with the work and general functioning of the United Nations system or an international organization.
• Knowledge of UNESCO rules, financial and administrative procedures, systems and standard practices.

Languages

• Knowledge of other official languages of UNESCO (Arabic, Chinese, Russian and/or Spanish).