JOB DESCRIPTION

Deadline for Applications

September 16, 2025

Hardship Level

B

Family Type

Family

Family Type

Family

Residential location (if applicable)

Grade

GS5

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

General Service

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

Target Start Date

2025-10-01

Standard Job Description

Senior Administrative Assistant

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior Administrative Assistant will provide administrative support to the office where the position is located.
The Senior Administrative Assistant normally has no direct supervisory functions though it rests upon the supervisor of the post to make time specific arrangements subject to a given situation. The incumbent normally works under the direct supervision of more senior local or international staff, who is required to monitor the performance of the incumbent and provide regular guidance. S/he may liaise with local suppliers and/or officials and/or Implementing Partners (IPs) on routine subject matters under the direction of the supervisor.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR”s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
– Assist in interpreting and processing of entitlements, issuance of contracts and maintenance of various personnel records and files.
– Attend meetings on day-to-day admin matters; administer the movement of UNHCR staff members and monitor their attendance records, leave plans, overtime and visa requirements.
– Search office files and records relating to a variety of topics for information and reference. Select information and records in specified format or on the basis of general instructions for use by others in preparing reports, correspondence, technical papers, project or programme plans and general reference documents.
– Assist in requisition of office supplies, equipment and arrange for distribution together with the appropriate inventory records.
– Assist in administrative formalities related to travel arrangements and issuance/ renewal of visas, licences, travel arrangements and other similar documents.
– Draft correspondence and reports, as required, on general administrative or specialized tasks which may be of a confidential nature within the assigned area of responsibility; Type correspondence, documents and reports, some of which may be highly confidential.
– Arrange appointments and maintain supervisor”s calendar, receive visitors, place and screen telephone calls and answer queries with discretion; Keep lists of names, addresses and telephone numbers of ministers, government officials and members of the diplomatic corps.
– Assist the management to organise and run UNHCR Office and Residential (wherever applicable) compounds.
– Facilitate various official missions of UNHCR staff and other persons of concern to UNHCR.
– Prepare attestations and certificates required by the staff members for signature of senior officer.
– Assist in processing MIP and various other claims by UNHCR staff and other clients of UNHCR.

– Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
– Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G5 – 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Business Administration, Finance, Office Management, Human Resources, or other related field.
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Not specified.
Desirable
Completion of UNHCR learning programmes or specific training relevant to functions of the position.

Functional Skills
*IT-Computer Literacy
UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
IT-PeopleSoft Applications
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.
As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Desired Candidate Profile

Required Qualifications and Competencies
– 1 year working experience with Microsoft Office 365 (Word and Excel).
Additional Desirable Relevant Skills
– Working knowledge of Power Automate application;
– FI-Financial Accrual Accounting under Internationally Accepted Standards (IFRS, IPSAS, etc);
– AD-Contracts and Invoice Management;
– IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

Language requirements:
Portuguese level: Mother Tongue (required)
English level: B2 (required)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Eligibility:

This position is advertised to internal applicants, former staff members and UNHCR experience applicants. Candidates must be legally present in Brazil at the time of application, recruitment and hire. Only Brazil citizens or candidates legally present in Brazil will be considered eligible.

Internal candidates:

Comprises current GS staff members holding an indefinite or fixed-term appointment who, at the date of the deadline for application, are serving in the country of the vacancy at the grade of the position or one grade below or above, as well as any candidates serving at higher grades who fulfill the criteria as per the job advertisement. Staff members must serve for a minimum of one year following assignment before being considered eligible to apply for another position within the same category.

Former Staff Members:

Comprises Local FTA/IND contract holders whose posts were abolished due to structural changes and who were separated as of 01 January 2025 (with the last working day being 31 December 2024) are eligible to apply as Tier 2 candidates to the local categories. Other types of former staff members are considered candidates with UNHCR experience for any location. In all cases, eligibility to work in a specific country must be verified by the office. The eligibility period for application covers vacancies from May 2025 to June 2026.

Candidates with UNHCR experience:

Comprises UNHCR experience candidates are current staff members in other categories (GS/FS/NPO), Junior Professional Officers, staff members on temporary appointment, affiliate workforce, interns, staff loaned/seconded from another UN organization/international organization/government entity, as well as former UNHCR staff members who held an indefinite or fixed-term appointment (within 2 years of separation for males and 5 years for females).

Remuneration:

A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, please visit the portal of the International Civil Service Commission and please refer to the relevant category / grade level at: http://icsc.un.org

UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview/meeting, processing, training, or any other fees).

Applications:

All applications must be submitted online in Workday. Email applications will not be accepted. Incomplete and late applications will not be accepted.

Please note that the application deadline will be based on Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+01:00) and not Brazil time zone. Submissions received after this time will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates might be required to sit for a written test and/or oral interview.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted based on the information submitted during the application. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

UNHCR is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, sexual orientation, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. UNHCR seeks to ensure that male and female employees are given equal career opportunities. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

UNHCR has a zero-tolerance policy against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA). SEA is unacceptable behavior and prohibited conduct for UNHCR personnel. It constitutes acts of serious misconduct and is therefore grounds for disciplinary measures, including dismissal. Any concerns or suspicions about a possible case of SEA should be reported immediately to the Inspector General’s Office (IGO) at [email protected] or through the online complain form at https://www.unhcr.org/php/complaints.php or by confidential fax: +41 22 739 73 80.

Required languages (expected Overall ability is at least B2 level):

English

,

Portuguese

,

Desired languages

,

,

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit this link:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

The Senior Administrative Assistant will work at Boa Vista sub-office. In coordination with the head of Sub-Office and the Admin unit in the Country Office, the Senior Administrative Assistant will be responsible for running and coordinating the day-to-day administrative duties. It includes register and payment of suppliers, create requisitions, process bank transactions, management of office stationery materials, monitoring maintenance of vehicles and general admin duties such as answering incoming communications, distributing mail correspondence, filing, printing or photocopying, and data entry.

Living and Working Conditions:

The selected candidate will be based in Boa Vista, Roraima. It is a (B) category duty station with more than 400,000 inhabitants. The climate has high temperatures throughout the year, with a dry and a wet season. Health facilities can be found in Boa Vista and in other capital cities in the country. Boa Vista offers some options of leisure and cultural activities, with many parks and green spaces with a focus on early childhood. There is a public transport system and options of private taxi are available.

The office is well located, access to public and private transport is easy. Upon arrival, the selected candidate will have its own working station and all equipment/tools required to perform its duties.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

AD-Contracts and invoice management, AD-Facility Management, AD-Office supplies management, FI-Application of Financial Rules, Regulations and Procedures, FI-ERP Financial Management (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Workday and other), HR-Active Listening, TV-Travel-related ERP systems and processes, TV-UN/UNHCR Travel policy and procedures

Education

Certifications

Business Administration – Other, Finance – Other, Human Resources – Other, Office Management – Other

Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability, Analytical thinking, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Organizational awareness, Planning & organizing, Teamwork & collaboration

UNHCR Salary Calculator

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position doesn”t require a functional clearance