Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN is expected to provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Division of Management and Administration is responsible for the management of financial and administrative resources including information communications and technology, the effective and efficient delivery of essential operations services in UN Women, continuous development and improvement in operations, policies, and methods to align with UN Women and stakeholders’ evolving business needs and advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of the UN Women overall mission, strategy and plans of actions.

Reporting to Director and Deputy Director, the Executive Associate is responsible for providing a variety of executive administrative support to the Directorate of the Division of Management and Administration maintaining full confidentiality in all aspects of assignment and, in close coordination with other HQ Division and field offices, for managing the efficient flow of information and communications to ensure expeditious dissemination of information, timely action and compliance with established deadlines.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Liaise closely with in-house Divisions, sections and field offices as well as key partners and stakeholders on workplans, DMA commitments, deliverables and reporting requirements;
• Organize and attend meetings and events, prepare minutes and summaries; Process and/or prepare the Director’s and Deputy Director’s participation in meetings and missions/key events;
• Follow up on deadlines, commitments made, actions taken;
• Coordinate efforts to meet deadlines related to internal and external organizational reporting, including for intergovernmental bodies and interagency for a, ensuring the required quality standards are observed;
• Organize policy inputs on issues as appropriate, to facilitate the Director’s and Deputy Director’s decision making and representation with UN Women staff and external partners;
• Review Procurement Review Committee (PRC) approval requests for completeness and provide/obtain policy clarifications related to procurement, lease management submissions and SSA contracts above $100K;
• Monitor and review submissions uploaded in the Donor Agreement Management System (DAMS) to facilitate the Director’s timely review of cases.

Provide technical support:

• Identify, research, analyze, prepare and/or organize information and briefing materials for the Director and Deputy Director to facilitate decision-making and leadership in management strategic planning/review;
• Prepare and assemble draft talking points and/or design presentation materials (including multi-media) for delivery by the Director and Deputy Director in key events, meetings and other external fora;
• Provide administrative and technical support to the Director and Deputy Director at meetings.
• Support the management of the DMA Directorate’s budget and prepare payments as required

Provide executive and administrative support to the Director and Deputy Director, DMA:

• Manage the Director’s and Deputy Director’s calendar, and schedule of appointments and meetings;
• Undertake the logistical, administrative and financial arrangements, to organize meetings, events, and workshops; Prioritize and schedule requests for meetings;
• Arrange travel and hotel accommodations and other logistics for the Director and Deputy Director;
• Answer and screen calls for the Director and Deputy Director with tact and discretion;
• Manage administrative files on the Director and Deputy Director mission travel and mission reports;
• Research files, collect information and organize materials to meet the Director and Deputy Director requests.

Provide effective communication and information management support to the Director and Deputy Director, DMA:

• Develop effective systems and procedures to improve and streamline work and communication flow within the team;
• Review, prioritize and route correspondence to and from the DMA Directorate; take proactive follow-up action and keep the DMA Directorate team members informed;
• Respond to and/or direct inquiries to appropriate units for timely action/response;
• Prepare routine correspondence and interoffice circulars; review documents and reports to ensure spelling, punctuation and format are correct;
• Maintain and organize up to date hard and electronic files for easy access and retrieval; ensure safekeeping of confidential materials;
• Assist in the preparation and finalization of informal translations; act as interpreter as required.

Provide support to the Director’s and Deputy Director’s external relations activities:

• Facilitate the Director’s and Deputy Director’s interaction with various external partners through written, verbal and electronic communication, and through collaborative and proactive relationships with counterparts and colleagues in partner offices;
• Ensure protocol matters, receive high ranking visitors/officials, coordinate logistical arrangements related to visits.

Contribute to knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

• Provide administrative support for effective knowledge management and sharing within the office and other offices/HQs;
• Build and share knowledge and experience related to administrative and operations support.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality support to the Director and Deputy Director;
• Quality presentation of information;
• Quality and timely organization of events/ meetings;

Adherence to protocol.

Competencies

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to manage data/schedule, documents, correspondence, reports, and maintain protocol and information flow;
• strong knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature;
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear format, using appropriate IT functionality;
• Ability to administer administrative processes;
• Ability to handle a large volume of work;
• Strong organization and planning skills;
• Good analytical skills;
• Strong problem-solving skills.

Required Skills and Experience

• Completion of secondary education is required;
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration or public administration is an asset;
• Candidates who do not have a university degree or an accredited certification in a related area will be required to complete the Global General Service Test (GGST) or UN Administrative Support Assessment Test (ASAT) – formerly known as the UN Clerical Test.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience with administrative, secretarial, or programme experience;
• Experience in the use of computer applications and software packages such as Microsoft Office, and web-based management systems;
• Experience using an ERP system, preferably Oracle cloud is an asset.
• Experience working in the UN System providing administrative support to a senior manager is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

GS fixed-term appointment (FTA) and temporary appointment (TA) positions located in New York are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)