Office Assistant South Africa

Office Assistant, Pretoria, South Africa

Office Assistant South Africa

Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Country: South Africa
City: Pretoria
Office: FAO in Pretoria, South Africa
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Closing date: Tuesday, 9 November 2021

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST – VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT : 2102831

Office Assistant

Job Posting: 20/Oct/2021

Closure Date: 10/Nov/2021, 10:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : FRSAF

Job Type: Staff position

Type of Requisition : General Service

Grade Level : G-5

Primary Location: South Africa-Pretoria

Duration : one year with possibility of extension

Post Number : 0882844

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are bas ed on date and time settings of your personal device

Staff in the General Service category are recruited locally from the Primary Location area, which is where the office is located

FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting The main of the FAO Country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner. FAO Country Office activities include the design and implementation of country-specific field programs, liaison with local donors’ representatives and active outreach activities related to FAO initiatives.

Main Purpose

The Office Assistant coordinates and performs the full range of office support, management support and administrative tasks, providing for the smooth and efficient running of the Office. He/ she ensures quality and consistency of the flow of office work and information in the work unit.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Office Assistant reports to a Senior Professional Staff / Manager and may receive guidance from a Senior Staff. The incumbent operates independently and takes decisions on work priorities and exercises initiative for dealing with cases without precedents. Supervision received is focused on the quality of work outputs. He/ she provides guidance and advice to other office support staff.

Working Relationships

The Office Assistant works closely with a wide range of colleagues in the division /region, with central units and external clients, performing and coordinating office- and management support services, and providing procedural guidance and information.

Key Functions/Results

Screen requests for appointments with supervisor; maintain supervisor’s calendar; confirm mutually convenient schedules and arrange appointments; receive visitors; place and screen telephone calls; respond to queries and correspondence, often of a sensitive, confidential or technical nature;
Coordinate office support services for meetings, trainings, seminars, committees, and special projects and events; attend meetings, prepare minutes, monitor follow-up activities; make arrangements for formal editing, translation, etc., of documents and publications;
Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions; prepare draft responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications, often requiring knowledge of technical terminologies and/or detailed office procedures; carry out quality control functions for outgoing documents; proofread texts for adherence to format, grammar, punctuation and style;
Perform a variety of administrative duties, e.g. contract extensions and requests for temporary staff, leave and attendance recording, budget preparation and follow-up; coordinate with other units to ensure smooth running and expedition of work within the unit;
Research, compile, and organize background information and reference materials from various sources for reports, briefs and speeches; generate a variety of statistical and other reports from various databases;
Coordinate the work of other office support staff, establish priorities and ensure equitable distribution of work; train new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provide general assistance as required;
Create and maintain the work unit’s filing and reference systems; review the efficiency of office procedures and make recommendations for improvements; update office websites;
Perform other duties as required.

Impact Of Work

The incumbent’s work impacts directly on the smooth and efficient running of the Office. He/ she plays a lead role in the provision of office support services for successful achievement of the organizational unit’s mandate.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education Experience: Four years of relevant experience in office/ management support work Languages: Working knowledge (Level C) of English IT Skills: Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment

Competencies

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Teamwork
Communication
Building Effective Relationships
Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical Skills

Very good knowledge of communication and documentation standards
Very good knowledge of corporate computerized financial / travel / human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies
Very good knowledge of the organizational structure

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

Good knowledge of any of the local languages

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified applicants may include an assessment exercise and a technical / competency-based interview.

FAO staff are expected to adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO,

Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
The length of the appointment for internal FAO candidates will be established in accordance with applicable policies pertaining to extension of appointments
General Service Staff are recruited locally. To be eligible for this position, candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing visa/work permit, and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application.”Commuting distance” means the distance within which staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence.
No international benefits will be payable as selected candidates are recruited locally and paid in the local currency of the office location
Other similar positions may be filled from this vacancy notice
For additional information visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

REMUNERATION A competitive compensation and benefits package is offered. For information on UN salaries, allowances and benefits, click on the following link: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries allowances/salary.htm

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Once completed, please apply and submit your application, with language certificates as attachments. Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications. FAO reserves the right to request candidates to undertake a language test in the future, as appropriate
Incomplete applications will not be considered
Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered
If you need assistance please contact: Careers@fao.org

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT