Org. Setting and Reporting
The position is located in the Political Affairs Section of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS). The Administrative Assistant is responsible for effectively and efficiently managing all administrative matters related to the UNOWAS Dakar including human resources management, budget and finance management. In addition to providing general administrative support to staff of the Political Affairs Section.


Responsibilities
Within delegated authority and under the supervision of Chief of Service/ Political Affairs Officer the Administrative Assistant will be responsible for the following duties: Human Resources Management
• Initiates, reviews, processes and follows-up on actions related to the administration, human resources activities, e.g., recruitment of staff, consultants and individual contractors, ensuring consistency in the application of UN rules and procedures.
• Oversees the maintenance of vacancy announcement files and keeps track of status of vacancy announcements.

Budget and Finance
• Assists in the preparation and review of financial and human resources proposals/requirements.
• Monitors expenditures and compares with approved budget; prepares adjustments as necessary.
• Assists the Supervisor when required in the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions.
• Analyzing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures
• Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.
• Preparation of budgets estimates for official workshops.
General Administration
• Drafts routine correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant administrative, financial audit, personnel matters.
• Handles all administrative matters of the Political Affairs Section including administrative priorities and workflow of the Chief of Political Affairs and the Political Affairs Section.
• Coordinates extensively with all UNOWAS internal and external stakeholders and institutional partners including Field missions, UNOWAS Liaison Cell of Nouakchott, as well as regional and sub-regional entities and civil society in dealing with a wide range of complex information requests and inquiries in the implementation of their respective workplans, projects, and programmes.
• Participates actively in the planning of official missions of all political affairs officers including the Section Chief/Political Affairs, in compliance with existing guideline, rules and regulations.
• Assists POLAS section with the organization of meetings, events, workshops, processing of travel requests of staff and participants, coordinates all logistic aspects of the Section’s daily operations during meetings.
• Monitors accounts and payment to vendors, consultants and individual contractors for services. Contract Management
• Liaise with mission support, initiates procurement process for low value acquisitions related to the preparation of various materials, car rental for transportation of event participants, and rental of premises and catering services.
• Prepares and processes all UN forms and permissions for contractual and work Unit, Section or Service UN staff, including UN grounds passes, property passes, UN parking permits, swipe-card access and door keys.
• Performs other related duties as required.


Competencies
• Professionalism: Ability to perform a broad range of administrative functions, e.g., budget/work programme, human resources, database management, etc. Ability to apply knowledge of various United Nations administrative, financial and human resources rules and regulations in work situations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.
• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position. Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.


Education
• High school diploma or equivalent.
Job – Specific Qualification
• Additional technical training in secretarial, administration, office management or other relevant field is desirable.


Work Experience
• A minimum of (7) seven years of experience in administrative services, finance, accounting, audit, human resources or related area is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to five (5) years for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher. Experience in administrative policies and procedures in the United Nations or similar international organizations is required. Experience working with Enterprise Resource Planning based applications such as SAP/Umoja is desirable.
Languages
• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in English and French (both oral and written) is required.
Assessment
• Evaluation of qualified candidates for this position may include a written assessment followed by a competency-based interview.


Special Notice
• This job opening is advertised to fill a temporarily vacant position during the absence of the regular incumbent for a period of one year or longer. The regular incumbent is entitled to return to this position at the expiry of the temporary vacancy period. If the regular incumbent exercises the right to return, the appointment or temporary assignment or promotion of the candidate selected for this job opening will not be renewed or extended. The selection process for this job opening will be conducted pursuant to ST/AI/2010/3 on the “Staff Selection System” and include the compliance review process by a review body described in staff rule 4.15. In case of selection, a staff member of the United Nations Secretariat who meets the definition of “internal candidate” in staff rule 4.10 will be placed on a temporary assignment if he or she holds the same grade as the job opening; and a temporary promotion if he or she holds a lower grade than the job opening. If the regular incumbent vacates the position during such temporary assignment or promotion, the selected staff member will be laterally assigned, promoted or transferred to the position without further selection process under ST/AI/2010/3.


United Nations Considerations
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. 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. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.


No Fee
The united nations does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, or training). the united nations does not concern itself with information on applicants’ bank accounts.