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.

Senegal is a West African country with a land area of 196,712 square, bordered by Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and the Atlantic Ocean. Senegal is divided into 6 natural regions and 14 administrative regions. Its natural resources provide diverse ecosystems, constituting an important environmental asset. The tropical climate is characterized by an 8 to 9-month dry season and 3 to 4-month rainy season. However, these natural advantages are threatened by drought, soil and vegetation degradation, biodiversity loss, coastal erosion, land salinization, and various forms of pollution. The effects of climate change exacerbate these threats. According to the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) in 2023, the Senegalese population is 18,275,743, with 49.7% being women.

In this context, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 is a crucial priority for Senegal. The Strategic Note of Senegal Country Office considers the achievements in various public policies, incorporating emerging development challenges and acceleration measures to ensure the realization of the SDGs by 2030. Senegal faces challenges in achieving the SDGs, particularly SDG 5. According to the 2020 Human Development Index by the UNDP10, it ranks 168th out of 189 countries, placing it in the category of low human development. The Gender Inequality Index remains high at 0.530, ranking 131 out of 191 countries in 2021. Significant disparities are observed in politics, economy, employment, and health.

In alignment with national priorities and the UNSDCF 2024-2028, the CO’s impact statement is “A Senegal in 2028, that guarantees gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and the elimination of violence against women and girls in order for women and girls to fulfil their rights ». The CO will prioritize the results during the Strategic Note period 2024-2028 presented in the following section.

Outcome 1: By 2028, inclusive and transparent public policies enable populations to be more resilient and have equitable access to natural resources and public services (UNSDCF Outcome 3).
Outcome 2. By 2028 Gender statistics and sex-disaggregated data and knowledge products are available for SDG monitoring (SP Outcome 6).
Outcome 3: By 2028, the UN system will contribute coherently and systematically to progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (SP Outcome 7).
Outcome 4: By 2028, production systems, including food systems, are organized to promote entrepreneurship, technological innovation, and provide decent employment to populations, especially the most vulnerable, including youth, women, persons with disabilities, migrants, in rural and peri-urban areas (UNSDCF Outcome 1).
Outcome 5: By 2028, social protection systems and basic social services ensure equitable, inclusive, and quality access for the most vulnerable populations, especially those living in remote, peri-urban, rural, or border areas (UNSDCF Outcome 2).
Reporting to the Senegal Country Representative, the Executive Associate is responsible for providing a variety of executive administrative support to the UN Women Country Representative maintaining full confidentiality in all aspects of assignment and, in close coordination with the Country Office (CO) office management and staff, for managing the efficient flow of information and communications to ensure expeditious dissemination of information, timely action and compliance with established deadlines.

Key Functions and Accountabilities

Provide executive support to the UN Women Senegal Country Representative:

Manage the UN Women Country Representative’s calendar, and schedule of appointments and meetings;
Arrange travel and hotel accommodations and other logistics for the UN Women Country Representative;
Maintain roster of CO contacts; update electronic mailing lists;
Answer and screen call for the Country Representative with tact and discretion;
Manage administrative files on the Country Representative’s mission travel and mission reports;
Research files, collect information and organize materials to meet the Country Representative’s requests.
Provide administrative support to the UN Women Senegal Country Representative:

Undertake the logistical, administrative and financial arrangements, to organize meetings, events, and workshops;
Organize and attend meetings and events, prepare minutes and summaries;
Prepare and assemble briefing materials and PowerPoint presentations for the Country Representative/
Regional Director for meetings, missions and other key events;
Organize and monitor the office filing system;
Follow up with the Country Representative on deadlines and commitments.
Provide effective communication and information management support to the CO:

Facilitate flow of information and communication between the UN Women Country Representative’s Office and other units within or outside of UN Women;
Review, prioritize and route correspondence to and from the UN Women Country Representative Office; take proactive follow-up action and keep the Country Representative 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 general administration and operations support to the CO in compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and strategies:

Organize shipments, customs clearance arrangements, and prepare documents for UN Women shipments (received/sent);
Arrange travel and hotel reservations, prepare travel authorizations, process requests for visas and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA), identity cards and other documents;
Provide administrative support to conferences, workshops, retreats;
Provide administrative support to maintenance of premises and common services, as needed;
Maintain filing system ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials, as necessary.
Coordinate and organize assets management and procurement processes:

Monitor and maintain office stationery supplies including maintenance of stock list of stationery, distribution of stationery and keeping a log of distribution;
Coordinate assets management in the office, prepare and submit periodic inventory reports, coordinate physical verification of inventory items;
Provide inputs to the preparation of procurement plans for the office and monitor their implementation;
Generate procurement related reports; research and draft responses to enquiries;
Review procurement requests and initiate procurement procedures for office and project equipment, supplies and services;
Organize procurement activities and processes, including preparation and conduct of Request for Quotations, Invitations to Bid or Requests for Proposals, the opening and evaluation of tenders;
Coordinate contract negotiations, prepare request for award of contract for the review and approval of relevant authorities, as required;
Prepare Purchase Orders (PO) and contracts in and outside Quantum system, create vendor profiles in Quantum system:
Review procurement processes conducted by projects; submissions to the Procurement Review Committee.
Provide support to the UN Women Senegal Country Representative’s Office’s external relations activities:

Facilitate the Country Representative’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;
Receive and greet high ranking officials/visitors;
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.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities

N/A

Competencies :

Core Values:

Integrity;
Professionalism;
Respect for Diversity.
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:

Functional Competencies

Ability to manage data/schedule, documents, correspondence, reports, and maintain protocol and information flow;
Good 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.
Education and certification

Completion of secondary education is required.
Bachelor’s degree in business administration or public administration is an asset.
Experience

At least five (5) 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; is required
Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
Languages

Fluency in English and French is required.

Statements

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.

Diversity and inclusion

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.).