Organizational Setting

Through its Country Offices, or FAO Representations, FAO assists governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to address hunger and malnutrition, and provides technical support for the sustainable development of their agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors. The activities of the FAO Country Offices include design and implementation of country-tailored field programmes, liaison with local donor representatives, and active public awareness-raising and outreach activities related to FAO initiatives such as the World Food Day.

The position is located in the FAO Representation in Lusaka, Zambia.

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 FAO Representative and under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative in Zambia, the incumbent will work closely with a wide range of colleagues in the office with central units and external clients, performing and coordinating office and management support services, and providing procedural guidance and information and also work in close collaboration with administrative and technical units in FAO Zambia.
The incumbent operates independently, 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 (proficient – level C) of English.
IT Skills: Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.

Residency: 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.

Competencies

• Results Focus
• 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

• Knowledge of another FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) will be considered an advantage.