Under the supervision of the Project Manager, the Project Assistant provides support in the development and administration of technical cooperation programmes and projects as well as secretarial and administrative support and is responsible for the following key functions:
Responsibilities:
Screen incoming mail and draft replies for supervisor’s signature on non-technical aspects; provide relevant background/project information whenever necessary to supervisor(s); keep track of pending matters, follow up with other offices on deadlines.
Screen phone calls and visitors. Respond to moderately complex information requests and inquiries as necessary, as well as to refer queries to appropriate personnel for handling.
Draft routine correspondence (both on TC-related and administrative matters); and put them into adequate style, language and format; proofread documents and edit texts for accuracy, grammar, punctuation and style in accordance with standard practices and in compliance with the UNIDO Correspondence Manual.
Assist or monitor exercises related to TC projects (e.g.: budget revisions, obligation reviews, re-phasing, extension or completion of projects, issuance of new project allotment documents/due sub-allotments, TC allocations and monitoring related exercises).
Interpret or consult to clarify the application of new financial procedures, TC guidelines and other instructions. Keep track of project budget expenditures; assist in budget revisions; complete justification for budget revisions; provide information on the project, draw the supervisor’s attention to problems encountered. Retrieve information on TC projects from the SAP PPM module that has been designed to support results-based management.
Using SAP, initiate and follow up on actions related to recruitment of experts, training and study tours, purchasing equipment, travel authorizations requests/claims and deal with all related inquiries.
Perform general administrative tasks like arrangements for meetings and other events, reservations, budget follow-up, research for information and reference material. Prepare requests/documents, e.g. requisitions, purchase orders, travel requests/authorizations, expenditure authorizations, visa applications, etc.
Assist in the preparation of papers and presentations by extracting/summarizing statistics and other related information; compile and organize information and reference materials from various sources for reports, meetings, etc.
Maintain files (both paper and electronic) and databases related to work.
Perform any other related duties as assigned.
Requirements:
A minimum of six (6) years of experience in the related fields of the post, is required.
Experience using Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel), internet search engines, is required.
Experience with office procedures and practices, preferably within the UN system or in a multicultural environment, is desirable.
Experience in project administration, accounting and finance, providing support to managerial/professional staff and using secretarial/administrative skills to assist in the execution of project development and implementation of work, is desirable.
Experience with SAP or similar ERP software is desirable.
Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
