The Administrative Associate leads and coordinates the office- and management support functions of the Office. He/she ensures the smooth flow of office work and information by setting priorities and organizing the day-to-day work. The job role requires in-depth knowledge and interpretation of office policies, procedures and practices. The incumbent provides procedural guidance to managers and staff in the division/ department or location.
Supervision Received/Exercised:
The Administrative Associate reports to the Assistant FAOR (Administration). Work is performed autonomously, showing a high degree of initiative and independent judgment. Supervision received is focused on facilitating service delivery. The incumbent effectively organizes and supervises other office support staff and provides relevant guidance and training.
Working Relationships:
The incumbent maintains a wide range of contacts with managers, staff and counterparts both within and outside the Organization. Work relations may be on a high organizational level, requiring very good communication skills and experienced handling of issues.
Key Functions/Results:
Support the management and administration of financial records and monitoring systems for the office; monitor project and programme accounts for which responsibility is assigned; maintain imprest accounts; reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements and other data for day-to-day transactions and reports; manage the Regional Office petty cash.
Provide and coordinate the retrieval, entry, selection and analysis of data from a wide variety of sources, including FAO's corporate systems and data bases; verify accuracy of data and documents; make necessary calculations.
Verify availability of funds under all programmes; ensure that operational expenditures are in accordance with approved budgets and that all committing documents are complete and consistent.
Independently compose and finalize correspondence of administrative nature; initiate and draft correspondence to verify data, answer queries, and obtain additional information on transactions and financial matters, as required.
Maintain detailed records of budget estimates, obligations and available balances; participate in the consolidation of budget proposals; prepare financial data for budget estimates and financial planning.
Prepare recurring reports on programme, project and office accounts, report variations from budgets; prepare special reports on budgetary performance.
Monitor the receipt of Government contributions and the transfer of ownership of the Organization's equipment.
Maintain liaison with local banks and financial institutions.
Advise other staff in the areas of office/administrative management; actively support the streamlining of procedures and practices and the introduction of new information technologies to the office.
Advise international staff on administrative and protocol matters (visas, ground passes, parking permits, etc.).
Make administrative arrangements for the Regional Office and perform administrative duties to ensure security and office maintenance.
Coordinate and administrate contracts with external contractors for outsourced services.
Process the payment of contractors' invoices and monitor payments.
Review purchase requisitions, orders, contracts and tenders to ensure that they are technically complete and in conformity with established FAO rules and procedures; approve transactions in the relevant systems up to a maximum amount as delegated.
Ensure that procurement actions are completed in a timely manner in accordance with the relevant rules and procedures; ensure timely information on the status of procurement activities and all related issues.
Maintain and monitor database records related to procurement actions undertaken, assigned tenders, and contracts; coordinate collection of statistical information on procurement actions and ensure that information maintained in the relevant systems is accurate and updated.
Perform other related duties as required.
Candidates Will Be Assessed Against The Following:
Minimum Requirements:
Education:
Secondary school education.
Experience:
Five years of progressively responsible administrative, accounting and office management experience.
Languages:
Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of French and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of English.
IT Skills:
Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.
