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. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN is expected to provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
The Division of Management and Administration is responsible for the management of financial and administrative resources including information communications and technology, the effective and efficient delivery of essential operations services in UN Women, continuous development and improvement in operations, policies, and methods to align with UN Women and stakeholders' evolving business needs and advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of the UN Women overall mission, strategy and plans of actions.
Reporting to Director and Deputy Director, the Executive Associate is responsible for providing a variety of executive administrative support to the Directorate of the Division of Management and Administration maintaining full confidentiality in all aspects of assignment and, in close coordination with other HQ Division and field offices, for managing the efficient flow of information and communications to ensure expeditious dissemination of information, timely action and compliance with established deadlines.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Provide coordination, liaison and technical support to the Director and Deputy Director in the strategic management of the Division:
Liaise closely with in-house Divisions, sections and field offices as well as key partners and stakeholders on workplans, DMA commitments, deliverables and reporting requirements;
Organize and attend meetings and events, prepare minutes and summaries; Process and/or prepare the Director’s and Deputy Director’s participation in meetings and missions/key events;
Follow up on deadlines, commitments made, actions taken;
Coordinate efforts to meet deadlines related to internal and external organizational reporting, including for intergovernmental bodies and interagency for a, ensuring the required quality standards are observed;
Organize policy inputs on issues as appropriate, to facilitate the Director’s and Deputy Director’s decision making and representation with UN Women staff and external partners;
Review Procurement Review Committee (PRC) approval requests for completeness and provide/obtain policy clarifications related to procurement, lease management submissions and SSA contracts above $100K;
Monitor and review submissions uploaded in the Donor Agreement Management System (DAMS) to facilitate the Director’s timely review of cases.
Provide technical support:
Identify, research, analyze, prepare and/or organize information and briefing materials for the Director and Deputy Director to facilitate decision-making and leadership in management strategic planning/review;
Prepare and assemble draft talking points and/or design presentation materials (including multi-media) for delivery by the Director and Deputy Director in key events, meetings and other external fora;
Provide administrative and technical support to the Director and Deputy Director at meetings.
Support the management of the DMA Directorate’s budget and prepare payments as required
Provide executive and administrative support to the Director and Deputy Director, DMA:
Manage the Director’s and Deputy Director’s calendar, and schedule of appointments and meetings;
Undertake the logistical, administrative and financial arrangements, to organize meetings, events, and workshops; Prioritize and schedule requests for meetings;
Arrange travel and hotel accommodations and other logistics for the Director and Deputy Director;
Answer and screen calls for the Director and Deputy Director with tact and discretion;
Manage administrative files on the Director and Deputy Director mission travel and mission reports;
Research files, collect information and organize materials to meet the Director and Deputy Director requests.
Provide effective communication and information management support to the Director and Deputy Director, DMA:
Develop effective systems and procedures to improve and streamline work and communication flow within the team;
Review, prioritize and route correspondence to and from the DMA Directorate; take proactive follow-up action and keep the DMA Directorate team members 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 support to the Director’s and Deputy Director’s external relations activities:
Facilitate the Director’s and Deputy Director’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;
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.
Required Skills and Experience:
Education:
Completion of secondary education is required;
Bachelor’s degree in business administration or public administration is an asset;
Candidates who do not have a university degree or an accredited certification in a related area will be required to complete the Global General Service Test (GGST) or UN Administrative Support Assessment Test (ASAT) – formerly known as the UN Clerical Test.
Experience:
At least 7 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;
Experience using an ERP system, preferably Oracle cloud is an asset.
Experience working in the UN System providing administrative support to a senior manager is desirable.
Languages:
Fluency in English is required;
Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.
