Job: Program Assistant,

Location: Sydney, Australia
Deadline: Wednesday, 31 July 2013 

Description

Background / General description:

The World Bank provides financial and technical assistance to countries throughout the world to catalyze economic growth and eliminate poverty.

The Pacific Department is managed from a main Sydney Office under the leadership of a Country Director. The Department has Country Offices in Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands. The Pacific Department currently works in a total of twelve developing countries in the Region which include the following nine Pacific Islands the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Program Assistant (PA) positions are held by experienced staff whose acquired knowledge and skills enable them to independently undertake diverse and complex work assignments. With only routine supervision, the PAs work closely with other staff within the unit to make a significant contribution to the overall achievement of the unit's work program.

In addition to performing the full range of office support work within a team, a significant part of the job entails provision of some specialized support (e.g., database management, knowledge management, task management, major event/course planning, etc.). PAs typically report functionally to the Office Manager who provides supervision and guidance.

Work typically requires interpreting existing procedures and processes, independently determining which should be used, and applying these appropriately. Work requires extensive coordination with other Bank Group Units and frequent liaison with team members, regardless of location, and external counterparts. Incumbents also provide guidance to less experienced staff. Note: A potential candidate has been identified and intends to apply for this position. However, this remains a competitive process and interested candidates are encouraged to apply.

  Duties and Accountabilities:

• Provide primary assistance in the implementation of the unit's work program, including some specialized support in a specific area(s), e.g. task management, procurement, database management, information technology, editorial assistance, etc.
• Identify and resolves diverse issues/problems as they arise, which often requires interpretation of existing procedures and processes and independently determining the appropriate application
• Suggest ways to enhance work organization and effectiveness
• Exercise quality enhancement function for project and other documents by ensuring adherence to departmental, VPU and institutional guidelines
• Participate in developing project/product time lines, using appropriate software
• Attend meetings, drafts minutes and ensures timely clearance and distribution
• Serve as an information resource on status of project/products (e.g. procurement, disbursement, audit, trust fund/co-financing, and legal issues) and drafts a variety of standard project-related correspondence
• Monitor task budget/trust funds for specific projects on behalf of the team
• Undertake ad hoc inquiries in standard and non-standard databases, retrieves, manipulates and presents data
• Participate in mission field work as required
• Mentor less experienced staff
• Work will imply frequent interaction with - Internal Contacts, other VP Units, IFC and MIGA, other institutional units such as, but not limited to, CTR, FIN, GEF, RMC, TRE, etc., staff in all locations, both locally and internationally, units providing cross-support, external organizations and contacts, Government Officials, and consultants.

  Selection Criteria:

• Minimum education: High School Certificate with 5 years relevant work experience internal candidates or 7 years for external candidates.
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of Bank Group administrative / operational procedures.
• Thorough knowledge of and proficiency in advanced functions of standard Bank technology packages.
• Good knowledge of and demonstrated experience in specialized administrative/operational support functions (e.g., database management, knowledge management, task management, major event/course planning, etc.) and ability to apply relevant procedures, processes and systems.
• Extensive knowledge of unit's business processes and procedures.
• Sound knowledge of the unit's work program
• Analytical ability, practical problem-solving skills and resourcefulness in performing varied tasks in the area(s) of functional specialty
• Demonstrated skills in retrieving, gathering and obtaining information from various sources (Internet, etc.) and pulling them together in a usable format
• Sound organizational skills and ability to prioritize and deliver assignments in a timely manner often under severe time pressures.
• Demonstrated initiative in developing practical approaches that improve office support work and effectiveness of unit/team
• Strong inter-personal skills and commitment to work in a team-oriented, multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to prepare presentation materials using various software packages with minimum guidance.
• Ability to provide guidance to less experienced staff
• Strong English language skills (verbal and written), including ability to draft a variety of correspondence and edit materials using proper grammar, punctuation and style.
• Ability to pass relevant Bank Group tests at time of recruitment (e.g. English language, computer applications, etc.) as required
• Substantive and effective use of language skills, in proofreading, editing, translation and quality enhancement of documents in more than one language. 
  Applicants should have legal rights to work in Australia.

More Info and Application