Job: UN WOMEN: EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE

Location : New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Application Deadline : 20-Nov-13

Type of Contract : FTA Local

Post Level : GS-6

Languages Required : English

Duration of Initial Contract : 1 year

All posts in the GS categories are subject to local recruitment. Internally advertised General Service (GS) fixed-term appointment (FTA) positions located in Headquarters are open to GS staff members currently serving in New York/Washington D.C. who hold a UNDP permanent or FTA who are either US Permanent Residents, US citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York or Washington, DC. Externally advertised GS fixed-term appointment and temporary appointment (TA) positions located in New York/Washington D.C. are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York or Washington, DC. Current UNDP GS staff serving outside of HQ must meet the eligibility criteria stated above prior to their application.

Selected candidates who meet the above mentioned eligibility criteria are responsible for their own travel and/or relocation costs. Selection to GS fixed-term appointment positions at Headquarters requires passing a UN administered clerical test (ASAT). Applicants under serious consideration for short-listing of posts requiring accountancy and finance skills, must take the UNDP Accountancy and Finance Test (UNDP AFT) prior to short-listing.

Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women 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 centre of all its efforts, UN Women is expected to lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Director, Policy Division, reports to the Assistant Secretary-General, Policy and Programme Bureau, who provides overall intellectual strategic direction and guidance. The Director is responsible for providing direction and leadership in the Policy Division in the formulation of all policies, the strategic planning of knowledge management programmes and ensuring that UN Women meets all reporting requirements for support to intergovernmental processes and the management and oversight of work in progress to ensure delivery according to timeline, plans, performance standards and objectives.

The Director also serves as a member of the Executive Director's senior management team and provides advice and counsel in UN Women strategic discussions and development and policy setting.

The Executive Associate reports to the Director, Policy Division, and is responsible for providing support to the Director through the administration and execution of a variety of activities and transactions to ensure the efficient flow of information and communication to and from the office of the Director to facilitate timely action and decision making, arranging and scheduling meetings and events and collecting, verifying and organizing information, materials and documentation for the Director's easy access and use.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

• Administrative support;
• Administration of information and communication in the Director's Office;
• Support to the Division's budget preparation and financial services and operations.

Administrative support:

• Manage the Director's calendar of activities, events and travels. Prioritize and schedule requests for meetings with the Director. Follow appropriate protocol procedures in scheduling meetings and events;
• Arrange travel, hotel accommodations and other logistics for the Director;
• Collect, review and organize briefing materials for the Director for appointments, meetings, official missions and other critical and key events;
• Maintain the roster of Director's contacts for easy access and reference;
• Facilitate the Director's interaction with various external partners such as, donor country delegations, parliamentarians and high-level senior officials through collaborative and proactive relationship with counterparts and colleagues in those offices;
• Organize official events and meetings hosted by the Director and oversee the timely and efficient completion of administrative and logistics arrangements.

Administration of information and communication in the Director's Office:

• Review, prioritize and promptly route correspondence to and from the Office of the Director. Take proactive follow-up action and keep the Director and internal/external clients and stakeholders informed of status;
• Review and verify completeness of required documentation and/or clearances (as appropriate) prior to submission for the Director's approval/signature;
• Respond and/or direct queries to the appropriate office for timely action and/or response;
• Type and/or design presentation materials and other documents for the Director's meetings and events;
• Draft routine correspondence;
• Maintain and organize up to date hard and electronic files for easy access and retrieval. Ensure safekeeping of confidential materials;
• Recommend and/or establish systems and streamline procedures to enhance the flow of information/communication to and from the Office of the Director;
• Follow up on deadlines, commitments made and actions taken. Coordinate the collection, verification, organization and/or submission of reports to and other briefing materials for the Director.

Support to the Division's budget preparation and financial services and operations:

• Prepare materials, estimates and other documents to support budget review, planning and preparation;
• Review the Division's operating budget to monitor expenditures for timely use as allocated and ensure compliance, completeness and accuracy of transactions according to rules, regulations, allocations and objectives;
• Keep the Director informed for timely intervention and/or action;
• Maintain internal expenditures control system to ensure vouchers processed are matched and completed;
• Review and verify accuracy of supporting documents for payments;
• Submit systematic financial report to the Director for management monitoring and/or action;
• Prepare and/or recommend budget revisions to the Director's office budget.

Impact of Results:

The efficient and prompt delivery of services impact on a whole range services and operations in the Division and result in meeting client (internal / external) needs and satisfaction. The accurate analysis and presentation of information strengthens the capacity of the Director to act/respond promptly and appropriately.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

• Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

• Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff; Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
• Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring: Self-development, initiative-taking.

Working in Teams:

• Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

• Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

• Creating synergies through self-control;
• Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

• Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to perform a broad range of administrative activities aimed at effective and efficient functioning of the Director's office, including data/schedule management, maintenance of protocol, information flow;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and discretion;
• Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering, elaboration and implementation of new data management systems;
• Creates, edits and presents information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality;
• Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities;
• Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints;
• Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships with clients, demonstrating understanding of client's perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary education is required;
• University Degree is an advantage but not required.

Experience:

• A minimum of 6 years of administrative experience preferably in a large or international corporation or organization;
• Experience in the use of computers applications and software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and web based management systems;
• Successfully passed the UN clerical examination (ASAT) will be required once selected;
• Knowledge of ATLAS system and IPSAS will be an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Proficiency in another UN working language is desirable.

Notes: GS fixed-term appointment (FTA) and temporary appointment (TA) positions located in New York are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York. In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Click here for important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders).

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

More Info and Application