Administration Associate

Based in Geneva, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices throughout the region through: management, financial and programmatic oversight of global and country-specific portfolios, clusters and operations centres, including hosting services; fund and management advisory services; project implementation; procuring goods and services; and managing human resources.

ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.

 ECR strategy is to:

• Strengthen UNOPS role in operationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals with particular emphasis on health, environment and economic development.
• Position UNOPS in the Balkan sub-region, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Strengthen the implementation of ECR global and regional programmes, with revitalized partnerships in infrastructure, procurement and project management.

ECR operates global portfolios from offices in Geneva, Brussels and New York, and country-specific programmes from its operations and project centres located in Eastern Europe and Central Asian countries.

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Director, the administration associate will ensure effective and efficient functioning of the Regional Director’s office focusing on achievement of the following points:

1. Administrative support

2. Operational support

3. Support to people and information management

1. Administrative support : 

• Manage the RD’s schedule;

• Manage ECR RD’s and RMOA’s missions schedule;

• Organize regular and ad-hoc meetings; prepare minutes and summaries of actions to be taken; track progress on planned issues; follow-up with focal points;

• Monitor and facilitate Regional Director’s approval for all documents received from ECR Region Hub/Operation Centre offices; Compile reports and administrative documentation;

• Provide accurate and timely information on processes and pending issues to the concerned individuals/unit;

• Management of the Regional Director’s office, ensuring an environment of professionalism and teamwork at all times, and setting exemplary standards of conduct for the office team.

• Provide accurate solutions for travel purposes and ensure the appropriate procurement of visas;

2. Operational support

• Support the Regional Director's office in organizing regional retreats, training and workshops for personnel as appropriate including agenda preparation, documentation, review of budget and authorization of expenses;

• Organize high-level events including invitees from embassies, governments, UN agencies, governmental/non-governmental organizations and other partners;

• Coordinate preparation of meetings with key partners/donors (logistics, talking points, background notes, presentations, etc.);

• Provide assistance to the RMOA in managing and monitoring the utilization of the regional administrative budget, ensuring regular update and reporting are prepared and submitted to the Regional Director;

• Contribute to the engagement review process: quality assurance review for engagement submitted for approval to the Regional Office and facilitate their recommendations and approvals; 

• Contribute to the annual budget process (consolidation of ECR budget, and preparation of the Regional Office budget submission);

• Verify invoices for the settlement of the Regional Office due payments;

• Provide administrative and logistical support to the ECR RMOA in Geneva

• Responsible for compilation of reports and administrative documentation as requested by the Regional Director.

3. Support to people and information management

• Facilitate and manage the ongoing network and exchange of information with internal partners and important business clients;

• Development of effective systems and procedures to improve and streamline work and communication flow within the team, to meet high-paced job demands and business requirements;

• Contribute to ECR’s gender parity initiative: support the implementation and monitoring of the Gender and PSEA Action Plans implementation status; 

• Act as the people focal point: including coordinating the annual people survey preparation, and action plan implementation;

• Secondary/high-school education is required as a minimum.

• A university degree (Bachelor or Masters) preferably in administration, management, public administration or another relevant field is highly desirable, and may substitute for some of the required years of experience. 

• A relevant technical diploma (such as secretarial/administration), or diploma or certification in a field related to business administration or public administration would be an additional asset.

• Minimum 6 years of relevant work experience in administrative support is required;

• Experience in providing administrative support and assisting senior-level management positions is required.

• Experience in public relations and communications with senior officials, representatives of diplomatic missions, and NGOs is desirable.

• Knowledge of ERP software or accounting software is desired;

• Knowledge of UNOPS management systems is an asset.

• Knowledge of UNOPS financial regulations and rules is an asset;

• Fluency in English (speaking, reading and writing) is required. Knowledge of French is desirable.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses ( they take around 4 hours to complete)  in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.