Administration Associate

Africa Region, Office of the Regional Director 

The Africa (AFR) region currently consists of Operational Hubs (a cluster of neighboring countries) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal and one Country office in Somalia. 

The Office of the Regional Director (RD) for Africa manages a geographically defined portfolio of engagements, including leading strategy and business development for the region, overseeing management of operations, and ensuring appropriate risk management.

The AFR Office for the RD is currently located in Copenhagen within UNOPS headquarters and will soon relocate to Nairobi, Kenya

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The Executive/Administrative associate ensures the effective and efficient functioning of the AFR office of the RD thorough achievement of the following points: 

1.    Administrative support 

Provide accurate solutions for travel purposes for the Regional Director and Deputy regional director (DRD), and assist the regional office team with their travel arrangements. This includes purchasing of flight tickets, hotel reservations, ensuring the appropriate procurement of visas, information on travel restrictions, registering security clearance, applying for DSA (daily subsistence allowance) and other ad hoc tasks.

Monitor Africa Region personnel missions schedule and ensure the quarterly travel plans are submitted for clearance of the RD/DRD; 

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; 

Calendarize meetings on the calendars of the regional director and of the Deputy regional director.

Monitor and facilitate the approval of the RD and DRD for all documents received from Africa Region field offices; 

Compile reports and administrative documentation; 

Provide  accurate  and  timely information  on  processes  and raised 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; 

Any other ad hoc related administrative task requested by the RD /DRD

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 Regional Director 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 Africa Region 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 Regional Director’s Advisors Unit based in the region as well as the Business Development and Oversight/Operations team in Copenhagen 

Liaise with Support Services Center/Integrated Practice Advice and Support for any support Africa Region Country offices may need from Support Services Center/Integrated Practice Advice and Support; 

Responsible for compilation of reports such as monthly reports on Gender Equality, Mandatory training, Engagements operational closure across the region and reports for the Regional Management meetings other ad hoc reports 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; 

Screen all incoming communications to Africa Region mail boxes, filter outgoing correspondence for supervisor’s signature, clearance and further action by other  personnel; Adherence to  appropriate protocol  and  correspondence guidelines by the office team when communicating with Government and other external partners; 

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; 

Act with the Regional Management and Oversight Advisor as the regional focal point for learning activities: coordinate regional Learning needs assessment, facilitate, and coordinate planning, nominations and logistics of training activities in Africa Region  

Act as the people focal point for coordinating the annual people survey preparation, and action plan implementation 

Ensure that the contact list, organigram, and business continuity plan are up to date.

Education 

A high school diploma is required. A Bachelor degree would be a significant asset and may substitute some of the required years of experience. A relevant technical diploma (such as secretarial), or diploma or certification in a field related to business administration or public administration would be an additional asset. 

Experience 

Min. 6 years of relevant work experience (in operations or administration) is required with a high school diploma. Experience in  administration, customer or commercial support roles would be an asset. 

Knowledge of ERP software or accounting software is an asset 

Language requirements 

Fluency in written and oral English is required and French is an asset. 

Contract type: Local Individual Contractor Agreement (LICA) 

Contract level: LICA 6 

Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time.
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and it is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or disability.
  
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• 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 (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, 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 recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management, and human resources.


Working with us

We are proud of our people. With a wealth of knowledge and skills in various disciplines – engineering, finance, human resources, ICT, leadership, project management, procurement, and more – they help tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time. Their work around the world supports progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


At UNOPS, we offer a range of short- and long-term opportunities in various environments and duty stations – from Denmark and Kenya to Mexico, Switzerland, Myanmar, Senegal, Uganda, and many more.


Diversity

With over 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labor force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to maintain our gender-balanced workplace. We encourage qualified underrepresented groups as per UNOPS Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy to apply for our vacancies.



Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.