Programme Support Senior Assistant

Background Information – ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology

 ATscale,  the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, is a cross-sectoral partnership with the goal of reaching 500 million additional people with assistive technology by 2030 to support them in participating in education, work, and everyday life. 

Today, over 2.5 billion people need at least one form of AT, such as wheelchairs, eyeglasses, or hearing aids, but in low-income countries,  90% do not have access to the AT they require. The number of people who need AT is expected to grow to more than 3.4 billion people by 2050.

Access to appropriate AT enables people with loss of function, disabilities, non-communicable diseases, and the ageing population to participate in education, work, family, and community life. Lack of access to AT has significant consequences for individuals, their families, and the wider society. Without AT, individuals may experience isolation and exclusion from education, the labour market, and civic life. Lack of access to appropriate AT causes poorer health outcomes including premature death, deteriorating mental health, and increased risk of chronic health conditions and secondary complications, all of which lead to a higher burden on health systems. Increasing accessibility and affordability of AT unlocks unrealised economic potential and provides socioeconomic benefit for individuals, families, and countries by increasing productivity and participation in the workforce.

The ATscale Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, please visit https://atscalepartnership.org/ 

ATscale  is seeking a Programme Support  Senior Assistant to support the Programme Support Specialist in managing the daily operations under the overall supervision of ATscale’s CEO. This new role provides a great opportunity to be a core part of the team that is building and moving forward a unique multi-stakeholder partnership to address one of the most significant and most underinvested issues of our global development agenda – the need for assistive technology (AT). 

Role of the Programme Support Senior Assistant

The Programme Support Senior Assistant is part of the ATscale Secretariat Operations Team and will provide administrative support, focusing on travel and procurement, event and meeting management, and team management support including Knowledge Management and contact management - ensuring efficient, client-oriented and effective service delivery.

The Programme Support Senior Assistant reports to the Programme Support Specialist. and works in close collaboration with teams across ATscale as well as interfacing with the Support Services function of the UNOPS Geneva Office, UNOPS HQ and other key stakeholders for successful service delivery.

• Prepare travel requests for official duty travel for Secretariat staff and external travelers including processing and managing travel authorizations, making flight arrangements and booking flight tickets, providing required documentation (security clearances, visas), ensuring payment of daily subsistence allowance and travel related payments in accordance with SOPs.
• Obtain insurance for external travelers and issuance of DSA cards to external travelers.
• Collect and review quarterly travel plans of the team and consultants to ensure timely submission of travel documents and organizational planning.
• Verify invoices from travel agent(s) and follow through with UNOPS Geneva on payments.
• Maintain the travel tracking tool and ensure a detailed filing of all relevant travel documents and products.

• Completion of secondary school is required.

• First University Degree in Business Administration, Public  Administration, or equivalent disciplines is desirable but is not required and may compensate for some of the required years of experience

• In the absence of a degree, administrative certification is an asset.

• A minimum of five ( 5 )years of administrative, operations, travel management, asset management or related field experience, is required 

• Ability to work with computer and office software packages (Google Suite, MS Office) and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages are required

• Demonstrated skills and experience with Salesforce (or another CRM) is desirable

• Experience in UN system organizations is desirable

• Ability to work collaboratively and across teams is a strong asset.

• Full working knowledge of English is essential.
• Knowledge of another official UN language, particularly French , is an asset.

• 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.

• Persons self-identifying as persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply for this position

• 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.

• Geneva, Switzerland  is a UN Family  Duty station

• All candidates are REQUIRED to  include a cover letter in their  application

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. 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.