Administrative Associate, GS06, FTA, Office of Innovation, Stockholm, Sweden (#117522)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

The Office of Innovation (OoI) works to catalyse UNICEF’s and all its partners’ expertise and resources against key children-outcomes bottlenecks, with a view to continuously ideate and scale the most effective solutions with transformational potential at scale to achieve the child-related SDGs.

The office is doing this by continuously exploring new ways of accelerating results for children, investing across a range of early stage solutions, and harnessing internal and external expertise towards continuously iterating and finetuning the most promising solutions for children through a systematic portfolio management approach, and leveraging all stakeholders’ innovation energy, knowhow and resources from intergovernmental, multilateral, private sector and non-governmental fora (think tank, academia).

The Administrative Associate is accountable for both specialized and procedural communications, operational and administrative support services.

The Job Profile covers a broad range of functions, however, depending on the context, the incumbent may focus on all or some of the areas. Therefore, specific areas of focus will be made clear in annual work plans as well as individual performance plans.

How can you make a difference?
Under the supervision and guidance of the supervisor, the Administrative Associate is responsible for executing a broad variety of procedural and specialized administrative tasks for the respective section requiring in-depth knowledge of UNICEF administrative procedures, processes and policies.  They are:

Budget Monitoring

• Monitors budgets and financial expenditures of section, ensuring compliance with UNICEF rules and regulations, keeping supervisor informed and advised on actions for decision/follow up.
• Provides support on budget revision/preparation, implementation status, determination position of funding utilization, operational, and financial closure.
• Prepares and maintains records, documents and control plans for the budget monitoring of project/programme implementation.
• Carries out transactions in VISION pertaining to grants for his/her section such as registering grant allotments and tracking expiring programme grants.

Human Resources

• Drafts vacancy announcements for positions within his/her office for review by supervisor to help attract ideal candidates.
• Ensures timely and efficient screening of applications for minimum eligibility, taking into account qualifications, competencies, and post requirements.
• Liaises with candidates in the various stages of the recruitment process.
• Coordinates the scheduling of interviews and technical assessments.
• Records and maintains recruitment files, ensuring all necessary documentation has been prepared.
• Monitors life-cycle of recruitment process to update supervisor as necessary.

Office Planning & Project Management

• Ensures the availability of timely, complete and accurate information and data for preparing section work plans and project management plans.
• Undertakes basic research and performs comparative analysis of project/programme related data.
• Monitors project implementation against established milestones and makes recommendations to improve performance.
• Helps ensure timely compliance with agreed deadlines.
• Acts as focal point in the review of the completeness of data reports with key monitoring and evaluation information.

Procurement

• Guides managers in the process of PCA/SSAs in line with the policies and guidance issued by FRG, supply division and DHR.
• Facilitates the processing of contracts for consultants and external partners that provide a service to the section. This includes preparing and filing documents, completing necessary forms and templates, uploading TOR’s in VISION, and making necessary logistical arrangements.
• Maintains up-to-date vendor lists, partners, and consultant rosters.

Communications and Workflow

• Facilitates the communications and workflow of the organizational unit to enhance the efficiency and timeliness of operations and outputs.
• Manages incoming and outgoing correspondence, e-mails and telephone calls.
• Communicates routine and some non-routine information pertaining to the work of the team.
• Establishes and maintains the office filing and reference systems, both traditional and digital; and ensures the inter/intra-net websites are up to date and accurate.

Calendar/Meetings/Correspondence Management

• Maintains office calendar and arranges meetings
• Takes minutes of meetings, ensuring accuracy, attention to detail and coherence.

Events/Logistics

• Supports capacity development activities and conferences by making the logistical arrangements, through engaging with facilitators, caterers and hosts.
• Arranges times through liaising with participants over availability.
• Liaises with budget focal points and section over costs and needs.
• Prepares background materials for participants and uploads cleared materials on the intranet.
• Prepares and maintains agendas on meetings and events related to the work group commitments.

 Travel

• Provides travel assistance to staff members in section for travel arrangements and entitlements based on the organization’s rules and policies. Liaises with relevant travel focal points to ensure that the organization obtains the best service and price for all travel.
• Briefs/de-briefs staff members on issues relating to related administrative matters such as visas, security clearance, and documentation procedures.
• Extracts, inputs, maintains, and verifies correctness of travel records in the organization’s travel system to ensure accurate transactions related to travel costs and staff travel.
• Assists in the preparation of budgets on travel costs and maintain travel plan and budgetary control records.
• Monitors travel certification and report back to the team.

 Invoice Processing

• Responsible for collecting invoices and filing documents for approval and, thereafter processing in VISION.
• Uploads electronic files and verifies results to destination system.
• Responds to client transaction status and other inquiries.

 Supplies/Equipment

• Supports management of administrative supplies, office equipment, and updating inventory of items.
• Monitors and supervises adequate and appropriate use of supplies. Ensures that services and maintenance of premises are in accordance with organizational standards.
• Arranges for the purchase and timely distribution of office supplies.

Attendance

• Maintains and updates a system which monitors the absence of staff.

ICT Administration

• Provide end-user support related to IT equipment, including assignment and preparation of standard laptops and phones, troubleshooting, processing of service requests and related tasks.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Completion of secondary education is required, preferably supplemented by technical or university courses related to the field of work.
• A minimum of six (6) years of relevant administrative and/or clerical work experience is required.
• Training and experience using MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other UNICEF software such as SharePoint; knowledge of integrated management information systems required.
• Knowledge of computer information systems, including operating systems software (e.g. Windows), hardware and applications software considered an asset.
• In-depth knowledge of UNICEF organizational structure, administrative policies and procedures is considered an asset.
• Strong organizational, planning and prioritizing skills and abilities is considered an asset.
• Ability to deal patiently and tactfully with visitors, as well as have a high sense of confidentiality, initiative and good judgment.
• Ability to work effectively with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to work in a team environment to achieve common goals and to provide guidance to more junior support staff.
• Fluency in English and Swedish is required. Knowledge of a second UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is considered an asset.

Applicants must be nationals of EU countries or in possession of a valid work permit in Sweden. Please attach a copy of your work permit to your application submission.

General Service (GS) staff are locally recruited staff and therefore, candidates are personally responsible for any travel and accommodation arrangements.

UNICEF does not facilitate accreditation for locally recruited staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies. To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.