Job Position: Office Assistant
Location: Pretoria, Gauteng
Closing Date: 10 March 2023
Duration: Fixed-term: 2 years with the possibility of extension
Post Number: 0882844
Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Main Purpose
The Office Assistant coordinates and conducts the full range of office support, management support, and administrative activities, ensuring the Office runs smoothly and efficiently.
He or she ensures the quality and consistency of office work and information flow in the work unit.
Supervision Received/Exercised
- The FAO Representative reports to the Office Assistant.
- The incumbent works autonomously, making judgments on work priorities and taking the initiative in dealing with problems with no precedents.
- The quality of work outputs is the focus of the supervision received. He or she advises and guides other office support personnel.
- The Office Assistant collaborates closely with a diverse group of colleagues in the division/region, as well as with central units and external clients, performing and coordinating office- and management support services, as well as giving procedural assistance and information.
Duties
- Screen requests for appointments with the supervisor; keep the supervisor’s calendar up to date; confirm mutually convenient dates and arrange appointments; and accept visitors. make and filter phone calls and reply to inquiries and emails, which are frequently sensitive, confidential, or technical in nature.
- Incoming mail and correspondence are reviewed, recorded, distributed, and processed; pending actions are followed up on; draft responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications, which frequently necessitates an understanding of technical terms and/or complex office procedures; perform out quality control duties for incoming documents; proofread texts for format, grammar, punctuation, and style adherence
- For reports, briefs, and speeches, research, assemble and organize background information and reference materials from numerous sources. create numerous statistical and other reports from multiple databases.
- Develop and manage the work unit’s file and reference systems; evaluate the efficiency of office procedures and provide suggestions for changes; office websites should be updated.
- Coordination of office support services for meetings, training, seminars, committees, and special projects and events; attendance at meetings, preparation of minutes, monitoring of follow-up activities; arrangements for formal editing, translation, and other services for documents and publications.
- Handle a variety of administrative tasks, such as contract extensions and requests for temporary personnel, leave and attendance recording, budget preparation, and follow-up; collaborate with other units to guarantee smooth operation and expeditious completion of work within the unit.
- Coordination of other office support staff’s work, the establishment of priorities, and equitable distribution of work; training of new personnel in appropriate administrative procedures and practices, and general help as needed
- Further duties may be assigned as needed.
Requirements
- Secondary School Education/Matric/Grade 12
- Four years of relevant office/management support work experience
- Working understanding of English (proficient – level C).
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Office programs, the Internet, and office technological equipment.
Skills
- Results Focus
- Strong understanding of communication and documentation standards
- Teamwork
- Good understanding of corporate computerized financial/travel/human resources systems, as well as administrative procedures and policies.
- Communication
- Strong understanding of the organizational structure
- Building Effective Relationships
- Constant Improvement and Knowledge Sharing