JOB DESCRIPTION

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Under the overall authority and direct supervision of the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in the Pacific, based in Apia, the incumbent coordinates and performs a full range of office, management support, and administrative tasks, providing assistance to the Director to ensure the quality and consistency of office workflows and information management.

Specifically, the incumbent will be responsible for the following:

Screening appointment requests based on their nature and urgency; maintaining the supervisor’s calendar; confirming mutually convenient schedules; receiving visitors.
Responding to queries and correspondence, often of a sensitive, confidential, or technical nature.
Coordinating and leading secretarial support services for high-level meetings, office-wide training, and special projects/events. Attending meetings, preparing minutes, and monitoring follow-up activities.
Arranging for formal editing, translation, and other necessary services for documents and publications.
Overseeing the work of other support staff, setting priorities, and ensuring equitable distribution of tasks.
Managing incoming mail and correspondence; drafting technical responses to a wide range of correspondence and communications. Performing quality control on outgoing documents; proofreading and editing.
Performing a variety of administrative duties. Coordinating with other units to ensure the smooth flow and timely completion of work. Orienting new staff to relevant administrative procedures and providing general assistance to other office support staff.
Researching, compiling, and organizing background information and reference materials from various sources for reports, briefs, and speeches. Generating various statistical and other reports from multiple databases.
Creating and maintaining the office’s filing and reference systems. Periodically reviewing the efficiency of office procedures and recommends improvements.
Updating the office website, knowledge management tools, databases, etc.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

Accountability (C)
Communication (C)
Innovation (C)
Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C)
Planning and organizing (C)
Results focus (C)
Teamwork (C)
Professionalism (C)

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For detailed information, please consult the UNESCO Competency Framework.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

Completed secondary, technical diploma and/or vocational school.

WORK EXPERIENCE

At least 5 (five) years of relevant work experience in administrative, secretarial support and/or closely related fields.
Experience of agenda management and logistics.
Experience in preparation of reports, briefs and speeches, and file management.
Experience in knowledge management tools and databases.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

Sense of integrity, confidentiality, commitment and reliability.
Good analytical and problem solving skills.
Ability to provide quality and timely support and services.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Strong knowledge of MS office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and database packages.

LANGUAGES

Excellent knowledge (spoken and written) of English.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

WORK EXPERIENCE

Experience within an UN agency or other international organization.
Experience in the field of administrative and secretarial support.

LANGUAGES

Knowledge (spoken and written) of French.
Knowledge of another official language of UNESCO (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and/or Spanish).

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements