Office Assistant

The Office Assistant coordinates and performs a full range of office support, management support and administrative tasks to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the Liaison Office in Japan. The role involves managing office workflows, supporting meetings and events, handling correspondence, and coordinating with other units to maintain office efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Screen requests for appointments with supervisor; maintain supervisor's calendar; confirm mutually convenient schedules and arrange appointments; receive visitors; screen and send e-mails; respond to queries and correspondence, often of a sensitive, confidential or technical nature.
• Coordinate office support services for meetings, trainings, seminars, committees and special projects and events; attend meetings, prepare minutes, monitor follow-up activities; make arrangements for formal editing, translation, etc., of documents and publications.
• Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions; prepare draft responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications, often requiring knowledge of technical terminologies and/or detailed office procedures; carry out quality control functions for outgoing documents; proofread texts for adherence to format, grammar, punctuation and style.
• Perform a variety of administrative duties, e.g. contract extensions and requests for temporary staff, leave and attendance recording, budget preparation and follow-up; coordinate with other units to ensure smooth running and expedition of work within the unit.
• Research, compile and organize background information and reference materials from various sources for reports, briefs and speeches; generate a variety of statistical and other reports from various databases.
• Coordinate the work of other office support staff, establish priorities and ensure equitable distribution of work; train new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provide general assistance as required.
• Create and maintain the work unit's filing and reference systems, including an e-book for signatures; review the efficiency of office procedures and make recommendations for improvements; update office websites.
• Perform other duties as required.

Requirements

• Secondary School Education.
• Four years of relevant experience in office/management support work.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English.
• Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.
• Candidates must be nationals of Japan or possess a valid visa/work permit and reside within commuting distance of Yokohama at the time of application.
• Very good knowledge of communication and documentation standards.
• Very good knowledge of corporate computerized financial, travel, human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies.
• Experience in supporting the review and processing of payments.
• Desirable: Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of Japanese.
• Desirable: Intermediate knowledge (proficiency - level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).
• Desirable: Experience in procurement-related activities and processes.

Skills

• Office Support
• Management Support
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Internet usage
• Office technology equipment
• Communication standards
• Documentation standards
• Corporate Financial Systems
• Travel Systems
• Human Resources Systems
• Administrative Procedures
• Payment Processing
• Procurement Procedures

Languages

English