Special Assistant to the Country Director

The Special Assistant to the Country Director supports the Country Director's Office in operational planning, analysis, briefing, coordination, and engagement with stakeholders. The role ensures effective management of the Country Director's priorities and facilitates collaboration across units and partners in a complex humanitarian context in South Sudan.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, review and coordinate high-quality briefing notes, analytical briefs, talking points, speeches, correspondence, presentations and management updates on the operational context and implementation of activities, ensuring information is accurate, concise and timely.
• Support senior-level stakeholder engagement by preparing strategic background documents and providing context, analysis and messaging for interactions with Government authorities, United Nations agencies, humanitarian and development partners, donors and other counterparts, while coordinating related engagements and follow-up actions.
• Attend inter-agency, governmental and internal meetings with the Country Director as required; ensure accurate records of discussions, decisions and action points; and coordinate follow-up actions.
• Coordinate and oversee the daily workflow, priorities and planning of the Country Director’s Office, including deadlines, agenda priorities, meetings and engagements, and ensure timely follow-up on matters assigned by the Country Director.
• Provide operational and cross-functional coordination support, including tracking decisions and agreements emerging from Senior Management discussions; coordinating and driving progress on actions involving multiple stakeholders while fostering effective collaboration across functional units, field offices and corporate divisions; and escalating matters requiring leadership attention or decision.
• Maintain effective working relationships across the Country Office, Field Offices, Regional Bureau and Global Headquarter, facilitating collaboration, information sharing and joint planning; and maintain and monitor tracking mechanisms for key decisions, commitments, action points and management priorities to promote accountability and timely implementation.
• Plan and organize the Country Director’s missions, including timely preparation of mission files and background documents by relevant units and field offices, and coordination of protocol, administrative, security and logistics arrangements in line with WFP and South Sudan Country Office procedures.
• Ensure internal communication from the Country Director is clear, timely, consistent and appropriately disseminated to staff in coordination with relevant colleagues, incorporating relevant socio-political and operational context, as appropriate, to support informed communication and effective organizational positioning.
• Respond to requests, feedback and concerns directed to the Country Director’s Office in a professional, confidential and appropriate manner, escalating sensitive or high-risk issues when guidance or decision is required.
• Provide guidance, coordination support and capacity strengthening to front-office colleagues as required to promote effective workflows, sound information management and high-quality delivery.
• Ensure confidentiality and compliance with WFP corporate policies, procedures and standards, including requirements related to official communication, records and document management, information handling, mission support and use of organizational resources.
• Perform other related duties and assignments as required.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s) in Economics, International Development, Social Sciences, Public Administration, International Relations, Arts, Communications or another relevant field; or a first university degree (Bachelor’s) with additional relevant experience.
• At least five years of progressively responsible professional postgraduate experience in programme or operational coordination, executive or senior management support, advisory functions, external relations, governance, or coordination mechanisms within the UN system, an international organization, or a humanitarian or development organization.
• Candidates should demonstrate experience providing strategic and operational support to senior management-level stakeholders.
• Operational experience in a large-scale, complex, emergency, and/or conflict-affected environment comparable to South Sudan is required.
• Experience in programme implementation, supply chain operations, and cross-functional operational coordination is highly desirable.
• Strong knowledge of South Sudan's political, socio-economic, cultural, security, and humanitarian context, including local dynamics, stakeholder relationships, and operating environment, is considered a significant asset.
• Demonstrated experience providing direct support to senior executives or senior management, including preparing high-quality analytical briefs, talking points, speeches, correspondence, presentations, meeting records and decision-tracking mechanisms to support informed decision-making and follow-up on strategic priorities.
• Demonstrated experience providing strategic coordination and advisory support to senior management, including coordinating complex processes and high-level engagements involving diverse internal and external stakeholders (e.g. government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, humanitarian and development partners), driving follow-up on senior management decisions, and promoting accountability for agreed actions and organizational priorities.
• Strong interpersonal skills and sound judgement to maintain respectful and productive working relationships with people at different levels, functions and backgrounds.
• Ability to work independently, accurately and under tight deadlines, with personal accountability for quality deliverables.
• Good drafting, editing and communication skills, with the ability to write and speak clearly, concisely and effectively for varied purposes and audiences.
• Ability to coordinate and drive progress on processes involving multiple stakeholders, including follow-up on decisions, action points and emerging priorities.
• Tact, discretion and confidentiality in handling sensitive information and requests to or from the Country Director’s Office.
• Ability to multitask, manage competing demands, think creatively, proactively, strategically and problem-solve with flexibility in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Fluency in written and spoken English. Working knowledge of another official UN language and/or a relevant local language is an asset.

Skills

• Programme Coordination
• Operational Coordination
• Executive Support
• Strategic Support
• Advisory Support
• External Relations
• Governance Mechanisms
• Emergency Operations
• Conflict-Affected Environment Experience
• Programme Implementation
• Supply Chain Operations
• Cross-Functional Coordination
• Contextual Knowledge South Sudan
• Speech Writing
• Drafting Correspondence
• Presentation Preparation
• Meeting Records Management
• Decision-Tracking
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Accountability Promotion
• Interpersonal Skills
• Judgement
• Independent Work
• Deadline Management
• Drafting and Editing
• Communications Skills
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Confidential Information Handling
• Multitasking
• Strategic Thinking
• Problem Solving
• MS Word
• MS Excel
• MS PowerPoint
• Microsoft Outlook
• Analytical Briefing Preparation

Languages

English