Assistant To Unit Head

The Assistant to Unit Head supports the Unit Head by overseeing and monitoring information flow, managing correspondence, coordinating human resources, procurement, budget and finance, information management, meeting administration, and travel arrangements. The role ensures effective office operations and adherence to WHO administrative procedures.

Responsibilities

• Oversee and monitor the information flow of the office of the Unit Head, screening, sorting, analysing and identifying areas requiring action by the Head.
• Ensure effective and timely follow up on requests for information, briefings and other actions, liaising with units/teams as appropriate.
• Receive visitors and telephone calls with tact and discretion and act according to the nature and urgency of each, including redirecting as appropriate.
• Maintain the agenda and calendar by scheduling meetings and/or rescheduling owing to disruption by unforeseen events, redirect visitors and callers as necessary.
• Disseminate information on administrative procedures to General Service staff and assist staff in adhering to WHO administrative procedures.
• Monitor requests for goods and services, including receipt, payment and inventory requirements.
• Coordinate and monitor office space requirements in liaison with relevant units as required.
• Draft general or administrative correspondence on own initiative or on the basis of instructions; finalize correspondence/reports for signature/clearance.
• Verify that outgoing correspondence is presented in accordance with WHO and department styles and checking language, grammar and accuracy prior to submitting for signature and clearance.
• Analyze incoming correspondence and requests in the light of background material, instructions, policies and precedents, researching, obtaining and attaching background information in anticipation of the responsible officer's needs, or redirecting them as appropriate.
• Ensure that technical reports and documents are in line with WHO standards, rules, practices and procedures, editing and correcting them as necessary prior to their submission for signature or clearance of relevant authority.
• Using appropriate tracking tools, follow-up on and ensure that target dates and deadlines are met, and that correspondence and queries are responded to in a timely manner.
• Ensure the timely appointment/renewal of contracts, initiating requests for temporary and fixed-term staff in the HR Action Plan.
• Initiate, through Oracle/GSM procurement module, contracts for Consultants, Agreements for Performance of Work (APW), and other contract modalities. Monitor and record receipt of deliverables, and initiate and monitor payments as needed.
• Initiate, through Oracle/GSM procurement module, requisitions for goods procurement, and monitor and receipt of deliverables.
• Assist in the monitoring and progress review of projects and tasks in the GSM/Oracle work plan.
• Provide Coordinator/Director with timely budget information on project and task budget ceilings, award budgets, expenditure, and funds available, as required.
• Monitor income and expenditures for planning purposes.
• Promptly follow-up on financial, budgetary and any outstanding issues concerning the team/department, including ensuring timely processing of committal documents.
• Assist in the preparation of financial and technical progress reports to donors.
• Create and/or maintain filing systems; continual review of filing system to ensure information is up to date and effectively and efficiently used.
• Obtain documents and information from in-house and external sources as required; perform information searches as requested.
• Coordinate compilation of technical documents requested of and provided by professional staff, other Departments or Programmes or ADG to ensure they are logically compiled, formatted and assembled to facilitate the work of the Unit Head.
• Arrange, coordinate and lead administrative preparation for meetings, seminars, workshops, including preparing event plans in GSM/Oracle, letters of invitation, cost estimates and travel requests; assisting with preparation of documents; dispatching of materials and liaising with participants and others involved.
• Prepare presentations using PowerPoint and other software packages on own initiative or on the basis of instructions.
• Schedule team/departmental meetings, taking minutes and following up on action points to ensure timely response to requests of the Director and preparation of minutes.
• Obtain briefing and background materials for meetings, seminars, workshops, etc. to be attended by the team's professional staff, checking their availability and ensuring they have the appropriate briefing files and documents.
• Using GSM/Oracle, prepare travel requests for official WHO travel. Make flight and hotel reservations, prepare travel files and deal with other related matters as requested or on own initiative.
• Perform other related duties as required or instructed, including providing support to other areas of work.

Requirements

• Completion of secondary school education or equivalent.
• Secretarial training which has provided a sound grounding, preferably in an international organization (desirable).
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in secretarial or administrative positions, or 4 years with first-level university degree or, 3 years with an advanced university degree.
• Relevant experience in WHO or another UN agency an asset (desirable).
• Experience in Oracle-based or other ERP systems an asset.
• Strong skills to work independently.
• Strong organization and office skills, as well as skills in note taking and minute writing.
• Sound knowledge and skills using a variety of office and computer packages.
• Sound knowledge of WHO and/or UN administrative rules and regulations, procedures and practices.
• The ability to multitask and work under pressure.
• The ability to exercise discretion at all times in judging the importance, urgency and confidential nature various issues and tact when dealing with staff and external partners.
• Expert knowledge of English.
• Intermediate knowledge of French (desirable).

Skills

• Secretarial Skills
• Administrative Support
• Oracle ERP
• Office Management
• Note Taking
• Minute Writing
• Microsoft Office Suite
• UN Administrative Procedures
• Correspondence Management
• Human Resources Coordination
• Procurement Coordination
• Budget Management
• Finance Coordination
• Information Management
• Meeting Administration
• Travel Coordination
• Multitasking
• Discretion Handling

Languages

English, French