<span>STAFF ASSISTANT</span>

United Nations - New York, NY

Full-time - Entry Level

New York, NY

Social Assistance

About the position

The Staff Assistant position is located in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at the United Nations in New York. The role involves providing comprehensive administrative support to senior officials, ensuring efficient office management, and facilitating communication within the unit. The Staff Assistant will be responsible for travel arrangements, document preparation, and coordination of service-wide activities, contributing to OCHA's mission of mobilizing and coordinating humanitarian action in response to emergencies and natural disasters.

Responsibilities

• Performs travel arrangements for senior officials and delegation as needed, including liaising with all relevant internal and external stakeholders.
• Performs the full range of office management and administrative support functions; provides direct assistance to a senior officer or manager responsible for a major programme.
• Maintains liaison with the Executive Office and with senior officials in other units regarding ongoing programmes and administrative matters.
• Ensures smooth and efficient information flow within the unit; prepares and processes confidential information; assists in the development of office administrative systems and procedures.
• Provides assistance in the coordination of service-wide activities (meetings, trainings, etc.), special projects, and events.
• Orients new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provides general assistance to other office support staff.
• Responds or drafts responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications; produces a variety of large, complex documents and reports.
• Carries out quality control function for outgoing documents; proofreads and edits texts for adherence to format, grammar, punctuation, and style.
• Responds to complex information requests and inquiries.
• Assists in preparation of presentation materials using appropriate technology/software.
• Maintains calendar/schedules; monitors changes and communicates relevant information to appropriate staff.
• Performs a variety of administrative duties (e.g., leave recording, meeting organization, reservations, office supply and equipment orders).
• Works in close coordination with the Office of the Assistant-Secretary-General and provides coverage as needed to both offices.
• Maintains files (both paper and electronic) and databases for work unit.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent is required.
• A minimum of five (5) years in general office support or related area is required; reduced to three (3) years for candidates with a first-level degree or higher.
• Experience supporting senior officials in a Front Office at the UN or a comparable international organization is desirable.
• Experience in organizing travel for senior officials and managing travel requests through an ERP system, such as Umoja, is desirable.
• Experience in processing Consultant/Individual Contractor contracts through an ERP system, such as Umoja, is desirable.
• Fluency in English is required; knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience in managing travel requests and expense reports through an ERP system.
• Knowledge of administrative policies, processes, and procedures.

Benefits

• Temporary position with the possibility of extension until 30 June 2025.
• Opportunity to gain new work experience within the United Nations.