Organizational Settingย
The Office of the Legal Counsel ensures that the Organization's activities are carried out in accordance with its Constitution and the other Basic Texts of the Organization, in a manner consistent with its status as an inter-governmental organization of the United Nations system, and that its relationships with governments, organizations and individuals are on a sound legal basis.
This position is located in the front office of the Legal Counsel at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.
The Office Assistant coordinates the front office of the Legal Counsel.ย
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Main Purposeย
The Office Assistant coordinates and performs the full range of office support, management support and administrative tasks, providing for the smooth and efficient running of the Office. He/she ensures quality and consistency of the flow of office work and information in the work unit.
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Supervision Received/Exercisedย
The Office Assistant reports to the Legal Counsel, the Deputy Legal Counsel and, in their absence, the officer in charge of the Legal Office. ย The incumbent operates independently and takes decisions on work priorities and exercises initiative for dealing with cases without precedents. Supervision received is focused on the quality of work outputs. He/she provides guidance and advice to other front office support staff.
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Working Relationshipsย
The Office Assistant works closely with a wide range of colleagues in the Legal Office, with all FAO units and external clients, performing and coordinating office and management support services, and providing procedural guidance and information.
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Key Functions/Resultsย
โขย ย ย Screen requests for appointments with supervisor; maintain supervisorโs calendar; confirm mutually convenient schedules and arrange appointments; receive visitors; place and screen telephone calls; respond to queries and correspondence, often of a sensitive, confidential or technical nature;
โขย ย ย 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;
โขย ย ย 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 ย texts for adherence to format, grammar, punctuation and style;
โขย ย ย 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;
โขย ย ย 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;
โขย ย ย Coordinate the work of other front 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;
โขย ย ย Review the efficiency of office procedures and make recommendations for improvements;ย
โขย ย ย In coordination with the Records Management Assistant, create and maintain the Officeโs filing and reference systems, and update intranet and websites;
โขย ย ย Perform other duties as required.
Impact of workย
The incumbentโs work impacts directly on the smooth and efficient running of the Office. He/she plays a lead role in the provision of office support services for successful achievement of the Legal Officeโs mandate.ย
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS - candidates will be assessed against the following
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Education: Secondary School Education
Experience: Four years of relevant experience in office/management support work
Languages: Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate - level B) of one of the other official FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).ย ย ย ย ย ย
IT Skills: Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment, including tools to update intranet and internet pages
Residency: General Service Staff are recruited locally. To be eligible for this position, candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing visa/work permit, and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application. \"Commuting distance\" means the distance within which staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence.
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Competencies
โขย ย ย Results Focus
โขย ย ย Teamwork
โขย ย ย Communication
โขย ย ย Building Effective Relationships
โขย ย ย Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
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Technical Skills
โขย ย ย Very good knowledge of communication and documentation standards.ย
โขย ย ย Very good knowledge of corporate computerized financial/travel/Human Resources systems and administrative procedures and policies.
โขย ย ย Very good knowledge of the organizational structure.
โขย ย ย Extensive proven capacity to handle sensitive and/or highly confidential information in an appropriate manner.
โขย ย ย Very good experience in multitasking against tight deadlines and coordinating the work of others supporting delivery against tight deadlines.
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DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLSย
โขย ย ย Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese French, Russian or Spanish).
โขย ย ย Experience in processing, drafting, editing, proofreading and finalizing for signature/approval a variety of specialized legal documentation, reports, correspondence and other communications.
โขย ย ย Experience in a diplomatic mission, the legal office in an international setting, or in a front office that typically handles sensitive and/or confidential information, and involves engagement with the offices of internal and external senior officials, including diplomatic staff, other UN system organizations and/or tribunals.
โขย ย ย Experience in coordinating and guiding a team of support staff for successful achievement of the work unitโs mandate.
โขย ย ย Experience in assistance to Governing Bodies, including assisting in the preparation of pre-, in- and post-session documents, in coordination with relevant units.
โขย ย ย Interest in learning and applying new IT skills, and identifying solutions to enhance efficiency.
โขย ย ย Experience in handling a variety of verbal and written inquiries from internal and external parties, including providing information on processes and procedures related to specific legal activities, meetings, publications, documents, etc.