Staff Assistant

The mandate of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is to promote sustainable and inclusive development and regional connectivity in the Asian and Pacific region. ESCAP's role as a regional development arm of the United Nations Secretariat is to support its membership with policy oriented research and analysis, normative support and technical assistance and capacity building, to respond to the development priorities and changing needs of the Asian and Pacific region.

This position is located in the Economic and Environment Statistics Section, in the Statistics Division. The incumbent reports to the Chief of Economic and Environment Statistics Section.
• Responsibilities*:
Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Economic and Environment Statistics Section, and overall supervision of the Director, Statistics Division, the incumbent is required to perform the following functions:
• Performs, under mínimal supervision, the full range of office management and administrative support functions to the Section and direct assistance to the Section Chief.
• Maintains liaison with the Executive Office and with senior officials in other units regarding on-going programmes and other administrative matters; monitors processes and schedules related to the Section's outputs, products, tasks, etc.
• Ensures smooth and efficient information flow within the Section; prepares and processes confidential information; assists in the development of office administrative systems and procedures.
• Researches, compiles and summarizes background materials for use in preparation of reports, briefs, speeches, etc.
• Provides assistance in the coordination, delivery and reporting of activities (in-person and virtual meetings, training, etc.), projects and events.
• Orients new staff to relevant administrative procedures and practices and provides general assistance to other office support staff, as required; may coordinate the work of office support staff in providing meetings servicing/administrative support to various sessions of commissions and other bodies.
• Attends meetings, prepares minutes, monitors follow-up activities.
• Responds or drafts responses to a wide range of correspondence and other communications; uses standard word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports.
• Manages, updates and further develops internal databases; updates website; generates a variety of standard and non-standard statistical and other reports from various databases.
• Carries out quality control function for outgoing documents; proofreads and edits texts for adherence for format, grammar, punctuation and style.
• Responds to complex information requests and inquiries (e.g. answers requests requiring file search, etc.).
• Assists in the preparation of presentation materials using appropriate technology/software.
• May provide some specialized support to the Section (e.g. technology support, editing, desktop publishing, etc.).
• Maintains calendar/schedules; monitors changes and communicate relevant information to appropriate staff inside and outside the Section.
• Maintains files (both paper and electronic) and databases for the Section.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Competencies

Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Education
High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Work Experience
A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in general office support or related area is required.

Experience with data visualization is desirable.

Experience in the United Nations Common System or international organizations is desirable.

Experience with project monitoring and budgeting is desirable.

Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Assessment
Qualified applicants may be evaluated through a competency-based interview and/or other assessment methods.

Special Notice

Must have passed the United Nations Global General Service Test (GGST) at Headquarters or an equivalent locally-administered test at Of