Senior Administrative Assistant – UNHCR jobs in Turkey

• Location: Gaziantep, Turkey
• Vacancy No: N/A 
• Salary: N/A
• Organization: UNHCR
• Gender: Both
• Deadline: March 25, 2024

Standard Job Description

Senior Administrative Assistant

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior Administrative Assistant will provide administrative support to the office where the position is located.
The Senior Administrative Assistant normally has no direct supervisory functions though it rests upon the supervisor of the post to make time specific arrangements subject to a given situation. The incumbent normally works under the direct supervision of more senior local or international staff, who is required to monitor the performance of the incumbent and provide regular guidance. S/he may liaise with local suppliers and/or officials and/or Implementing Partners (IPs) on routine subject matters under the direction of the supervisor.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
– Assist in interpreting and processing of entitlements, issuance of contracts and maintenance of various personnel records and files.
– Attend meetings on day-to-day admin matters; administer the movement of UNHCR staff members and monitor their attendance records, leave plans, overtime and visa requirements.
– Search office files and records relating to a variety of topics for information and reference. Select information and records in specified format or on the basis of general instructions for use by others in preparing reports, correspondence, technical papers, project or programme plans and general reference documents.
– Assist in requisition of office supplies, equipment and arrange for distribution together with the appropriate inventory records.
– Assist in administrative formalities related to travel arrangements and issuance/ renewal of visas, licences, travel arrangements and other similar documents.
– Draft correspondence and reports, as required, on general administrative or specialized tasks which may be of a confidential nature within the assigned area of responsibility; Type correspondence, documents and reports, some of which may be highly confidential.
– Arrange appointments and maintain supervisor’s calendar, receive visitors, place and screen telephone calls and answer queries with discretion; Keep lists of names, addresses and telephone numbers of ministers, government officials and members of the diplomatic corps.
– Assist the management to organise and run UNHCR Office and Residential (wherever applicable) compounds.
– Facilitate various official missions of UNHCR staff and other persons of concern to UNHCR.
– Prepare attestations and certificates required by the staff members for signature of senior officer.
– Assist in processing MIP and various other claims by UNHCR staff and other clients of UNHCR.

– Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
– Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications
Education & Professional Work Experience
Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G5 – 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Business Administration, Finance, Office Management, Human Resources, or other related field.
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Not specified.
Desirable
Completion of UNHCR learning programmes or specific training relevant to functions of the position.

Functional Skills
*IT-Computer Literacy
UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
IT-PeopleSoft Applications
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination, and abuse of power.
As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

PLEASE DO NOT USE TURKISH CHARACTERS IN YOUR NAME & SURNAME INFORMATION.

Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member and engagement under a UNHCR affiliate scheme or as an intern is subject to successful reference checks and integrity clearance.

A break of minimum 31 days is required before a staff member who currently holds a Fixed-term or Indefinite Appointment may be rehired on a Temporary Appointment.
UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, training or any other fees).

Only short-listed candidates will be notified. The recruitment process might include written test and/or oral interview for this job opening. No late applications will be accepted.
External candidates should be legally present in Türkiye at the time of application, recruitment and hire.
Non-Turkish citizens are required to upload their residence permits or relevant documents under the ‘Certifications’ section, by selecting the type as ‘Personnel Administration – Other’, in order to be considered for this job opening. Applications by non-Turkish citizens will NOT be considered if a valid residence permit is not attached to the application.
For further information on how to apply, please visit ‘UNHCR – Application and Selection’ page, at https://www.unhcr.org/how-to-apply.html.

For G5 – 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher
Completion of UNHCR learning programmes or specific training relevant to functions of the position is an asset.

Business Administration, Finance, Office Management, Human Resources, or other related field.

Functional Skills
*IT-Computer Literacy
UN-UN/UNHCR Administrative Rules, Regulations and Procedures
IT-PeopleSoft Applications, experience Cloud ERP is an asset.

Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

The Senior Administrative Assistant reports to the Assistant Admin Officer in the Admin Unit. The incumbent on top of routine admin duties, will play a lead role in distributing the work between third party service providers and ensuring a proper management of UHNCR premises in Gaziantep and Southeast Türkiye (support is also given to Field Units Hatay – with a presence in Adana –, Sanliurfa) and might require travel on regular or occasional basis to the locations where we have a presence. S/he will monitor regularly that all contracted service providers comply with the established terms of reference and recommend corrective actions to ensure full client satisfaction.
This entails regular monitoring of contract deadlines of service providers, identification of needs, support in purchasing of items and services required for maintenance of the buildings. S/he also supports with the travel arrangements for official travel and claims. S/he will provide administrative assistance to the immediate supervisor and/or Head of the Office to ensure that routine services and activities within the administrative domain are properly implemented. Subject to the nature of the task/assignment in hand. S/he will receive regular guidance from his/her supervisor. The nature of certain administrative tasks requires discretion and confidentiality as per UNHCR standards and practices.

Living and Working Conditions:
On 6 February, two major earthquakes of 7.7 and 7.5 magnitude in Kahramanmaraş Province impacted eleven provinces in Türkiye’s southeast region and neighbouring Syria. The infrastructure and utilities in Gaziantep are largely preserved, and the city continues to benefit from efficient public transport system and smooth delivery of gas, water and electricity. Gaziantep is a regional industrial and trade hub, with thousands of businesses that have continued operating after the earthquake.
Gaziantep has a good network of health facilities, including both public and private hospitals, some of which offer more sophisticated services. Housing in Gaziantep is widely available, but due to economic downfall in most of 2022 and following the earthquake, rental prices have significantly increased.
Gaziantep also has a well-developed network of schools and is home to one of the largest universities in Turkiye. There are several private universities as well. However, education with international curricula is very limited and it may be challenging for families with younger children in need of adequate educational facilities in foreign language. English is not widely spoken, which may be challenging at times. However, people in Gaziantep are hospitable.
Current operational circumstances may require long working hours due to ongoing emergency mode.

Proximity to the Syrian border has led to a sensitive security in South-eastern Turkey since the Syrian conflict began. However, the level of general criminality is low. During the recent period the security situation in Southeast Turkey has been largely stable, with isolated incidents of deteriorated situation due to evolving security situation along the border with Syria. Following an increased engagement in the Syrian conflict by the Turkish Government the number of incidents targeting Turkish security forces has somewhat increased, but number of cross border incidents is rather limited in scale and frequency of occurrence.
The current security levels in Southeast Turkiye is Level 2, with some parts of the AOR (10 Km distance from the border area, plus Reyhanli and Mardin in the east) at Level 4. There are no known direct threats towards the United Nations and its staff in the area but vigilance and awareness is required in the changing security environment. Due to the relatively recent developments at the border areas, the UN staff in Gaziantep are advised to increase their precaution measures in general. Area Security plans and Security levels are being updated.
Gaziantep is a base for three UNHCR separate facilities- the SO Gaziantep (refugee operations), Resettlement Hub inaugurated in Dec 2022, and the Cross Border Operation that is engaged in the humanitarian interventions in Northwest Syria. SO Gaziantep provides support to Resettlement and Cross Border Operations through Admin and logistics functions, with occasional expansion to other types of support from various units in the office.

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