Support Services Senior Assistant

Background: AUMCO

The Austria Multi-Country Office (AUMCO) was set up in August 2019 as a part of the UNOPS Europe & Central Asia Region (ECR). Specifically, AUMCO aims to enable achievement of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement through global programmes and tailored interventions in the Balkans, South Caucasus, and Central Asia, focused on:

• Infrastructure

• Procurement 

• Project Management (full service, back on track)

• HR and Transactional Services

• Grant Management 

• Technical and Advisory Services

• Assessment, design and supervision of Civil Works for the improvement in Infectious Disease Clinic in Mother Teresa Hospital and Public Health Institute;
• Civil Works for the rehabilitation of Infrastructure improvements in Infectious Disease Clinic in Mother Teresa Hospital;
• Medical Equipment and furniture in Infectious Disease Clinic in Mother Teresa Hospital and Medical equipment and furniture of Public Health Institute and laboratories network;
• Supply of Life Saving Medical Ambulances for all the main tertiary hospitals in Tirana and all regions.

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Support Services- Senior Assistant will be responsible for provision of technical and administrative assistance, including processing of financial data, to the implementation of all Project related activities. The Senior Assistant will undertake the following activities/responsibilities:

Administration: 

• Support day to day general administrative activities covering expense claims, premises maintenance, transport and logistics, security issues and ensure safety of equipment and property;

• Assist to summarize and/or highlight information for general administrative matters and make research and compile material for briefing and presentations on administrative matters;

• Support, on an as needed basis, the procurement activities including participating in bid opening boards, evaluation assistance, market research;

• Support with project management report obligations: planning of timely delivery of reports (to client and internally), preparation of reports, update work plans if needed, keeping track of progress in between reporting moments;

• Act as UNOPS Albania Travel Focal Point, prepare travel authorization forms, calculate the travel costs, and liaise with approved travel agent in obtaining tickets, security clearance and ensuring necessary logistics’ arrangements have been made;

• Draft meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, evaluation and justification, as required on general administrative and specialized task that may be of confidential nature;

• Assist in developing effective systems and procedures to improve and streamline work and communication flow within the team to meet the business requirements;

• Assist in maintaining and repair of office equipment and other properties.

Finance: 

• With guidelines from the Support Services Manager and in cooperation with the Project team, provide support  in technical and administrative monitoring, including review of financial data, of the implementation of the selected projects and concluded grant agreements;

• Provide assistance in collection and preparation of documentation related to processing of financial transactions related to project activities. Collection of evidence for project related payments and liabilities, support the facilitation of VAT exemption and preparation of documentation for payment installment /processing;

• Maintain archive related to the Project financial activities, as per agreement with the line manager and in line with the UNOPS requirements;

• Contribute to identification and assessment of financial and operational risks and assist in implementation of mitigation measures in accordance with the Risk Management Strategy;

• Contribute to identification and sharing of the Administration related lessons learned and best practices;

• Contribute to the successful administrative and financial closure of project contracts;

• Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.

Logistics: 

• Act as an alternate focal point for Assets management processes: Assets verification, Inventory, depreciation;

• Process tax exemption requests for imported goods by the programme and its contractors;

• Arrange customs clearance of imported supplies, materials, equipment and/or vehicles;

• Serve as point of contact for customers on any Logistics related issues;

• Responsible for keeping appropriate documentation and logs to support all planned finalized orders.

• Secondary school required, Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics or Business Administration would be an advantage; 

•  Stock control and a good knowledge of hygiene, housekeeping, and safety standards

• Applicants must possess exceptional IT skills 

• Fluency in oral and written English, Albanian 

Work Experience 

• A minimum of 5 years administrative and finance experience, preferably in the United Nations system or International organizations; 

• A Minimum 2 years of experience in Assets management, inventory controls is required. 

• Work record in Travel management, international shipment and customs relation is an asset.

• Understanding of UN/UNOPS Financial and Administrative Rules and Regulations is an asset.

• Technical diploma/certification in Finance is highly desirable 

• Technical diploma/certification in Logistics is an asset

Contract type: Regular, Local Individual Contract Agreement (LICA)
Contract level: ICS-5 / LICA-5

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.