Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Conference Management Section (CMS) within the Division of Administration at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa. The Meeting Service Assistant works under the direct supervision of Head of the Interpretation Services Sub-Unit and overall supervision of Chief Conference Management Section in DoA.

Responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Within delegated authority, the Meetings Services Assistant will be responsible for the following duties: 

A.Conference Planning
•Based on the ECA calendar of meetings the incumbent assists in the preliminary organization at the preparatory meetings stages with relevant email interactions with Divisions, SROs, internal DoA offices and other event organizers regarding procedural, organizational arrangements for the determined number of interpreters for each session. Corresponds with relevant offices on interpretation requirements and cost estimates for assigned meetings/events; 
•Prepares monthly statistics on meetings held at headquarters and offices away from headquarters.
•Assists with preliminary checks of CVs of linguistic staff for the Unit Chief’s review in accordance with existing UN-AIIC Agreement, towards HRSS engagement level;
•Assists with sending out offer letters and raises travel authorizations, checks on responses and follows up with other CMS on logistical arrangements for hotels, visas and transportation; 
•Maintains database of meetings, which helps to ensure publishing of monthly list and statistics of meetings held at UNCC and away from headquarters, indicating interpretation requests, venues, dates, budgets and other relevant information. 
•Assist to arrange the allocation of conference facilities and meeting rooms for interpreters; 
•Assists to maintains an effective database of interpreters capable of generating various management reports; 
•Prepares and organizes sets of official documentation in the document booth, in the three official languages of ECA, for distribution in the conference room.
•Assists in the preparation of the preliminary list and annotation of agenda items, the list of participants, and daily material concerning the proceeding of committees and meetings/conferences.
•Advises the interpreters of the Chief of Unit’s identified team for a particular meeting, conference, or event and monitors attendance records and assists to coordinate teams; 
•Assists with ascertaining availability of all interpreters including equipment at venue to permit team leader plan and co-ordinate daily work schedules according to daily work programmes; 
•Maintains data bases and reference system of freelance interpreters; procedures for recruitment of interpreters, their entitlements, etc., and ensuring continuous update; 

B.Coordination of in-session servicing: 

•Checks on the hours of performance by each interpreter as per the UN-AIIC Agreement, including the changes to the programme at venue, 
•Assists in the process of administering payment of Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) and salary accordingly, computes final expenditure for linguistic element of non-ECA meetings for inclusion in final invoices to event organizers;
•Undertakes client satisfaction surveys on performance of interpreters, analyze data and share results with management; 
•Frequently communicates with clients through memos, telephones, e-mails, faxes, etc.; 
•Reviews Program of Work provided by Internal/External clients and prepares cost estimation for interpretation service as per the UN-AIIC Agreement.
•Assists with drafting inter-office Memoranda for the Unit Chief’s reviews and finalization for the Section Chief’s signature
•Performs other duties as required.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Knowledge of the Organization’s conference policies, procedures and practices. Ability to research, select, organize and summarize information required for the preparation of meetings. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.

• Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

• Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

For positions in the General Service and related categories: High school diploma or equivalent is required. Must have passed the United Nations Global General Service Test (GGST) or equivalent administered by Headquarters.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years progressive work experience in servicing Conferences is required.

Languages

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

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified applicants may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by a competency-based interview.

Special Notice

Recruitment for this position is done on a local basis.

This temporary position is available for an initial period of 6 months with possibility of extension depending on the funding and on the return of the incumbent of the post.

Passing the Global General Service Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Service category in the United Nations Secretariat.

Having passed the Administrative Assessment Support Test (ASAT) in English at Headquarters, ECA, ESCWA, UNOG, UNOV, ICTR, or ICTY may be recognized in place of the GGST, pending confirmation of validity.

External candidates will be responsible for any travel expenses incurred in order to take the GGST examination and, in the event of an employment offer, any cost related to travel and relocation to the duty station on appointment and separation. The candidate will also be responsible to obtain any visas and work permits in order to take up the appointment. If selected, external candidates will be recruited on a local basis and would not be entitled to international benefits.

The United Nations is Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.