Business Support Assistant G5, Dushanbe
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WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply.
WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity and disability.
ABOUT WFP
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.
JOB RELATED KEY INFORMATION
Job Title: Business Support Assistant
Grade: G5
Type of Contract: Fixed Term
Duration: 1 Year
Duty Station: Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Vacancy Number: 828070
Date of Publication: 30 June 2023
Deadline of Application: 16 July 2023
Terms and Conditions: WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary, pension, leave plus a medical insurance.
BACKGROUND
Despite positive economic growth and progress in poverty reduction, Tajikistan is still facing a challenging food security and nutrition situation. Recent economic challenges compounded by population growth have contributed to the reclassification of the country as low-income in 2018 while the COVID pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has further increased household vulnerability. Malnutrition rates remain the highest in Central Asia, and the number of undernourished has remained stagnant. Tajikistan faces different environmental challenges, including environmental and soil degradation and poor natural resource management. Additionally, Tajikistan is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which has further exacerbated food security and livelihoods of vulnerable communities. Given the above, the government has identified food security and access to quality nutrition as one of its development priorities.
In Tajikistan, WFP has commenced its Country Strategic Plan 2023 – 2026 in tandem with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) covering the same period. By means of the CSP, WFP is undertaking a strategic shift from direct implementation to enabling and strengthening capacities of national and subnational institutions to deliver on their food security and nutrition priorities. WFP activities support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The geographic scope of WFP Tajikistan operations encompasses the entirety of the country. In addition to the country office in Dushanbe, WFP has field offices located in Bokhtar, Gharm, Khorog, and Khujand to oversee operations in those specific regions.
To implement the country strategic plan, the programme unit operates through dedicated teams focusing on school-based programmes, prevention and treatment of moderate acute malnutrition, resilience and livelihoods building, emergency response and planning, and research and monitoring. In addition, capacity strengthening for the government through various means and cross-cutting support focusing on gender, accountability to affected populations, and disability inclusion are integrated into all programmatic work.
PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The above-described initiatives require enhanced capacity at the country office level and strong support of the business processes. The Business Support Assistant – G5 (Programme) will perform administrative, financial, and information management functions for the entirety of programme unit and will require the ability to interpret policy and guidance to facilitate effective service delivery.
The incumbent will be prepared to operate in a fast-paced working environment where multiple assignments may arise with minimal turnaround time.
ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive)
Reporting directly to the head of programme, and through close interactions with the programme teams, as well as finance, administration, and supply chain units, the incumbent is expected to perform the following duties and responsibilities:
1. Maintain professional relationships with a range of individuals through provision of business support to assist in information sharing and high-quality service delivery to staff;
2. Ensure adherence to all corporate and country office policies and procedures related to routine administrative and financial tasks, providing guidance and advice as needed;
3. Process and manage routine administrative and financial tasks (in corporate systems such as WINGS, ITS, SCOPE, etc.) for each of the programmatic teams, to contribute to the effective and timely management of resources; this includes primary responsibility for:
a. Micro-purchase orders;
b. Service outline agreements and purchase orders for field level agreements;
c. Advance payments, routine tranches payments, and invoices of partners;
d. Beneficiary cash disbursement transactions;
4. Manage administrative aspects for endorsed monthly travel plans, ensuring vehicle availability and security clearances are received in a timely manner;
5. Serve as secretariate for field offices meetings and programme team leads meetings, taking notes on key highlights, circulating final notes, and archiving for future reference;
6. Serve as secretariate for the cooperating partner committee, taking notes on key highlights, circulating final notes, and archiving for future reference; ensure final field level agreement package prepared by programme teams meet requirements and obtain approval signatures;
7. Collate inputs from programme teams for programme updates, country briefs, bank forecasts, situation reports, feedback on documents, mission plans and other similar products that require consolidation;
8. Support the development of and be primary for upkeep of an electronic information management system for the programme unit, ensuring the unit’s information is organised, updated, and readily available;
9. Contribute to improvement of business procedures and processes, in alignment with corporate policies;
10. Serve as alternate to programme assistants, as required;
11. Cross-cutting: Support the implementation of the WFP Tajikistan CSP by applying the code of conduct and through ensuring cross-cutting efforts such as nutrition-sensitivity, gender and diversity inclusion, protection and accountability, environmental protections, and capacity development, are integrated throughout the portfolio and within the office, and to ensure equal participation and consideration of women and men, boys and girls, and people living with specific needs and/or disabilities;
12. Any other business.
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:
• Completion of secondary school education; post-secondary certificate in the related functional area (e.g., finance, administration, systems management, computer sciences, etc.) is desirable;
• Five or more years of progressively responsible work experience in the relative business stream with experience in general administrative work.
KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:
• Knowledge of specialised common business practices and methods, gained through relevant technical training and experience;
• Ability to conduct basic data analysis, monitor and record financial transactions;
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office software;
• Ability to develop and maintain professional relationships with a range of individuals of various backgrounds to provide high quality support services;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to maintain calm under pressure, explain processes amicably, and independently rectify issues;
• Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to manage time well, multi-task, prioritize appropriately, and seek support as required;
• Ability to work in a fast-paced office while supporting multiple assignments;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and show sensitivity to others;
• Experience with standardized information/knowledge management systems is desirable.
LANGUAGE:
Fluency in oral and written English is required. Fluency in oral and written Russian and/or Tajik is required.
APPLICATION PROCESS
WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.
Request for Disability related Reasonable Accommodations:
It is important to WFP to create an accessible and inclusive workplace for everyone. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection and hiring process, please direct your request and inquiries to the Diversity and Inclusion team on: [email protected], cc’ing [email protected]. A member of the reasonable accommodation team will contact you to confidentially discuss your needs.
This email is only to be used for any disability related accessibility requirements, and not for sending the application itself. Due to volume of applications, any applications or CVs sent through this email address will not be considered as a formal application and will not receive a reply from WFP.
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WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment
