Office Assistant

Global Roles; Roma; Hybrid; EUR 24,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

The Office Assistant role at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, provides essential administrative and office support to the Sustainable Animal Production, Feed and Genetics Branch. You will arrange appointments, welcome visitors, process correspondence and coordinate meetings, travel, and procurement tasks to ensure smooth operations.

You will work with MS Office, handle documentation standards, and assist in drafting communications in English.

Qualifications

• Secondary school education is required.
• Three years of relevant experience in office support work.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English.
• Good knowledge of MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.
• General Service Staff are recruited locally; candidates must be nationals/residents or have a valid work permit and reside within commuting distance of the duty station.

Responsibilities

• Arrange appointments for the supervisor, receive visitors, screen and respond to routine requests for information.
• Provide office, protocol, administrative and logistics support to meetings, committees, conferences, etc.
• Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions.
• Draft responses to standard communications and produce large, complex documents and reports.
• Proofread documents for grammar, punctuation and style according to standards.
• Initiate general administrative tasks in relevant systems (administration, procurement, finance, travel, HR).
• Prepare purchase orders and requisitions; assist in LoA preparation and follow-up.
• Make travel and hotel arrangements and prepare travel authorizations/claims.
• Assist in processing vacancy announcements and consultants' contracts.
• Research, organize information for reports; create spreadsheets/presentations; maintain databases and files.
• Perform other duties as required.

Skills

Office Support

MS Office

Internet usage

Documentation standards

Communication standards

Corporate Administration Systems

Procurement Systems

Financial Systems

Travel Management

Human Resources Systems

Administrative Procedures

Official Correspondence

Protocol Matters

Meeting Organization

Multitasking

Written Communication

Oral Communication

Education

Secondary School Education

Job description

The Office Assistant performs a large variety of routine administrative transactions and office support functions contributing to the smooth and efficient running of the work unit within the Sustainable Animal Production, Feed and Genetics Branch of the Animal Production and Health Division at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Responsibilities

• Arrange appointments for the supervisor, receive visitors, screen and send e-mails and respond to routine requests for information.
• Provide office, protocol, administrative and logistics support to meetings, committees, conferences, etc.
• Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions.
• Respond or draft responses to standard/routine correspondence and other communications; use word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports.
• Proofread documents and format texts for accuracy, grammar, punctuation and style, as well as for adherence to established standards.
• Initiate general administrative tasks in the computerized general administration, procurement, finance, travel, human resources system.
• Prepare purchase orders, purchase requisitions and support the preparation of Letters of Agreement (LoA), obtain clarification and follow up, when necessary.
• Make travel and hotel arrangements and prepare travel authorizations/claims for staff and affiliate workforce as required.
• Provide assistance in the administrative processing of vacancy announcements and consultants' contracts.
• Research, compile and organize information and reference materials from various sources for reports; create spreadsheets and presentations; manage and update databases for mailing lists and other information; and maintain electronic and paper files.
• Perform other duties as required.

Requirements

• Secondary School Education.
• Three years of relevant experience in office support work.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English.
• Good knowledge of MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.
• General Service Staff are recruited locally; candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing valid visa to work or a valid work permit and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application.
• Very good knowledge of communication and documentation standards.
• Very good knowledge of corporate computerized administration, procurement, finance, travel, human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies.
• Very good knowledge of the organizational structure.
• Relevant experience with corporate administrative processes is desirable.
• Experience with official correspondence and protocol matters is desirable.
• Experience with travel management and support to the organization of meetings, particularly Statutory Bodies meetings, is desirable.
• Ability to work under pressure and deal with multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Good oral and written communication skills and ability to write and/or edit documents clearly and concisely in English.
• Intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency - level B) of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is desirable.

Skills

• Office Support
• Microsoft Office applications
• Internet usage
• Office technology equipment
• Communication standards
• Documentation standards
• Corporate Administration Systems
• Procurement Systems
• Financial Systems
• Travel Management
• Human Resources Systems
• Administrative Procedures
• Official Correspondence
• Protocol Matters
• Meeting Organization
• Multitasking
• Written Communication
• Oral Communication

Languages

English