Program Assistant (regional) - Education unit

Administrative logistical Assistance: Provide support and programme administration to the UNESCO Country Desk Offices within the Southern Africa region by preparing a variety of administrative documentation, initiating administrative, procurement, travel procedures and ensuring follow-ups. • Travel authorizations and arrangements: Initiating travel authorizations in conjunction with meetings, workshop, conferences or sessions for Education Specialists, International 2 Consultants and all delegates and stakeholders invited by initiating travel process, securing flight tickets and visa, making required hotel bookings, preparing associated documentation, and providing information to visiting officials. Entering travel claims for Programme Specialists and International consultants. • Organize Regional meetings, events and workshops by preparing budgets, booking venues, equipment and providing other related logistical support. Assembling documents and pertinent information in support of events and meetings, collating data and information for presentation, initiating procedures for associated services required as well providing administrative support during the event. • Act as the administration focal point within the unit ensuring adherence to administrative regulations. Procurement Accountabilities • Registering new vendors and updating old vendors in the vendor system in accordance with UNESCO Administration Manual. • Procuring goods and services by initiating contracts with relevant vendors in line with UNESCO administrative procedures. • Support Programme Specialists by ensuring Terms of Reference for contracts are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timebound. • Follow up with vendors to ensure timeous submission of deliverables and closing of contracts. • Coordinate monthly review of open contracts with program assistants within the unit to ensure that unliquidated obligations are closed. Secretarial Accountabilities • Respond to routine enquiries and follow up on routine matters. • Manage appointments for head of Education unit, receiving visitors, creating and maintaining an updated filing system. • Determine the importance and priority of documents received, proof-read and edits outgoing correspondence according to standard practices and protocol ensuring proper grammar, spelling and punctuation and recommending changes or corrections. • Coordinate editing, design and layout and printing of Education Sector publications. Financial Accountabilities • Provide regular budget monitoring updates on Extra-budgetary (EXB) funds and Regular projects (RP) to the Education team. 3 • Support relevant Education Specialists with preparation of budget operation requests. • Initiate payments upon satisfactory performance and/or delivery of goods or services. • Reviewing submitted deliverables for payments against contractual obligations in the system. • Facilitate the processing and dissemination of funds for financing activities contracts and Implementing Partnerships Agreements. • Reconcile and acquittal of funds made available to support workshops, seminars, or meetings to ensure proper and effective utilization in pursuit of expected results. • Disburse daily subsistence allowance (DSA) and transport reimbursements to delegates/participants during meetings. • Initiating certificates of time spent to facilitate requests for cost recovery. Budgetary Accountabilities • Prepare budget proposals and cost estimates ahead of activities in line with the UNESCO administrative and financial rules and guidelines. HR Accountabilities • Participate in the recruitment and management of temporary assistance and non-staff contracts for the Education Unit. • Upload unit vacancies • Provide support in facilitation of written and oral assessments during recruitment processes in the Education Unit. • Provide training and mentorship support to new interns, program assistants, and National Project Officers in administrative guidelines and procedures. Achievements • Successfully coordinated intensive administrative and financial requirements of Rapid Teacher Training project which entailed accurately registering 26 vendors, initiating 26 individual consultant contracts within a short space of time to facilitate program implementation among other competing priorities. • Successfully committed USD85000 of USD100,00 additional funds disbursed by UNICEF under the GPE project for Rapid Teacher Training project in less than 10 days. • Successfully managed the GPE budget under the Rapid Teacher Training project. • Successfully organized and coordinated administrative logistics for a high-level Regional Consultation Meeting on Quality Assurance in Higher Education for Anglophone and Lusophone countries in Africa held in Johannesburg from 19-21 in November 2018 4 with 100 participants from all over Africa. As a result, all required stakeholders attended resulting in achievement of meeting objectives. • Successfully mentored new project assistants within the unit.