Department Assistant at African Development Bank - AfDB

Location: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Position Number: 50104678 / 50104679
Position Grade: GS6

The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF)

• The African Legal Support Facility (“ALSF” or “Facility”) is an international public organization dedicated to providing legal advice and technical assistance to African countries in matters pertaining to creditor litigation and complex commercial transactions.
• The goal of the Facility is to remove asymmetric technical capacities and level the field of legal expertise among parties during litigation and negotiations.
• The Facility strives to further development in Africa by removing obstacles to realizing the benefits of debt relief through its work in vulture fund litigation. It also provides advisory services to improve the negotiating capabilities of its member countries.
• Through all of its activities the Facility aims to build additional legal capacity on the continent. The ALSF is hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
• The African Legal Support Facility ("ALSF" or the "Facility") established by Treaty on December 22, 2008. Its membership is open to (a) all AfDB member states; (b) other states; (c) AfDB; and (d) other international organizations or institutions.
• The Facility currently has 60 members, comprising 53 countries and 7 international organizations. ALSF's main objectives include: (i) assisting AfDB’s Regional Member Countries(RMCs) address litigation brought against them by vulture funds (and other such entities); (ii) creating an avenue for AfDB’ s RMCs to access technical advice when negotiating complex commercial transactions (especially in the area of infrastructure and natural resources); and (iii) investing in and organizing the training of legal counsel from RMCs to equip them with legal expertise necessary to better represent their countries.
• The ALSF also develops and proposes innovative tools for capacity building and knowledge management.

The Position

• The Department Assistant in the Operations Department, Capacity Building/Knowledge Management (ALSFOP1) or Energy/Power (ALSFOP3), works on the basis of general instructions, own experience and precedents, following specific procedures and practices to ensure smooth workflow in the Department and respective Divisions.  
• Most of the work is controlled for correctness and appropriateness by the incumbent. The job also requires strict confidentiality.  The job holder is required to review the work and ensure that it meets expectations of the Department in terms of overall quality.
• The Department Assistant is relied upon to brief/assist team members of the Department and Division on specific administrative procedures and practices such as travel arrangement, meeting organizations Facility’s administrative standard formats etc.
• The objective of the job is to ensure smooth flow of work of the Operations Departments: Capacity Building/Knowledge Management Unit (ALSFOP1) and Power/Energy Unit (ALSFO3. Specifically, the job holder is expected to:
  • Provide administrative support to the Operations Departments: Capacity Building (Knowledge Management (ALSFOP1) and Power/Energy Units (ALSFO3), through a direct working relationship.
  • Coordinate multiple and diverse work processes and activities in the Department thus ensuring that management decisions are effectively carried out within the Department.
  • Serve as an intermediary between the Department Heads, the Units and staff of the Department as well as the Facility as a whole and external audiences.

Key Functions
Under the overall supervision of the Operations Department Heads, the Department Assistant performs the following:

Workflow Management:

• Receive and register all incoming and outgoing documents for the Department.
• Ensure that documents presented for Department Head’s signatures are complete, with necessary attachments and background documents.
• Draft general or administrative correspondence on own initiative or on the basis of instructions and finalize for the Department Head.
• Verify that outgoing correspondence is presented in accordance with the Facility’s accepted formats and check on probable typographical errors, presentation, completeness and procedural accuracy of all documents submitted to the Departments and Heads of Unit for clearance, approval or signature.
• Review and classify priority and important correspondences and submit accordingly.
• Follow-up and ensure that target dates and deadlines are met using appropriate tracking tools, and that correspondence and queries are responded in a timely manner.
• Channel correspondence for action by the Head of the concerned Departments.

Communication and Liaison:

• Receive visitors and telephone calls with tact and discretion, and act according to the nature and urgency of each, including redirecting to the concerned as appropriate.
• Screen the Head of the Department's calls/visitors, make appointments for visitors to meet the concerned Managers.
• Provide background information to the Head of Department for appointments with official visitors and/or staff members.
• Relay information between the Head of Department and other staff members of the departments.
• Follow up on work deadlines with other Departments.
• Schedule weekly team and ad hoc meetings for the Heads of Departments, according to schedules and the Head of concerned Department's Agenda for the week.
• Arrange time and venue for meetings, collect necessary background materials of meetings needed from the relevant Departments; Remind the Head of Departments and other staff members about scheduled meetings.
• Write meeting reports/minutes of meetings.

Record Keeping And Documentation:

• Maintain a filing system in both hard and soft copies to meet the needs of the Departments.
• Keep a weekly calendar of activities that shows all meetings to be attended by the Head of Department as well as by other staff members. It also includes all external visits to the Department.
• Obtain briefing and background materials for meetings, seminars, workshops, etc. to be attended by the team's staff, checking their availability and ensuring they have the appropriate briefing files and documents.
• Maintain Contact address / Mailing directory of partners working with the Departments.

Office Administration:

• Make travel arrangements for the Heads of Departments including tickets, hotel reservation, etc.
• Assist in preparation of presentations using PowerPoint and other software packages on own initiative or on the basis of instructions.
• Photocopy and send correspondences when the need arises.
• Undertake any other task as assigned by the Heads of the Departments.

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• A minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management, Commerce, Administration or related discipline, preferably supplemented with courses in   Administration/Office Management or Secretarial Studies.
• A minimum of four (4) years of progressively relevant and practical experience, in an executive office preferably in an international organization, Development Banks or similar institutions.
• Good organisational, budgeting and planning skills will be highly desirable.
• Good organizational, analytical and writing skills, ability to make sound judgments and decisions.
• Ability to work under pressure in the dynamic setting of an international and multicultural setting.
• Speedy and efficient handing of internal and external requests.
• Ability to work and cooperate with others from diverse background.
• Excellent working knowledge and experience in administrative and sectorial skills and duties.
• Strong customer service skills, good organizational skills, ability to multitask, attention to detail
• Ability to work under pressure and with a diverse workforce.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and/or French, with a good working
• Knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, Access and Power Point), knowledge of SAP or other ERP system would be an added advantage
• Excellent levels of initiative, enthusiasm and team spirit, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to interpret ALSF policies, guidelines and procedures.