Short Term Staff - Administrative Assistant at African Development Bank - AfDB

The Complex

• The Chief Economist/Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management (ECVP) is the Bank’s spokesperson on economic matters and the VP for the ‘Economics Governance and Knowledge Management Complex.
• The Complex is responsible for:
  • Providing leadership and visibility for the Bank on economic, finance, financial governance and socio-economic development issues; and coordinating the generation of analytical works to inform operational policy;
  • Systematically emphasize the critical role of knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and their tangible impact on the sustainable, inclusive transformation of African economies.

The Hiring Department
The African Development Institute (ECAD) coordinates and executes Capacity Development (CD) programs in the regional member countries (RMCs) by:

• Providing advisory services on capacity building;
• Identifying and designing tailored capacity development programmes and implementing the programmes; and
• Leveraging partnerships and coordinating knowledge dissemination and outreach,  with a view to improving policy-making, economic governance and sustainable development in the Regional Member Countries.

The Position

• The purpose of the job is to provide administrative support, in the coordination of multiple and diverse processes and activities in the division thus ensuring the effective execution of management decisions.

Key Functions
Under the Supervision of the Senior Director, the Administrative Assistant (STS) will perform the following:

• Support the convening of the global community of practice seminars
• Assist in the proofreading and editing of knowledge products
• Receive and register all incoming and outgoing documents of the Department/ Division;
• Ensure that documents presented for Director’s signature are complete, with necessary attachments and background documents;
• Provide background information to the Director / Manager for appointments with official visitors and/or staff members;
• Relay information between the Director, Division Managers and other staff members of the department;
• Follow up on work deadlines with Division Managers;
• Schedule weekly team and ad hoc meetings for the Director, according to schedules and Director's Agenda for the week;
• Maintain a filing system in both hard and soft copies to meet the needs of the Department;
• Keep a weekly calendar of activities that shows all meetings to be attended by the Director as well as by other staff members. It also includes all external visits to the Department;
• Make travel arrangements for the Director including tickets, hotel reservations, etc.;
• Assist in preparation of presentations using PowerPoint and other software packages on own initiative or on the basis of instructions;
• Perform other office administration tasks (photocopies, emails) when the need arises;
• Other duties that may be assigned by the Supervisor
• Administrative assistance

Competencies (Skills, Experience and Knowledge)

• Hold a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Economics, Accounting, Law, Political Sciences or a related field. 
• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience in a similar position.
• Experience in professional editing, drafting legal or policy documents, etc.
• Good knowledge of administration and office support services, including systems and procedures;
• Good coordination skills - methodical and self-organized;
• Demonstrable commitment to delivering excellent customer service-focused reception and administration service;
• Proficiency /good written and oral skills in English and/or French languages.
• Good interpersonal, planning and organizational skills;
• Ability to think quickly to respond to immediate requests;
• Flexibility to adapt, positive attitude towards change, and a constructive and creative approach to problem-solving;
• Proficiency in the use of standard equipment (computer, fax, scanner, photocopies, etc.);
• Communication;
• Problem Solving;
• Client Orientation;
• Team working;
• Operational Effectiveness;
• Innovation and Creativity;
• Attention to detail;
• Good analytical skills.
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access).
• Knowledge of SAP is an added advantage.