Team Assistant, PITD0 at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/20/035
Location: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Grade: GS6

TheComplex

• The Vice-Presidency for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization is central to the Bank’s mission of developing the private sector, improving infrastructure and accelerating industrialization.
• The complex main functions are to (i) strengthen the enabling environment for private sector (including financial sector) development conducive to inclusive growth and sustainable development, (ii) support the development of reliable and sustainable infrastructure, including cities and urban development, and (iii) place renewed emphasis on industrial and trade performance in support of structural transformation across Africa.
• The Complex leverages knowledge, co-financing, and partnerships to attract private capital and work with governments on delivering the Bank’s development agenda.

The Hiring Department / Division

• The role of the Bank’s Industrial and Trade Development Department is to promote the implementation of the Bank’s 10 Year Strategy and HI 5’s initiatives with special emphasis on the Industrialize Africa strategy. The Department leads the Bank’s activities in the area of industrial policies, ICT, trade and investment climate, and private sector investments in industry and services.
• In line with the Bank Ten-Year Strategy, and consistent with the Bank’s Industrialization Strategy for Africa, the Industrial Development Division drives the Bank’s interventions through the implementation of priority programs to scale-up and accelerate industrial transformation in Africa.
• Through strategic partnerships with other co-financiers, the Private Sector, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO),the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Union Commission (AUC) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Division actively seeks to support governments in adjusting their national industrial policies, identifying potential sectors for industrial development and investment, and providing support for value chain development, advisory and technical assistance as well as operational support through sectoral expertise to operational teams in Regional Hubs.
• This will cover operations, advisory and technical assistance pertaining to industry clusters, investments in Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and linkage projects, technical assistance for Public-Private Partnership-targeted projects and special initiatives and activities dedicated to promoting strategic partnerships. In addition, the Division strives to facilitate government and private sector dialogue to foster coordination between all the industrialization stakeholders.

The Position

• The job of Team Assistant which falls under General Support Services that provides administrative support for the smooth running of the Department, ensures that the Director is freed from all tasks which could otherwise impede the efficient discharge of high duties and responsibilities.
• Each Department has its unique functions, but the Team Assistant for the Department works more or less uniformly irrespective of the Departments to assure hitch-free operations within the office of the respective Directorate.
• Accordingly, his/her job facilitates and contributes to the success of the Director in performing his/her role for the achievement of the High 5s.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the General guidance and overall supervision of the Director, the Team Assistant will perform the following:

Work Flow Management:

• Receive and register all incoming and outgoing documents of the Department;
• Ensure that documents presented for Director’s signature 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 Director's signature;
• Verify that outgoing correspondence is presented in accordance with the Bank’s accepted formats and check on probable typographical errors, presentation, completeness and procedural accuracy of all documents submitted to the Director 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 to in a timely manner;
• Channel correspondence for action by the Director or send directly to the concerned Division, if necessary.

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 divisions, as appropriate;
• Screen Director's calls/visitors, make appointments for visitors to meet the Director or the Division Manager concerned;
• Provide background information to the Director for appointments with official visitors and/or staff members;
• Relay information between 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;
• Arrange time and venue for meetings, collect necessary background materials of meetings needed from the relevant Departments/Divisions; Remind Division Managers and other staff members about scheduled meetings.

Record Keeping and Documentation:

• 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 ;
• 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 Department.

Office Administration, Budget and Finance:

• Make travel arrangements for the Director 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;
• Perform other office administration tasks (photocopies, emails) when the need arises, Administration, Budget and Finance;
• Assists in and advises the Director and Managers on a variety of administrative and personnel matters;
• Establishes stock control system for the management of office supplies and other bank properties (Personal computers, printers, faxes ...), centralizes requests for office supplies submitted by staff within the department and makes provisions in order to ensure distribution of the required items;
• Negotiates with CHGS allocation of appropriate office space for the Unit by providing justifications; responsible for organizing and coordinating office moving operations;
• Contributes to preparation of budget of department as Mid-year budget retrospective by;
• Collecting facts and presenting them for decision making; recording data, monitoring and reporting on the department budget implementation level;
• Initiating actions on expenses to be incurred, processing requests for recruitment of short-term staff and consultants, missions, with particular attention to the procedures, follow-up of the required travel authorizations, contracts and payments;
• Arrange travel, visa and accommodation for staff going on missions;
• Initiate and prepare various administrative documents and forms, such as staff list, Staff missions, training programs, staff absence (annual leave, home leave, excused absence and maternity leave) as well as statistical data when required on staff;
• Manage create process reports in SAP;
• Store inventory control, reception, management and distribution of promotional items.

Selection Criteria

• Hold at least a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Commerce, Administration or related discipline;
• Training in secretarial Science and/or Administration and Office Management is advantageous;
• Have a minimum of four (4) years of relevant and practical experience in administrative and secretarial roles, in similar offices of international Organizations, Development Banks or similar institutions;
• Having private sector experience will be an added advantage;
• 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;
• 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;
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other;
• Competence in the use of standard Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, SAP and/or other integrated document management system).