US UNESCO Administrative Assistant to the Ambassador

Duties

The position is the Staff Assistant for the Head of the U.S. Mission to UNESCO. The incumbent reports directly to the Ambassador and works closely with the Office Management Specialist, DCM's (Deputy chief of Mission) Administrative Assistant and the Mission's Administrative and Protocol Assistant. The incumbent performs a wide range of administrative, operational, and technical program support functions that facilitate the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the U.S. Mission. Incumbent supervises two Ambassador's drivers. The work requires knowledge of administrative procedures, strong organizational skills, a strong command of the English language, superior interpersonal skills, and in-depth knowledge of standard office computer software programs.

Qualifications and Evaluations

Requirements:

All selected candidates must be able to obtain and hold a: Public Trust (Low Risk/Non-Sensitive) security clearance. All selected candidates will be subject to a background investigation and may be subject to a pre-employment medical exam. Selected candidate must be able to begin working within a reasonable period of time, 12 weeks, upon receipt of agency authorization and/or clearances/certifications or their candidacy may end.

Education Requirements:

A minimum of 2 years of post-secondary education is required.

Evaluations:

Languages - THESE WILL BE TESTED:

ENGLISH level - Fluent; speaking/reading/writing, may include the ability to translate.

FRENCH level - Good working knowledge - speaking/reading/writing.

You will be evaluated against the qualifications and requirements in this vacancy announcement. You may be asked to complete a pre-employment language or skills test. You must complete the application form and provide the required documents. Your application must address all the position qualifications and requirements including education, experience, language, and any knowledge/skills/abilities listed.

If you fail to submit a complete application, then your application may be disqualified for this position.

Qualifications:

Experience:

At least 3 years of prior office management or secretarial experience is required.

Job Knowledge:

Basic knowledge of UNESCO, multilateral systems, and local French culture. Good knowledge of how to coordinate, schedule, track, and manage information flow, negotiate work priorities, supervise locally employed (LE) staff.

Skills And Abilities:

Excellent, efficient written communication skills. Ability to proofread and analyze information, prioritize and coordinate multiple tasks, and work independently and effectively in an often high-pressure environment. Ability to communicate effectively. Ability to exercise sound and independent judgment on a wide range of administrative issues. Knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint, in order to perform tasks assigned and assist other Front Office staff. Ability to take initiative and show leadership to proactively identify issues and tasks, motivate others, give guidance, and serve as a role model.

Benefits and Other Info

Benefits:

SALARY: the annual gross salary includes the profit-sharing allowance, the vacation allowance, the bonus allowance and the “Comité d’Entreprise” allowance.

MEAL TICKETS: Meal tickets have a face value of EUR 8.25/day. 60% of the daily amount is paid by the U.S. Government. An employee contribution of EUR 3.30 per ticket will be deducted in payroll. The number of meal tickets is limited to 202 workdays per year.

TRANSPORTATION: Employees are eligible for a reimbursement of 50% of the cost of public transportation passes purchased for commuting purposes.

HOLIDAYS: The U.S. Missions in France observe eleven U.S. holidays per year and up to ten French holidays.

For EFMs: benefits should be discussed with the Human Resources Office.

The pay plan is assigned at the time of the conditional offer letter by the HR Office.

HIRING PREFERENCE SELECTION PROCESS:

A hiring preference is extended to eligible and qualified applicants in the order listed below. It is essential you accurately describe your status in your application, failure to do so may result in a determination that you are not eligible for a hiring preference.

HIRING PREFERENCE ORDER:

• Appointment Eligible Family Member (AEFM) / U.S. citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM) who is a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran*
• AEFM / USEFM
• Foreign Service (FS) on Leave without Pay (LWOP) and Civil Service (CS) with reemployment rights **

IMPORTANT: US citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM) applicants who claim status as a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran must submit a copy of their most recent DD-214 (“Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty”) preferably Member Copy 4, Letter from Veterans’ Affairs which indicates the present existence of a service-connected disability, equivalent documentation, or certification. A “certification” is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days after the certification is submitted by the applicant. The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. Acceptable documentation must be submitted in order for the preference to be given.

** This level of preference applies to all FS employees on LWOP and CS with re-employment rights back to their agency or bureau.

For complete definitions of AEFM, USEFM, EFM, Member of Household, etc., please visit the 3 FAM 7210 Definitions.

ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

The following apply to EFMs, USEFMs, and AEFMs only:

• Current employees who used a hiring preference to gain employment who are within their first 90 calendar days of employment are not eligible. This does not apply when the hiring mechanism is TEMP or the work schedule is intermittent or irregular.
• Candidates with a hiring preference who have already accepted a conditional offer of employment may NOT be extended a second conditional offer of employment unless and until they withdraw their candidacy for the first position in writing.

The following apply to Locally Employed (LE) staff only:

• Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible.
• Current employees with an Overall Summary Rating of Needs Improvement, Unsatisfactory, or an MBC score of less than 100 points on their most recent Employee Performance Report are not eligible.