Administrative Assistant and Compliance Officer - Sub Saharan Africa

Job Description

We are seeking a highly organized and proactive Administrative Assistant and Compliance Officer to provide comprehensive administrative support to our Sub-Saharan Africa cluster while ensuring that our organization adheres to all regulatory compliance requirements. This dual-role position will require an individual with exceptional multitasking abilities, strong attention to detail, and a solid understanding of compliance frameworks relevant to our industry.

General Responsibilities

• Generate Purchase Orders for vendors providing promotional materials and services for events.
• Communicate effectively with vendors to secure tax invoices for services rendered.
• Coordinate onboarding processes for new employees, including arranging access cards through Security.
• Liaise with IT to set up necessary hardware, software, and network drive access for new team members.
• Collaborate with Finance to facilitate applications for company credit and fuel cards.
• Arrange meetings, including booking venues, coordinating catering, and taking minutes as needed.
• Prepare and print conference and training materials for events.
• Assist in the creation of PowerPoint presentations for meetings.
• Generate Promotional Material Requests (PMRs) for distribution.
• Collaborate with stores for stock counts and provide updates on promotional materials nearing expiry.
• Maintain the Promotional Spend Tracker to monitor costs against budget allocations for the team.
• Perform general administrative duties, including printing presentations, collating documents, binding, and laminating as required.
• Develop and maintain an organized filing system, ensuring compliance with medical record-keeping standards.
• Act as a primary point of contact for internal and external clients and visitors, providing exceptional support as needed.

Financial Responsibilities:

• Confirm receipt of goods.
• Facilitate invoice submission to relevant person and follow up on payments.
• Liaise with Finance to ensure that credit notes are actioned and paid into the right accounts.
• Forward the Proof of Payments to vendors.
• Check and confirm budget allocations.
• Follow up with Finance regarding budget queries as a result of incorrect allocations.
• Submit and reconcile expense reports with the relevant and supporting documentation.

Travel Arrangements Support:

• Facilitate efficient and timeous generation of quotes for travel to ensure cost efficiency.
• Arrange flights, accommodation, car hire, transfers, visas, forex, and registration for events as necessary.

Compliance:

Ensure that only compliant vendors are added to the system by:

• Ensuring valid business rationale for adding vendor is in place.
• Perform the necessary checks prior to listing.

Medical Administration Coordination:

Perform all tasks related to generating compliant events in the system:

• FCPA should be done for all (valid for one year).
• DDQ to be done for all doctors (level 2 & 3) for overseas trips and level 2 for local trips.
• This should be done for sponsorships as well.
• DPSS (fuzzy search) to be done for all sponsorships (organization and members).
• ABC done for invitees (when required) Level 3 doctors as well as Level 2 for overseas events.
• Medpages, DDQ, DPSS, and PCPA to be submitted for ABC approval.
• Confirm that the venue selected on the event is on the Company’s approved Vendor list.
• Provide and confirm quotes for the delegates (Airfare, accommodation) unless it is a country to country event.
• Contracts Pre and Post event signed by all parties.
• Invitations and agenda with the relevant rationale for the meeting should be attached.
• Confirm and select the correct approvers based on the type of event and cost of event.
• Ensure that the honoraria invoices are submitted post event (with the approved function sheet and attendance register).
• Proof of meeting attendance (post event).
• Ensure that the meeting is closed with all the relevant supporting documentation and proof of attendance as well as the benefits of the sponsorship documented to our company.

Skills:

• Proficiency in the MS Office suite.
• Ability to prioritize.
• Attention to detail and ability to work under pressure.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work with reports and to perform simple analytics.
• Above average organization skills and a process-driven orientation.
• Planning and the ability to meet deadlines, supported by excellent time management skills.
• Ability to work independently with a solution-oriented outlook.
• Good judgement and discretion.
• Knowledge of Compliance processes and procedures.

Qualifications:

• Relevant University degree or Diploma.
• Has an excellent command of English (both speaking and writing). French is an added advantage.
• Minimum 5 years of experience as a department assistant.

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing diverse, talented, and committed people together. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when diverse ideas come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully:
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status: Regular

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements: Hybrid

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date: 01/6/2025

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.