Team Assistant (Tjo)
Organizational Context
This position is within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), specifically in the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division in Geneva, Switzerland. The role reports to the Chief of the Human Rights Council Branch and directly supports the Secretary of the Human Rights Council and the UPR working group.
Job Purpose
The Team Assistant provides essential administrative and secretarial support to the Human Rights Council Branch. This includes managing correspondence, coordinating accreditation processes with permanent missions and civil society, and preparing statistical reports on meeting participation. The role involves drafting responses to routine communications, producing complex documents, and maintaining databases. Additionally, the Team Assistant supports meeting logistics, website maintenance, presentation material preparation, and calendar management. They also perform data entry, process mail, update distribution lists, and handle general administrative tasks such as requisitions and travel arrangements, ensuring smooth operations and compliance with requirements.
Responsibilities
Key responsibilities include managing all incoming correspondence related to accreditation and meeting requests for the Human Rights Council and its bodies. This involves corresponding with permanent missions and civil society via the Indico security database and coordinating accreditation processing with UNOG security. The role requires preparing statistical reports on NGO and member state participation. The Team Assistant will draft responses to routine communications, produce complex documents, and proofread/edit texts for accuracy and style. They will also screen calls and visitors, handle information requests, and provide secretarial, administrative, and logistics support for meetings. Further duties include assisting with website maintenance, preparing presentation materials, managing calendars, performing data entry, processing mail, updating distribution lists, and coordinating shipments. General administrative tasks, such as managing requisitions, purchase orders, and travel requests, are also included, along with maintaining files and databases and providing basic software support.
Work Experience
A minimum of three years of general office support experience is required. This minimum is reduced to one year for candidates holding a first-level university degree or higher. Experience servicing UN intergovernmental bodies and supporting the accreditation process for UN meetings is desirable.
Skills
Proficiency in general office and administrative support, including policies and procedures. Strong communication skills (written and verbal). Effective teamwork and collaboration abilities. Ability to perform data analysis and interpretation. Competence in using standard word processing and database software.