Operations and Administration Associate

Organizational Context

The World Health Organization (WHO) leads global health efforts, focusing on universal health coverage, emergency response, and promoting healthy lives. WHO South Africa supports a diverse portfolio of public health programs, requiring robust administrative, financial, and operational support for efficient implementation and compliance. This role also contributes to the UN Country Team's Operations Management Team, enhancing inter-agency collaboration and operational efficiency within the UN system in South Africa.

Job Purpose

This assignment aims to provide essential administrative, financial, and operational support to WHO South Africa's public health programs, ensuring efficient implementation and compliance with organizational policies. The role will contribute to the coordination functions of the Operations Management Team (OMT), fostering inter-agency collaboration and improving common business operations within the UN Country Team. The UN Volunteer will gain practical experience in UN administrative systems, financial management, procurement, logistics, and inter-agency coordination, strengthening professional competencies through mentoring and workplace learning, ultimately contributing to more effective program delivery and collaboration.

Responsibilities

The UN Volunteer will support programme coordination and implementation by assisting with the planning, coordination, and execution of operational and administrative activities for public health programs. This includes coordinating workflows, meetings, travel, procurement, and logistics, and supporting the implementation of workplans. The role will also support UNCT internal coordination mechanisms, particularly the Operations Management Team (OMT), by assisting with meeting coordination, minute-taking, and tracking action items. Responsibilities extend to conducting research, data collection, and basic analysis to support planning and decision-making, and maintaining operational information systems. Furthermore, the volunteer will support monitoring, reporting, and results tracking against workplans and KPIs, assist in knowledge management and documentation by organizing and maintaining records, and support stakeholder engagement and operational coordination with various partners. General administrative support, including procurement, travel, financial documentation, and records management, will also be provided.

Work Experience

No prior experience is required. However, one year of relevant experience is desirable, particularly in administrative support, office management, business operations, financial administration, procurement, logistics coordination, records management, project administration, or supporting program implementation. Experience working in multicultural environments or supporting development programs is also beneficial.

Skills

Key competencies include accountability, adaptability, flexibility, building trust, client orientation, commitment, continuous learning, communication, ethics, integrity, knowledge sharing, planning, organization, professionalism, respect for diversity, self-management, and teamwork. Technical skills include proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams), administrative coordination, document and records management, financial record keeping, data management, and planning/coordination of meetings and logistics. Strong professional written and verbal communication skills, along with the ability to organize work and collaborate effectively, are essential.

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