Terms of Reference 
UN-Habitat Administrative Assistant - Dakar, Senegal (UNOPS contract)

Introduction and background:
Senegal is currently at a turning point in its journey towards sustainable urban development. This coastal and Sahelian country shows territorial imbalances, with 75% of its GDP being produced in the Greater Dakar region. Today it is facing the negative externalities of rapid urbanisation, which is meant to reach 70% of urban population by 2050, i.e. almost tripling in size in absolute numbers compared to 2025. It faces a number of challenges related to weak urban planning and management mechanisms, something being tackled by Senegal Vision 2050 and its 2025-2029 National Development Strategy.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is currently supporting the Government of Senegal with the development of a National Urbanisation Policy (NUP), which is meant to promote intersectoral coordination, decentralisation for improving urban management and basic service delivery and attracting investments for sustainable urbanisation. In addition, UN-Habitat currently supports government and municipal authorities as well as public entities on issues related to sustainable construction, youth empowerment, improvement of public spaces, urban resilience and solid waste management. It will soon start a project for establishing a Partnership Platform for the Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) funded by the Government of Italy. UN-Habitat is also engaged in the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Housing in the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), of which Senegal is part.
It is urgently needed to develop and implement a coherent programmatic offer of UN-Habitat in Senegal, which encapsulates all these initiatives in alignment with the Government’s priorities in the area of sustainable urbanisation and territorial development as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2024-2028.

To support all this activities the Regional Office for Africa (ROAf) is looking for an administrative assistant to support the Senegal country office in administrative tasks.

Organizational Setting and Reporting Relationships: 
This position of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is located in Dakar, Senegal. The Administrative Assistant reports to the Senior Programme Management Officer, Head of the West Africa Sub-Regional Hub, Regional Office for Africa (ROAf) and the Programme Management Officer (PMO) for West Africa, based in Nairobi. The focus of this job is to carry out numerous administrative procedures linked to the recruitment of consultants/ staff, to contractualization both with the various branches of UN-Habitat but also with implementing partners and other governmental authorities, or linked to the launch, monitoring, reporting and finalization of financial processes.

Responsibilities: 
Within delegated authority, The Administrative Assistant for Senegal will be responsible for the following duties:

Human Resources Management

• Is familiar with the procedures and administrative organization of UN-Habitat and the United Nations System in Senegal;
• Initiates, processes, monitors, reviews and follows up on actions related to the administration of the office's human resources activities;
• Enters, keeps and certifies administrative data, documents justifying all procedures, payments, purchases, budgets for the various projects and the office in general, etc. in electronic information systems;
• Provides advice and guidance to staff on administrative procedures, processes and practices, liaising with central (as well as UNDP) administrative services as necessary;
• Maintains and reviews organizational staffing tables; prints and reviews UMOJA reports.

Budget and Finance

• Monitors status of expenditures and allocations via UMOJA, records variations, updates budget tables ;
• Consolidates data received and provides support to senior staff in relation to budget reviews by relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies;
• Reviews relevant expenditure status and compares with approved budget;
• Reviews requisitions for goods and services to ensure (a) correct objects of expenditure have been invoiced and (b) availability of funds;
• Assists in the preparation of budget performance submissions;
• Prepares statistical tables and standard financial reports.

General Administration

• Prepares, processes and follows up administrative arrangements and forms related to official staff travel;
• Drafts correspondence for the office based on documents/information provided by the program team;
• Maintains files of rules, regulations, administrative instructions and other related documents;
• Maintains up to date work unit files (paper and electronic) as well as tracking and inventory of assets belonging to the UN-Habitat Senegal office;
• Coordinates closely with service units and communicates frequently with internal team members, both at headquarters and in the field;
• Performs other related administrative tasks as required, e.g., operational travel schedule; monitors accounts and payments to suppliers and individual contractors for services; physical office space planning; identification of office automation needs and maintenance of equipment, software and systems; organizes and coordinates administrative arrangements for seminars, conferences and translations.

Contract Administration

•  Assists with day-to-day administration of contracts between the UN and external contractors for outsourced services.
• Audits the contractors' invoices against the goods and services provided by the contractor and approved by the UN.
• Processes the payment of contractors' invoices and monitor payments.
• Prepares and processes all UN forms and permissions for contractual and work Unit, Section or Service UN staff, including: UN grounds passes, property passes, UN parking permits, swipe-card access and door keys.
• Performing other duties as required.

Results Expected:

• Independently  provides accurate reports and/or records in the areas of work programming, budget/financial management, personnel administration and other administrative functions;
• Ability to work autonomously with a high degree of responsibility, in a flexible manner and under pressure of deadlines;
• Communicate with colleagues at headquarters, partners in other UN agencies, service providers and senior management;
• Draft terms of reference for events and to organize events;
• Good judgment and excellent analytical skills, ability to plan and organize work;

Competencies:

• Professionalism: Ability to perform a broad range of administrative functions, e.g., budget/work programme, human resources, database management, etc. Ability to apply knowledge of various United Nations administrative, financial and human resources rules and regulations in work situations.  Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work. Able to perform analysis, modelling and interpretation of data in support of decision-making.
• Communication:  Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
• Teamwork:  Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.
• Planning& Organizing:  Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.
• Creativity: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches..

Qualifications: 

Education: Bachelor's degree or Higher Technician's Certificate, a in administrative management, accounting or an equivalent diploma.

Experience: A minimum of five years of experience in administrative services, finance, accounting, audit, human resources or related area. 1 year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable. Proficiency in Excel and Word; Understanding of multi-sectoral projects or technical programs is an asset; Experience of working with public administration and/or the United Nations system is an advantage.

Language:  Fluency in French and English (both oral and written) is required; knowledge of local languages in Senegal is an advantage.

Please send your CV to Ms. Julia de Faria (julia.defaria@un.org), indicating: ‘Administrative Assistant west Africa’’, before the 31 May 2025.