Vacancy title:
Administrative Assistant

Jobs at:
Bioversity International

Deadline of this Job:
19th February, 2017

Duty Station:
Kampala, Uganda

Job details:
Reports to: Country Office Manager

About US:
Bioversity International is a global research-for-development organization. We have a vision – that agricultural biodiversity nourishes people and sustains the planet. We deliver scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural biodiversity to attain sustainable global food and nutrition security. We work with partners in low-income countries in different regions where agricultural biodiversity can contribute to improved nutrition, resilience, productivity and climate change adaptation.

Job Summary: The Administrative Assistant will provide administrative support to a range of project and general administrative activities as part of the administration team for Bioversity’s
Uganda Office (BUO) in Kampala

Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Provide programme administration services including:
• Tasked with drafting Letters of Agreement (LOAs) / Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) administered from Bioversity’s Uganda Office (BUO) country offices in accordance with organizational templates; circulating through clearance process; ensuring approved LOAs/MOUs are despatched to the partner; ensuring that requests for payments are sent to treasury for payments and recording;
• Assisting Grant Managers with follow up on technical and financial reports, ensuring timely submissions; sending accepted reports to HQ LOAs coordinators for electronic filing;
• Tasked with maintaining a database of office LOAs and MOUs;
• Updating a database for Bioversity stakeholders.
Provide administrative support services for meetings, workshops and related travels including:
• Supporting the organization of all logistical arrangements for meetings, seminars and conferences including hotel bookings, and facilitating report preparation;
• Organizing and following up on staff travel itineraries/ticket issuance and travel advice for staff and partners in a timely manner;
• Responsible for organizing and following up on hotel reservations for office guests and their airport pick up and drops;
• Organizing related catering requirements.
Provide support to facilities and security services including:
• Monitoring the good working order of health and safety equipment in the office including first aid boxes and fire extinguishers;
• Tasked with monitoring building systems to ensure they are functioning in good working order;
• Monitoring and tracking office space allocation;
• Monitoring facilities maintenance status, including buildings, premises and office equipment and escalate issues to the Country Office Manager for action; organizing facilities or premise repairs;
• Working closely with security firm and officers and monitoring the provision of services;
• Liaising with local authorities around matters related to health and safety, building and office functions.
Provide support for general administrative services including:
• Drafting routine correspondence and
• Assisting in the preparation of periodic reports on functional areas related to the above;
• Providing back up support for other administrative assistants as requested;
• Perform other duties as required.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
• The ideal candidate for the Administrative Assistant job placement should hold a Bachelor’s degree qualification.
• The applicant should have attained training in office management or related courses
• At least three years of relevant experience.
• Proficiency in relevant software packages (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
• Knowledge of standard office procedures.
• Good interpersonal, communications and teamwork skills; courtesy, tact and the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of cultural and national backgrounds.
• Good personal organization, priority setting and problem solving skills.
• Excellent command of the English language, both written and spoken.
• Strong client orientation and service approach.
• Good judgment and initiative; ability to work independently within assigned areas.
• Previous exposure and experience in an international working environment.
• Working knowledge of other languages.

Job application procedure
All suitably qualified and interested candidates should send their applications via post to: P. O. Box 24384, Kampala, Uganda or by hand at Plot 106, Katalima Road, Naguru, Kampala, Uganda. Please note that in the application you are required to provide the contact details (address, telephone number and e-mail address) of at least three referees.