Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

In the Americas & Caribbean Region, UN Women has a Regional Office based in Panama City, 10 Country Offices, one Multi Country Office covering 22 islands and territories in the Caribbean based in Barbados, and programmatic presence in 9 countries throughout the region. In addition, the Regional Office provides support to the governments, civil society, and UN system as a nonresident agency in countries with no UN Women presence.

Reporting to the UN Women Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean, and working in close coordination with the Special Assistant, the Executive Associate is responsible for providing a variety of executive administrative support to the UN Women Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director while maintaining full confidentiality in all aspects of assignment and, in close coordination with Regional Office (RO) office management and staff, for managing the efficient flow of information and communications to ensure expeditious dissemination of information, timely action and compliance with established deadlines.

Scope of work :

1.Provide general administration and operations support to the UN Women Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director in compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and procedures: 

• Organize and maintain up to date the agenda of the UN Women Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director;
• Arrange travel and hotel reservations, prepare travel authorizations, process requests for visas and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA), identity cards and other documents; 
• Organize shipments, customs clearance arrangements, and prepare documents for UN Women shipments (received/sent); 
• Undertake the logistical, administrative and financial arrangements, to organize meetings, events, and workshops;
• Organize and attend meetings and events, prepare minutes and summaries;
• Prepare and assemble briefing materials and PowerPoint presentations for the meetings, missions and other key events;
• Organize and monitor the office filing system; Maintain roster of RO contacts; update electronic mailing lists
• Follow up on deadlines and commitments;
• Manage administrative files on the Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director’s mission travel and mission reports.
• Coordinate transport logistics management, in line with the office driver.

2.Provide effective communication and information management support to the Regional Office:

• Facilitate flow of information and communication between the UN Women Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director’s Office and other units within or outside of UN Women;
• Review, prioritize and route correspondence to and from the UN Women Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director Office; take proactive follow-up action and keep the supervisors informed; Answer and screen calls for the Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director with tact and discretion;
• Respond to and/or direct inquiries to appropriate units for timely action/response;
• Prepare routine correspondence and interoffice circulars; review documents and reports to ensure spelling, punctuation and format are correct;
• Maintain and organize up to date hard and electronic files for easy access and retrieval; ensure safekeeping of confidential materials;
• Assist in the preparation and finalization of informal translations; act as interpreter as required. 

3.Provide support with the AC regional Office’s external relations activities:

• Facilitate the Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director’s interaction with various external partners through written, verbal and electronic communication, and through collaborative and proactive relationships with counterparts and colleagues in partner offices; 
• Check for updated numbering of correspondence and ensure archives are kept current
• Receive and greet high ranking officials/visitors;
• Ensure protocol matters, receive high ranking visitors/officials, coordinate logistical arrangements related to visits.

4.The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: N/A

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to manage data/schedule, documents, correspondence, reports, and maintain protocol and information flow
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work
• Strong knowledge of administrative rules and regulations
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear format, using appropriate IT functionality
• Strong IT and web-based management systems skills
• Ability to extract and interpret data

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required. 
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration or related fields is desirable.

Experience: 

• At least 6 years of progressively responsible experience with administrative, secretarial, or programme experience.
• Candidates with a first level university degree and three years of experience may be considered.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Experience working in the region is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Spanish is required. 
• Knowledge of French or Portuguese is desirable.

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Other requirements:

The person to be hired must be a Panamanian citizen (natural or legal), or foreigner with permanent legal residence or valid work permit to remain and work in Panama for the duration of the contract.

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.