Administrative and Logistics Assistant

Organizational Setting

The FAO Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands (SAP) was established in 1996 in Samoa to coordinate the FAO work in 13 member countries in the Pacific subregion - Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and one Associate Member, Tokelau. SAP is responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing programmes and projects to address food security, nutrition, agriculture, and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with subregion wide institutions and entities. The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok.

About the Sustainable transformation of domestic agrifood systems project in Fiji, Samoa and Solomon Islands.

This new project, funded by the Delegation of the European Union (EUD) to the Pacific with a duration of three years, aims to foster resilient and sustainable agrifood systems in Fiji, Samoa and Solomon Islands by enhancing domestic crops and livestock production. The project is working towards the following three outputs\:

Output 1\: Strengthened policy and institutional environment in support of national agrifood systems transformation agenda
Output 2\: Strengthened sustainable and community-based production systems
Output 3\: Strengthened capacities for sustainable agrifood systems

FAO SAP is inviting applications from highly qualified and motivated candidates for the role of Administrative and Logistics Assistant to be based in Suva, Fiji.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall guidance of the FAO Sub-regional Coordinator (SRC), the NASCs will directly report to the Technical Adviser (Agrifood Systems), who is the project leader based in Suva, Fiji.

Technical Focus

Programme administration and financial management, including accounting, personnel administration, procurement, Letter of Agreement management and logistics support

Tasks and responsibilities

• Establish administrative systems and procedures according to existing FAO administrative guidelines for project staff, consultants, and sub-contractors.
• Develop and implement a proper archiving system for all programme, administration and finance related files, reports and correspondence for easy access and future reference.
• Establish financial systems and procedures in line with FAO’s existing guidelines for project staff, consultants and sub-contractors.
• Assist the CTA in ensuring efficient procurement management.
• Co-ordinate the preparation of project procurement and LoA plans in close interaction with technical staff, ensuring that cost estimates of project inputs and services are realistic and update the procurement plan at the FAO SharePoint.
• Maintain an updated inventory of all supplies and equipment and prepare guidelines for the proper use and maintenance of office equipment and properties; Also, transfer of ownership of the project’s equipment.
• Facilitate travel and transportation requirements of the project staff and other stakeholders involved in the project.
• Assist with recruitment of project staff, and procurement of goods and services and ensure applicable FAO rules and regulations are followed.
• Prepare and process administrative reports required by the Project management.
• Attend timely budget reprogramming and assist in the budget revisions of project to be presented to donors if required; Also, perform regular mapping of expenditure transaction listing in the project core page of FPMIS.
• Preparation of financial statement/reports and Call for Funds documents as per EU format and liaise with the Operations team of SAP for the timely submission to EU and FAO HQ.
• Prepare vouchers for payments, maintain and monitor records of all disbursements of the project and validate disbursements.
• Participate during EU expenditure verification audit and provide required documents/records as required by the project.
• Prepare updated reports on disbursement and advise the Project Team on the overall financial status of the project.
• Liaise with FAO SAP, relevant Government Ministries and Department, as necessary, on issues related to implementation of project operations and administration.
• Perform other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• National of the country of assignment
• Advanced university degree in a field related to business or financial administration.
• Five years of relevant experience in project management, administration, accounting and/or audit, budget or finance.
• Working knowledge (proficient-Level C) of English language and proficiency in Local language in Fiji.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable.
• Extent of knowledge of FAO standard operational rules and procedures and project/programme administrative management procedures
• Extent of knowledge of FAO’s corporate systems and database, or knowledge of other accounting or financial modules or applications relevant to accounting procedures or project budget management would be considered an asset.
• Demonstrated analytical and judgment skills and ability to apply rules and regulations in the subject field.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION