01 Vacant Position advertisement: USAID/Mali Peace, Democracy and Governance Office – Administrative Assistant 

For detailed minimum requirements, applicants must refer to the Full Statement of duties and the qualification requirements available on https://www.usaid.gov/mali/work-with-us/careers or https://ml.usembassy.gov/embassy/jobs/

REF No.:     72068820R10006 (must be inserted in the subject line of the email)

GRADE LEVEL:  FCFA 8,836,454 TO FCFA 13,696,502 equivalent to FSN-7. The incumbent will be compensated in accordance with the U.S. Mission Mali’s Local Compensation Plan (LCP). Final compensation will be negotiated within the listed market value. 

BASIC FUNCTIONS:

The Administrative Assistant for USAID/Mali’s Peace, Democracy and Governance Office provides administrative support and coordination assistance to PDG and its staff members.  The Office is composed of 17 staff and two teams – the Democracy and Governance Team and the Humanitarian Assistance Team. While the former is composed of Democracy, Human Rights and Governance staff, the latter is composed of staff from Food for Peace and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.  The incumbent assists by providing support services for PDG’s activities to ensure the smooth functioning of the Office in all aspect.  Once reaching the level of full performance, the Administrative Assistant is expected to have a comprehensive knowledge of USAID and the Office.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:    

 General Administrative Support (70%): The Administrative Assistant uses 70 percent of their time to provide general administrative support for:

Operations: Maintains an organized work environment.  Assists supervisors to maintain current staff position descriptions and annual personnel evaluations.  Coordinates with appropriate U.S. Mission sections as needed.  Serves as a note taker during meetings, types and distributes minutes.  When required, assists with translations and facilitates communication with various stakeholders (i.e. government officials, donor representatives, non-government organizations, community representatives, beneficiaries, partners and sub-partners).  Manages and maintains office supplies (i.e. business cards, notebooks, etc.).  Maintains and tracks office equipment and supplies. Makes requisitions of non-expendable property and office supplies.  Submits maintenance and repair requests to ensure that all office equipment is functioning, hardware undergoes regular maintenance, and that the availability of spares exist or are ordered.  The job holder has an ongoing opportunity to develop new approaches.

Time and Attendance: Prepares timely submission of time and attendance report for all local staff members.  Maintains office leave schedule to include sick, annual and other leave as well as training, temporary duty (TDY) and other professional development.  Knows the whereabouts of all PDG staff.

TDY and Newcomer Support: Provides logistical support for staff members, contractors and incoming TDY personnel. Arranges logistical, administrative or management support such as scheduling, and helping to organize meetings, as well as visitor processing and support, and coordinating arrangements and schedules.  Coordinates local travel with the appropriate Mission staff (i.e. Executive Office, Financial Management Office, Travel, Motor Pool, etc.).  Coordinates security procedures and requirements with the Executive Office and/or Regional Security Office for all staff travel, visitors and TDY personnel.  Prepares briefing books for new staff members, TDY personnel, and official visitors.  Submits maintenance and repair requests on behalf of staff.

Travel Support: Processes travel requests, travel authorizations, electronic country clearance requests and approvals.  Reserves cars from motor pool for staff going to official functions and field trips.  Organizes and ensures that travel by PDG staff and implementing partners follow USAID procedures.  Makes flight, hotel and motor pool arrangements, according to the traveler’s needs.  Ensures that all required travel documents, such as visas and tickets, are prepared and obtained well in advance of travel.  Obtains all clearances before travel starts for outgoing and incoming visitors, staff and contractors.  Prepares travel requests and travel vouchers in accordance to U.S. government policies.

Correspondence: Provides document control and determining points of clearance and coordination.  Prepares letters, memos, and reports, as requested.  Review incoming correspondence. Receives and forwards messages and other official and unofficial documentation to appropriate team members.  Routs and logs correspondence.  Drafts, edits and finalizes outgoing correspondence.  Provides to format and prepare documents.  Scans and makes copies of correspondence, as needed.  Tracks records, files and other documents to ensure efficient management of information.  Draft responses to unsolicited requests or proposals directed to the Office and obtain approvals for transmission.  Ensures that reports and other documents are appropriately routed, distributed and filed.  Ensure phones are answered, messages are routed, and responses are drafted.  Assist with USAID-wide correspondence to PDG partners, counterparts and stakeholders to communicate USAID notifications.

Backstop Support to Project and Activity Managers (30%): The Administrative Assistant uses 30 percent of their time to backstop support to PDG staff overseeing projects.

Project Support: Supports various members of the office for them to conduct financial tracking, budget planning, and financial reporting.  Ability to work with USAID procurement databases such as GLAAS, Phoenix, A&A Forecast and other financial systems or spreadsheets.  Maintains hard and electronic administrative files according to USAID’s requirements.  Supports Project Assistants and Specialists with the project files, Value Added Tax reimbursements, official vehicle license plate requests, etc.  Maintains a current contact list of partners and sub-partners, as well as government counterparts in Bamako and in the field.  Prepares draft procurement-related documents, in conjunction with the Project Managers and Activity Managers.  Track all documents put in the clearance process within the Mission and with partners.  Collects monthly calendars of partner activities for the purposes of planning, reporting and higher-level participation.  Provides necessary assistance in preparing and disseminating outreach materials, such as weekly reports, fact sheets, and other briefing materials.  Provides project assistance and develop working relationship with implementing partners community-based organizations, and host country officials to facilitate the flow of information and assist project and activity managers.  Transfers required correspondence to appropriate hard and/or electronic files (i.e. official files, ASSIST, project files, etc.).

Meetings Preparation and Support: Schedules meetings as requested.  Submits access requests and reserves meeting rooms.  Ensures electronic access to phones and computers are operating and ready.  Prints agendas and other materials for the meeting.  Communicates with counterparts attending meetings for access requirements, attendance confirmation, and other information.  Drafts needed documentation and secures funding for purchasing in-house refreshments.  Organizes VIP meetings, conferences, workshops, quarterly partners meetings, and annual retreats at off-site locations when requested.  Organizes logistics for off-site meetings.  When needed, coordinates with the appropriate USAID offices and off-site facilities for pricing, selection and confirmation.  Assures that all security requirements are met in coordination with the Regional Security Office.  Coordinates with the Financial Management Office to secure financing prior to the event. Arranges other logistical details as necessary.                                                                       

To be considered for this position, applicants must meet the minimum qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Applicants MUST meet the minimum qualifications below and ONLY preselected candidates will be contacted:

1. All Malian Citizens and Local Residents with a valid work permit at the time of application.
2. Education (5): Completion of Secondary Schooling and two or more years of post-secondary schooling in Secretarial Science or Business Administration, equivalent to a US junior college or community college diploma, is required.
3. Prior Work Experience (15): A minimum of three years of progressively responsible work experience, of which two years should be in related work with NGOs, other donor organizations, or host-government organizations. Experience in an English-language work environment is required.
4. Language Proficiency (25): Must be able to communicate effectively in English and French in order to read, write, and speak. Reading, writing and speaking must be conducted at a level IV (good working knowledge) for English proficiency and level IV (fluent) for French.  Proficiency in Mali local language is required. The ability to translate from French to English and English to French is desired for written correspondence and translation purposes when needed.  Must be able to obtain, organizes, and present information and draft clear concise documents and meeting minutes in English.
5. Job Knowledge (25): A sound knowledge of administrative assistance principles, techniques, and practices is required. Some knowledge of Mali’s development history is required.  A good working knowledge of development principals, and conceptual understanding of USAID’s mission in Mali.
6. Skills and Abilities (30): Must have the ability to demonstrate professionalism, and the ability to work independently to perform and make sound judgments. Strong skills in office administration are needed.  Must be highly motivated, dedicated, a self-starter, and able to work in challenging and stressful environments.  Must be very organized and able to complete tasks on time, prioritizing and completing tasks quickly and efficiently.  Must be extremely computer literate, with excellent knowledge of Microsoft programs, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  Must conform to USAID requirements and use of relevant online platforms and databases.  Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to work in a team setting.  The employee needs to be able to work comfortably with other USAID offices’ and U.S. government sections’ counterparts.  Must have the ability to easily interact and maintain contact with high level officials, national organizations, and community-based organizations alike.

SELECTION FACTORS: 

To be considered for this position, applicants must meet the minimum qualifications noted above. For applicants meeting the minimum qualifications, further consideration and selection will be based on panel assessment of the selection factors listed below.

Applicants are required to address each of the selection criteria on a separate sheet describing specifically and accurately what experience, training, education, and/or awards or recognition they have received relevant to each criteria described below, and any related considerations.

Management may consider the following when determining successful candidacy: nepotism, conflicts of interest, budget, and residency status.

Full Statement of duties and the qualification requirements are available on https://www.usaid.gov/mali/work-with-us/careers or https://ml.usembassy.gov/embassy/jobs/

TO APPLY: All cv/resume and cover letter must be in English; otherwise application package will be considered incomplete and will be rejected. All the hiring process will be conducted in English, including interviews and any eventual proficiency written test.

Interested candidates for this position must submit the following required documents:

1. A cover letter of not more than two (2) pages describing how the incumbent’s skills and experience fit the requirements of subject position.
2. A resume or curriculum vitae (CV) relevant to the subject position.
3. Copy of Diplômas, degrees, certificates and/or ‘‘Attestation de travail’’, recommendation letters, etc.
4. Five (5) professional references with complete contact information including email addresses and telephone numbers. References should have knowledge of the candidate’s ability to perform the duties set forth in the application and must not be family members or relatives.
5. Full mailing address with telephone, facsimile numbers and email address and should retain for their records copies of all enclosures that accompany their submissions. 

SUBMIT APPLICATION: Indicate the Vacancy Reference Number: 72068820R10006 in the subject line of your email. If this is not properly indicated your submission would NOT be retrieved. 

Email Human Resources Management Section: bamakohrmvacancies@usaid.gov with the above reference in the subject line.

CLOSING DATE FOR THIS POSITION IS:  April 14, 2020