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Programme Assistant (Education Section), Social Transformation Programmes Division

12:25:00 PM

Reference: 110700335
Location: London, UK
Duration: Three years
Closing Date: 9 Sep 2011

General information

The Social Transformation Programmes Division (STPD) of the Commonwealth Secretariat comprises the Education, Gender and Health Sections. The three sections work on key aspects of human development towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the overall empowerment of women. All sections are supported by an administrative support team, comprising a Budget Officer, Travel Officer and a Programme Assistant.

The objective of STPD’s Education Section is to support Commonwealth member states in achieving the education related MDGs, particularly Universal Primary Education (UPE) and eliminating gender disparities in education. The major event in the Commonwealth Education calendar is the triennial Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers. The Ministerial Conference includes four parallel forums: Stakeholders Forum, Youth Forum, Teachers Forum and Vice Chancellors Forum. Education Ministers at the most recent conference emphasised that there was a need to prioritise the work to take account of global trends, and to focus on those areas where the Commonwealth has a comparative advantage and proven track record.

Job summary

The Programme Assistant primarily provides secretarial and administrative services to the Head of Education, as well as to other Education Section staff as required. S/he reports to the Head of Education. Duties include assisting the Education Section with sensitive and confidential matters, facilitating the Head of Education’s correspondence and telephone contacts; and initiating some correspondence independently, managing the Head of Education’s Diary appointments and preparing all necessary material for the Head of Education’s meetings, facilitating travel arrangements, general records management and providing general administrative support to the section as required.

Task description

The post-holder will provide secretarial and administrative service to the Head of Education and to other professional staff of Education Section as required, including:

  • Provide a range of administrative and secretarial services to the Head of Education, including: drafting correspondence; diary management; e-record management, facilitation of visitors; answering of telephone calls, etc
  • Support the provision of a secretariat service to relevant working groups, technical committees and workshops on gender, including making the logistical arrangements for meetings, dealing with incoming queries and arranging for the formatting, printing and distribution of meeting documents, as well as other ad hoc tasks
  • Making travel arrangements and preparing acquittals for the Head of Education and other staff as required
  • Processing invoices and other finance documents for the Education Section in collaboration with the division’s finance officer on the Secretariat’s CODA based accounting system
  • Maintain up-to-date databases, records and lists of relevant contacts
  • Pro-actively monitor and maintain section’s stationery needs
  • Maintain section’s filing and records management systems
  • Maintain section’s leave/travel/activity tracking records/financial updates and report on a quarterly basis
  • Provide administrative support for various meetings, workshops and seminars including venue-booking, arranging for refreshments, collating meeting documentation, etc
  • Draft and prepare consultancy contracts
  • Take the minutes of internal meetings as requested by the Head of Section
  • Conduct occasional pieces of research as requested by the Head of Section
  • Perform other duties from time to time, including the provision of general administrative support to other colleagues as required

Download the Job Description

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