Thailand: Administrative and Project Assistant (Thai nationals)

Vacancy Announcement

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Regional Centre in Bangkok

Position title: Administrative and Project Assistant (1 position for Thai national)

Salary: Depending on experience

Contract: Initially one year contract with 3 months probationary period and possible extension

Work hours/days: Full-time (7.5 hours/day),5 days per week except for Saturdays and Sundays

Place of work: IGES Regional Centre office in Patumwan, Bangkok

Background:

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) Regional Centre based in Bangkok is seeking a dynamic person with strong interest and relevant experience assisting in all aspects of organizing the work of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in communicating with internal and external stakeholders and providing full secretarial assistance.

Responsible for creating and maintaining respect, trust and reliability in helping to represent the organization and in promoting goodwill in the interaction with IGES staff, grantees, associates and the general public.

Responsible for providing effective collaboration and support to other staff in the regional office, and for general administrative support as requested.

Duties and responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision of the Team Lead of the Regional Collaboration Centre (RCC) and the general guidance of the Steering Committee, the incumbent provides a wide range of office support, secretarial and administrative functions to the RCC.

In particular, the incumbent will:

Team assistant;

• Drafting and typing routine correspondence, reports and internal UNFCCC correspondence on general matters;

• Searching for relevant background material, which may be needed for reply;

• Handling telephone enquiries as appropriate as well as mail and correspondence;

• Responding to routine requests for information and receiving visitors;

• Drafting routine correspondence for signature by the supervisor or other team members, checking the enclosures and addresses, sending faxes and electronic mail;

• Assisting with filing and systematic archiving of documents and information material in hard copies as well as in electronic format;

• Typing and checking correspondence, reports, statistical tables and other documents for format, spelling and grammar;

• Taking notes and preparing draft minutes at meetings;

• Maintaining appointment schedules and contact lists.

General administrative, finance, and logistic support;

• Drafting for submissions to the Team Lead, forms relating to expenditure of funds, payments to service and goods providers and petty cash and including all relevant documentation such as quotations, invoices and evaluations;

• Maintaining a filing system of all financial transactions initiated by the RCC as well as files on rules, regulations, administrative instructions and other related documentation;

• Assisting with the procurement of goods and services for the RCC, as required;

• Preparing and processing administrative forms relating to the official travel of RCC and IGES Steering Committee staff, interviewees, consultants and resource persons by liaising with relevant offices in IGES and UNFCCC for timely issuance of tickets, visas, laissez-passers, traveller cheques and DSA payments;

• Maintaining the RCC’s travel records;

• Assisting in logistical tasks related to organization of RCC meetings and maintaining the RCC meeting calendar;

Perform other related duties and back-up functions when required;

Qualifications and Competencies

• Communication: Excellent interpersonal abilities; good listening skills, writing and verbal skills, ability to be discrete

• Decision-Making: Analytical and strong problem-solving abilities, takes initiative, drives for results, ability to prioritize work, communicates problems and proposes solutions, as appropriate

• Execution: Sense of urgency and responsibility, meets deadlines, flexible work style, ability to multi-task and work under pressure, detail oriented

• Partnership and relationship Building: Strong interpersonal skills, service-minded, courtesy, tact, patience, internal and/or external ambassador, intercultural appreciation, adaptable and flexible

• Strategic Ability: Anticipates future opportunities and consequences, demonstrates innovative approach to work, ability to organize chaos into coherent plan

• Ability to multi-task and to prioritize work amidst competing demands

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree, in a field relevant to the work of the organization

• A minimum of three-year professional experience in office administration, preferably working in an international organization

· Strong experience in providing logistical support for travel, events and meetings

• Computer proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, Internet search skills, PowerPoint, and ability to learn new applications quickly

· Strong numeracy skills, with experience in doing expense reports or other basic budget functions

• Excellent written and oral English communication skills

Reporting:

The Administrative and Project Assistantwill report to the UNFCCC Progrmme Manager, and ultimately to the Director of IGES Regional Centre.

Term of Employment:

The term of this position is initially offered for one year with a possible extension subject to fund availability. Considering the time required for attaining a work permit for non-Thai nationals from the Thai authorities, an employment term of one year is usually initially offered. A probationary period of three months at the beginning of the term of employment will be also considered for applicants.

Place of Work:

The IGES Regional Centre office located in downtown Bangkok (604 SG Tower, 6th Floor 161/1 Soi Mahadlek Luang 3, Rajdamri Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330).

Compensation:

Salary will conform to the IGES Regional Centre’s payment system. Relevant work experience and professional skills will be taken into account. Income tax withholding and other requirements will be complied with under Thai laws.

Working conditions:

Annual paid leave and other holidays will conform to the practice in Thailand and in accordance with the relevant rules observed at IGES Regional Centre under Thai labour laws.

About IGES and IGES Regional Centre:

Established in 1998, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is an independent, non-profit environmental policy think-tank, with headquarters based in Japan that goes beyond research to provide practical ways to protect the earth's environment and to realise greater sustainability and equity in the global community. While the outlook of IGES is global, the principal geographical scope of its activities is the Asia-Pacific region. IGES activities include strategic research, outreach, networking/multi-stakeholder dialogue, and capacity development (http://www.iges.or.jp/).

Since 2003, IGES has been operating a project office in cooperation with the Regional Resources Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP) of the Asian Institute for Technology (AIT), Pathumthani, Thailand. In 2011, the project office was upgraded to the IGES Regional Centre located in downtown Bangkok (Patumwan, Bangkok) to strengthen its functions and expand activities under the missions of IGES. IGES Regional Centre is a growing operation unit to respond to the needs of the institute as well as stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific region.

The main role of the IGES Regional Centre is to manage three networks that IGES provides secretariat services for, including Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN), Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN), Network for Integrated Planning and Sustainable Development Strategies in Asia-Pacific Region (SDPlanNet-AP), conduct/implement various region-wide activities including those that each network above has planned and others (ADAPT Asia-Pacific project, etc.), and to coordinate collaborative research with international, regional and national organisations and research institutes in the Asia-Pacific region. (http://www.iges.or.jp/en/bangkok/index.html)

How to Apply:

A cover letter, recent CV (with photo), and salary history must be sent by email to the following address. The position is available now and will remain open until filled. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview. Reference letter(s) from your supervisor(s) in the past positions (latest preferred) may be requested for short-listed candidates. Additional materials may be also requested in time for the interview.

Send your application to: regionalcentre-HR@iges.or.jp

The application documents are not returnable.