Executive Assistant, Kenya

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that advances democracy worldwide, as a universal human aspiration and an enabler of sustainable development, through support to the building, strengthening and safeguarding of democratic political institutions and processes at all levels. It is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has offices in Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America, and Europe.

The Executive Assistant in the Africa and West Asia Regional Office handles the day-to-day routine of efficiently running the office and calendar of the Director, Africa and West Asia (AWA) Region whilst also contributing to the overall administration of the Regional Office.

The high-profile nature of the Regional Office and the confidential nature of some of the work require the incumbent to possess a high level of judgment, discretion, and diplomacy. It also requires excellent organizational and protocol skills. A high standard of written and oral communication skills is also essential.

The Executive Assistant will manage an active calendar of appointments; complete expense reports; compose and prepare correspondence; arrange complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries and agendas and compile documents for meetings.

• Has specialized skills or is multiple skilled, developed through job-related training and considerable on-the-job experience;
• Experience of running an executive office in a multi-cultural/international setting;
• Adds considerable value to team-based activities in their team; act as an informal resource for colleagues; collaborates with other entities of the Institute as required;
• Skilled at nurturing collaboration with other programmes of the Institute as required;
• Follows internal procedures to ensure high standards of performance and compliance with Institutional guidelines;
• Acts in accordance with International IDEA’s core values; Respect, Integrity and Professionalism; and
• Integrates a gender and diversity perspective in all activities.
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration and management, sociology,project planning and administration or any related field;
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in providing executive level administrative support and coordination with senior officials in public, nongovernmental or multilateral institutions including development partners;
• Experience working with Inter-Governmental Bodies, think-tanks and development institutions;
• Experience working with ERP and other software systems is required;
• Experience working in an international and multilateral contexts, e.g., in an intergovernmental organization, considered an advantage;
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of French or other African Union languages considered an advantage.

• Coordinates, plans and ensures effective administrative support to the Regional Director's Office (and other teams as required) by collaborating closely with heads of programmes, finance, other senior staff, and the Secretary-Generals Office;
• Assists in all aspects of the day-to-day work at the Regional Office, contributing effectively to the achievement of set goals and objectives;
• Assists with internal and external communication and correspondence of the Director;
• Drafts reports, letters, and other relevant correspondence and ensures appropriate filing;
• Manages the calendar of the Director and serves as a point of contact for external visitors to the Director’s office; ensures visitors have relevant information for their visit, manages preparations for visits, including preparing and serving refreshments;
• Tracks key follow-up activities and priority tasks of the Director’s office;
• Contributes to the coordination of meetings, seminars, conferences, workshops etc. hosted by the Regional Office including annual roundtables and member state briefings;
• Maintains an up-to-date directory of key contacts for the Regional Office;
• Supports the Director with arranging regular internal staff meetings at the Regional Office and produces draft minutes and reports of such meetings;
• Coordinate and plans for annual team retreats and planning sessions;
• In accordance with the Travel Policy, arranges complex and detailed travel plans, itineraries and agendas, including cost control, travel requests, visas, claims and associated tasks for the Director, AWA and other staff as appropriate;
• Processes invoices, project advance requests, project expenditure reports and supports budget preparations etc, working in close collaboration with finance colleagues; Maintains records in the financial management system in accordance with International IDEA’s policies.