Job Description
Background

The SDG Acceleration Framework Project, as a Development Services Agreement, is embedded within the Government’s central authority – General Secretariat of the Government, in order to provide services to a wider range of authorities at the national level, as the General Secretariat supports the work of the Government for general and operational affairs.

The Development Services Agreement is envisaged to provide a framework for services requested by the Government, for ongoing initiatives of the Government, for which it bears full accountability. The majority of development services envisaged under the Agreement relate to support to policy making through research, advocacy or policy alternatives, aimed at fulfilling priorities as articulated in the Government plans, presented before Parliament, and in line with progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Project includes, among the rest, support for fully capacitating the Sector for International and Development Cooperation of the General Secretariat of the Government. More precisely, one of the major objectives of the Sector for International and Development Cooperation of the General Secretariat of the Government is organization of bilateral and multilateral events with international elements of relevance for the Republic of Serbia and cooperation of the General Secretariat of the Government with foreign governmental and non-governmental organizations, diplomatic and consular representative offices in the Republic of Serbia and multilateral organizations. It shall also support the coordination and smooth implementation of designated project activities relevant to the work of the Sector for International and Development Cooperation within the General Secretariat of the Government. 

UNDP will support the Sector’s work by providing advisory and support services for setting up support structures for international organizations with seat in Serbia and supporting Serbia’s institutional structures in managing large-scale international events in the country. The presented Terms of Reference (ToR) shall contribute to the implementation of this activity.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide day-to-day support for project implementation:

Actively participate in the realization of project supported initiatives set by the General Secretariat in conceptualizing and implementing activities; 
Collect, analyze and present the background information for preparation of annual work plans and progress reports;
Assist in procurement, logistics, travel, financial and other operational matters;
Identify and collect policy-related and other relevant information, documents and data, compile and analyze data for further use in project management;
Support organization and coordination of meetings, training sessions, workshops, conferences and project events and prepare reports, as required; 
Provide substantive support in drafting various documents, updates, talking points, presentations, reports and relevant communication materials;
Preparing briefing materials, agendas for the meetings, providing requested inputs/background information relevant for discussions with stakeholders, keeping track of participants and registration lists, keeping minutes of each meeting detailing participation, main points discussed and conclusions reached.
Facilitate effective communication among project team members, stakeholders, and partners to ensure smooth execution of project activities.
Monitor project timelines and deliverables, providing timely reminders to ensure adherence to deadlines and project milestones.
Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to resolve any operational challenges that may arise during project implementation.
Provide day-to-day support for project administration: 

Draft correspondence on project issues, as required;
Support the day-to-day implementation of project activities;
Cover administrative project related tasks such as extracting, inputting, copying, scanning, faxing, mailing, photocopying, translating and filling data from various sources;
Establish and maintain project filing system, incoming and outgoing correspondence and maintain calendar of events;
Provide support to knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

Codify and share knowledge by capturing best practices, lessons learned and client’s feedback;
Support activities related to assessing capacities and needs of government organizations and partners, in close collaboration with national counterparts, at both central and local level;
Facilitate team’s learning and knowledge sharing;
Assist in the evaluation and documentation of project outcomes and lessons learned to support continuous improvement and future project development;
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

 

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Assistant will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Portfolio Manager for Integrated Solutions, SDG Integration Center.

 

Competencies

 

Core
Achieve Results:	LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
Think Innovatively:	LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 
Learn Continuously:	LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
Adapt with Agility:	LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 
Act with Determination: 	LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
Engage and Partner:	LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
Enable Diversity and Inclusion:	LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination 
 

 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Thematic Area	Name	Definition
External Relations & Advocacy/Partnership Management	Event planning and execution	Ability to plan, manage and execute of public and private events to ensure that they support and amplify individual communications and advocacy initiatives, as well as UNDP's overall brand and mandate.
External Relations & Advocacy/Partnership Management	Relationship management	Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.
Business Management	Customer Satisfaction/Client Management	Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.
 

 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
Secondary Education is required.
University degree (Bachelor’s degree) in Social or Natural Sciences will be given due consideration but it is not a requirement.
 
Experience:
 Minimum 5 years (with Secondary Education) or 2 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of relevant work experience in project or office support functions, preferably in governmental or in international/multilateral development context.
 

Required skills:

Good organizational and time management skills;
Excellent writing/reporting and presentation skills;
Excellent interpersonal, networking and team building skills; 
Demonstrates integrity by modelling ethical standards;
Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to critical feedback;
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
Treats all people fairly without prejudice;
Cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
 
Desired skills:

Experience in implementing projects that included extensive communication, data collection, coordination and facilitation requirements, analytics and logistics;
Previous experience in providing assistance in organizing the events (e.g. handling correspondence between different stakeholders, managing day-to-day activities related to event organization, etc.)
Experience in preparing reports and/or communication materials
 

Languages:

Fluency in Serbian and English is required

The online application form must be fully completed. Applicants are required to carefully complete their online application form and reflect all of their work experience history in the application. 

Only attaching a CV is not sufficient for applicants to be considered for positions. All applicants have to complete the Experience, Education, Language, and Nationality & Permanent Residence fields fully.

Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Identify the keys words in this job description for the Project Assistant Role