Senior Administrative Assistant Job Gross Starting Salary K’sh 64,000

Senior Administrative Assistant Job Gross Starting Salary K’sh 64,000
The globally networked International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) helps to reduce poverty, hunger and environmental degradation by enhancing animal agriculture in developing countries. ILRI positions its work at the dynamic interface of poverty alleviation and sustainable livestock livelihoods.

Our staff work in partnerships and alliances with organizations in developed and developing countries, including some of the finest NGOs, universities and research organizations in the world. ILRI’s headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with a second principal campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Our staff are also based in 7 partner institutions in other parts of Africa and in Asia and Latin America.

We employ more than 700 staff from about 40 countries and are one of 15 centres sponsored by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

ILRI hosts the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nairobi. IITA (www.iita.org), with its headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria, works with partners throughout Africa
and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture.

The Position
ILRI seeks to recruit a SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT on behalf of IITA to provide general administrative and secretarial support relating to the IITA Kenya office.

Responsibilities:
Manage IITA-Kenya finances;
Assist with budgeting, budget monitoring and budget forecasting;
Responsible for IITA Kenya Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS), students and visiting scientists, Human Resources and administrative matters;
Responsible for IITA’s Kenya assets;
Procurement and preparation of a monthly supply report
Provide administrative and logistical support to the IITA headquarters and outstations;
Maintain files and records which often contain confidential information;
Maintain office supplies;
Co-ordinate local and international travel, meetings, workshop and conference logistics and verify related hotel, housing, catering expense reports, etc;
Provide secretarial support services including document preparation, drafting of routine correspondence, report formatting and, when necessary, preparation of graphics for presentations at meetings and conferences;
Provide general administrative support which includes receiving and assisting visitors, attending to telephone calls, setting up appointments, monitoring e-mails and following-up staff requests on administrative and information technology matters;
Maintain up-to-date hard copy and electronic filing systems;
Act as the contact person with responsibility for all administrative issues relating to the IITA Kenya office.

Requirements
A Diploma in Business Administration or related discipline is required. A Bachelor’s degree in a similar discipline is an added advantage;
Minimum 3 years’ administrative support and office management experience in a busy international, private sector organization or multi-cultural environment;
Demonstrable experience in organizing meetings, conferences and workshops;
Good teamwork, interpersonal, communication and multi-cultural skills;
Well developed computer skills in MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel;
Good personal organization skills, accuracy and attention to detail required;
Highly effective multi-tasking skills, with ability to co-ordinate, prioritize, and organize workload, meet deadlines and work under pressure;
Capacity to take initiative, demonstrate good judgment, and work under minimal supervision;
Good written and oral communication skills.

Terms of appointment:
This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position based at ILRI’s Nairobi campus and is open to Kenyan nationals only. The position is on a 2-year renewable contract subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funding.

Job level and salary:
This position is job Grade 2A, Level 2 with a starting gross salary of KES 64,000 per month. This is exclusive of other benefits provided within ILRI’s Nationally Recruited Staff Scheme.

Applications:
Applications, addressed to the Human Resources Director, must include: a cover letter, curriculum vitae and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience (but not related to the applicant) should be emailed to: recruit-ilri-Ken@cgiar.org by 7 September 2010.

The position, title and reference number “SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: SAA/IITA/08/10” should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email applications. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

To find out more about ILRI and IITA, visit our website at www.ilri.org and www.iita.org