Job Title: Administrative Assistant for MLE Unit
Responsible to:Director, MLE Unit
Duration: 24 months
Hours: Full
time, 40 hours per week
About Tegemeo, an Institute of Agricultural
Policy and Development, in Research and Extension Division of Egerton
University
About the Position: Tegemeo
Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, is an Institute of Egerton
University mandated to conduct agricultural policy research in Kenya.
It has a long track record designing
and conducting policy research and evaluation of development projects in the
agricultural sector.
The Institute seeks an Administrative
Assistant to support the Measurement Learning and Evaluation (MLE) Unit.
The position is intended to provide
administrative and secretarial support, including: correspondence and
communication; support to meetings; general administrative assistance such as
coordinating and tracking work flow to ensure progress to deadlines/keeping
projects on schedule; taking initiative in director’s/manager’s absence;
maintaining procedures manual to ensure consistent/efficient performance of
routines and preparing and controlling administrative budgets.
Key Responsibilities
Communication and Correspondence
- Deal with correspondence addressed to
management, to the MLE Unit
- Screen calls, letters and emails; prioritise
correspondence and bring to the attention of management matters requiring
attention, associated deadlines
- Compose correspondence/reports for own or
manager’s signature on own initiative or from directors’ notes
- Check deadlines on incoming requests and put
preliminary work in play
- Communicates with stakeholders , clients,
visitors to achieve aims of projects
- Handle all inquiries within your capacity and
refer others to appropriate offices/r
- Route calls to appropriate staff
- Do phone surveys/inquiries as needed
Support to Management Meetings
- Prepare agenda and supportive documents/notes
in advance
- Arrange meeting facilities
- When required, take part in administrative
meetings as recording secretary; prepare action minutes
- Take follow-up action arising from notes – as
required
Visitors
- Meet and greet stakeholders/visitors,
- Arrange amenities/refreshments as needed
Travel
- Arrange travel plans for management and staff
- Prepare itinerary, trip file and supplies
- Avail tools for funds request and expense
report for management and staff
Routines and Records Management
- Routinely re-order supplies for MLE Unit
- Update mail/phone directory
- Maintain documentation of project, policy
manuals and procedures
- Update and manage project records
- Create and maintain storage/retrieval systems
for project records/data
Projects
- Keep projects on schedule by monitoring
progress of project tasks allocated to staff by management.
- Prepare reports on progress and implement any
actions
- Handle administrative detail, for MLE Unit
related projects
- Seek greater role in projects within
administrative and other areas of competence
- Seek competence in areas outside your range
e.g. finance, project management, personnel
Supervision
- As required, recruit, train and supervise
part-time or full-time, paid, or unpaid/volunteer secretarial or clerical
staff
Deliverables
- Provide administrative and secretarial support
to the MLE Unit management (Director, MLE Advisor, Business Development
Manager)
- Correspondence and communication
- General administrative assistance
- Provide administrative and clerical support to
the meetings and arrange functions
- Administrative support to MLE Unit and MLE
projects
- Coordinate work flow
Personnel Requirements
Educational Qualifications: A
Higher diploma in relevant secretarial and administrative studies. A Bachelor’s
degree is desirable
Skills: Excellent writing, communication skills and
interpersonal skills, Software experience in computer packages like word,
excel, power-point
Experience: 5
year experience as an administrative assistant to the executive/management,
working under strict deadlines. Candidates with a least two year experience in
agricultural development and related establishments will have an added
advantage.
Personal Attributes
1. Good Interpersonal Communication
Skills
- Able to communicate with others in a warm and
helpful manner while simultaneously building credibility and rapport
- Written Communication –Communicates ideas on
complex and sensitive issues clearly in writing, selecting language, tone
and format to suit target recipients
- Verbal Communication – Speaks in a clear
succinct manner and tailors language to suit target audience
- Conflict Resolution – Defuses and resolves
conflict in a range of situations, where tact and diplomacy are required
2. Good in Organisation and Planning
- Able to organise or schedule tasks.
- Develops realistic action plans while being
sensitive to time constraints and resource availability.
- Plans and manages multiple jobs simultaneously
3. An eye for detail
- Accurate and a focus on getting things right
first time
4. Results Driven
- Has capacity to maintain focus on the desired
outcome of any project
5. Confidentiality
- Performs to earn managements full confidence
- Assures discreet handling of all business
References: An offer of employment will be subject to the
receipt of satisfactory references. We require two references, one of which
must be from you present or most recent employer.
The Institute reserves the right to
contact your previous employer before an offer is made. Unless your permission
is granted, your present employer will not be approached until after an offer
of employment has been made.
Probationary Period: The first 3 months of your employment with the
Institute will be counted as a probationary period. During this time the
Institute will make an assessment of your suitability for acceptance to
two-year position.
Hours of Work: This
post is full time, 40 hours per week.
Holidays: The annual leave entitlement is 30 days
Notice: During your probationary service the period
of notice to terminate your employment is 1 month. Following successful
completion of your probationary period, the notice period you are required to
give the Institute becomes 3 months.
Duration: This position is for 24 months with possibilities
of renewal for a further period upon satisfactory performance and availability
of funds.
Salary: The position with be competitively remunerated
including benefits such as medical insurance and other allowances.
Location: The position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Application Instruction and Deadline (Wednesday 11th February, 2015):
A cover letter together with copies
of transcripts, certificates and a detailed CV including names and contact
information of three referees should be submitted via email address
vacancies@tegemeo.org
Applications should be clearly marked
with the relevant position and should be received no later than Wednesday 11th
February, 2015.
Only applicants meeting the above requirements will be contacted.