Administrative Assistant Job in Nairobi, Kenya

Job Title: Administrative Assistant for MLE Unit
 
Responsible to:Director, MLE Unit
 
Duration: 24 months
 
Hours: Full time, 40 hours per week
 
Start Date:immediate
 

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.