Under the authority of the Head of Office, the Office Assistant will carry out a variety of administrative assignments in compliance with the Council of Europe’s procedures, guidelines and priorities.

The Office Assistant performs the following key duties:

• assist the Head of Office and Deputy Head of Office in the daily running of the Office;
• ensure the administrative assistance and the organisational support for the activities of the Office, including the organisation of meetings and preparation of meeting files;
• update and maintain the Office’s agenda, making appointments as requested;
• prepare travel arrangements via the internal travel management system;
• prepare, process, format and update agendas, correspondence, files, presentations and other documents and assist in preparing reports;
• organise and maintain the Office’s central files: official reports, expertise and other documents relating to the country, outgoing and incoming correspondence, lists comprising contact data for national officials, diplomatic missions and international organisations, mass-media, NGOs, and others;
• ensure the circulation of pertinent information and documents as relevant within the Office;
• provide linguistic assistance in translating/summarising texts;
• publish documents online and update the Office website;
• seek and collect information and documentation and data on request; keep information accurate and up to date;
• co-ordinate input from Project teams to contributions and correspondence and ensure follow-up;
• perform reception duties, receiving visitors, answer and filter telephone calls;
• assist in the preparation of delegation visits and Council of Europe events (seminars, conferences, roundtables, etc…) including, where required, arranging hotel reservations, transport, interpretation services, documentation, etc;
• report on activities in progress and when problems occur;
• provide ad hoc interpretation during meetings and interviews;
• maintain internal and external contacts;
• promote the Council of Europe values internally and externally.

Please note that the incumbent may be required to perform other duties not listed in the vacancy notice.

Employment is offered on an annual basis, with the possibility of renewal.

This local recruitment procedure is open to applicants already present in Armenia.

Only applicants who best meet the following criteria will be considered for shortlisting.

Qualifications:

• Completed full course of general secondary education followed by an appropriate professional qualification in secretarial/administrative studies or similar.

Experience:

• At least two years of professional experience carrying out corresponding duties;

Language requirements:

• Excellent knowledge of Armenian;
• Very good knowledge of one of the official languages (English);
• Knowledge of French or other European languages would be an advantage.

Nationality:

• Nationality of host country or one of the 47 Council of Europe member states.

Age:

• Under 65 years of age at the closing date of the vacancy notice.

Council of Europe staff members adhere to the values Professionalism, Integrity and Respect.

Essential:

• Professional and technical expertise

• proven practical knowledge and experience of administrative duties;
• sound computer skills of standard tools in office applications (word processing, spreadsheet, data bases, presentation software, outlook);
• ability to work under pressure, deal with multiple tasks and respect deadlines.
  • Planning and work organisation
  • Service orientation
  • Concern for quality
  • Analysis and problem solving
  • Teamwork and co-operation
  • Communication
  • Learning and development

Desirable:

• Professional and technical expertise:

• knowledge of the activities and procedures of the Council of Europe;
• experience of working in an international environment;
• experience in translation / interpretation.

• Drafting skills
• Adaptability
• Initiative

For more information, please refer to the Competency Framework of the Council of Europe.

Applications must be made in English or French using the Council of Europe on-line application system. By connecting to our website www.coe.int/jobs you can create and submit your on-line application. Applications must be submitted at the latest 04 July 2016 (midnight Central European Time).

Applications will be examined with regard to the requirements of this vacancy and applicants will be informed in due course of the outcome of your application. This may take some time after the closing date. Preselected candidates may be invited to take written tests before an interview. Written tests may be eliminatory.

In accordance with the Staff Regulations of the Council of Europe, the compulsory retirement age is 65. We cannot therefore accept applications from persons over this age.

The conditions of recruitment and employment which apply are contained in Rule No. 1234 of 15 December 2005 laying down the conditions of recruitment and employment of locally recruited temporary staff members working in Council of Europe Duty Stations located outside of France apply (Link to Rule 1234).

The Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

During the different stages of the recruitment procedure, specific measures may be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities.

The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading organisation in the protection of human rights, democracy and rule of law. It was founded in 1949 in order to promote greater unity between its members and now includes 47 member states, all having signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights.

By Statute, the Council of Europe has two constituent organs: the Committee of Ministers, composed of the member states’ Ministers for Foreign Affairs, and the Parliamentary Assembly, comprising delegations from the national parliaments. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe represents the entities of local and regional self-government within the member states. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial institution within the Council of Europe mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in member states.

The European Court of Human Rights is the judicial body which oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. Individuals can bring complaints of human rights violations to the Strasbourg Court once all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted in the member state concerned.