Administrative Assistant At Palladium International

About Palladium: Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 3,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

Project Overview: The USAID/Central Asia’s Future Growth Initiative (FGI) is designed to spur productive economic activity across Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, by increasing the competitiveness of high-growth industries and providing jobs and incomes for Central Asia’s growing workforce, propelling the region toward self-reliance. Target sectors: Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Light Manufacturing (Apparel/ Garments/ Textiles), Tourism and Food Processing and Beverages. The FGI will transform market systems in ways that help high-potential firms, leading organizations, and sectors grow, foster market linkages to match the demand for workforce skills with training offered to youth and women, link entrepreneurs to high-growth markets, and build more business- and worker-friendly policy environments and institutions to sustain private sector-driven growth. USAID FGI will address legal and regulatory constraints if they are determined to be significant inhibitors to growth.

This Opportunity: Under the guidance and supervision of the Programme and Operations Specialist, the Administrative Assistant provides support to office operations performing a variety of standard administrative processes ensuring high quality and accuracy of work. The Administrative Assistant promotes a client, quality and results-oriented approach.

The Administrative Assistant works on full-time basis in close collaboration with the Operations, Programme, and project staff to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery.

Location: The position is based in Palladium’s Ashgabat, Turkmenistan office.

You and Your Career: If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have experience working in project management, particularly dealing with administrative and/or financial issues, we are interested in hearing from you.

We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start. We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a fulfilling career!

Reporting and Supervision: Reporting to the Country Manager and coordinate her/his activities with the Programme and Operations Specialist.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Summary of Key Functions:

• Support to effective and efficient functioning of the unit (operations unit/ administrative unit)
• Support to administrative and logistical services
• Support to office maintenance and assets management
• Support to knowledge building and knowledge sharing.

Administrative Support:

• Ensure full compliance of administrative activities with USAID rules, regulations, policies and strategies.
• Support to organization of procurement processes including preparation of RFQs and RFPs documents, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their preliminary evaluation. Preparation of POs.
• Arrangements of travel and hotel reservations, preparation of travel authorizations, processing requests for visas, identity cards and other documents.
• Administrative support to conferences, workshops, retreats.
• Checking and recording of vehicle daily log.
• Custodian for management of office stationery supplies including maintenance of stock list of stationery, distribution of stationery as required by staff and keeping a log of distribution.
• Support in maintenance of the filing system ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials.
• Extraction of data from various sources.
• Assistance in the preparation of budget, provision of information for audit.
• Assist in the administration of human resource functions, such as, recruitment of project staff, processing Independent Consultants agreements, performance appraisal, administration of employee benefits and allowances.
• Assist in update of inventory records in the assets registry and issue and distribute property in accordance with policy and procedures
• Assists other team members in preparing and formatting documents, including activity and expense reports, Power Point presentations; develops and maintains an efficient electronic and hard copy filing system.
• Organizes regular team meetings and conference calls/videoconferences, including the preparation and distribution of documents and providing the necessary technical devices.
• Support in arrangement and booking of accommodation for staff conducting field trips. Contacting hotels to obtain estimated rates and calculates per diems.
• Other duties as assigned.

Key Competencies Required:

• One to three (1-3) years of experience in administrative support, operations, logistics, budget administration or another relevant field.
• Experience with USAID policies and procedures preferred.
• Proactive problem-solving, decision-making and good judgment skills
• Demonstrated ability and commitment to manage confidential information
• Microsoft Office Suite proficiency and the ability to operate spreadsheet and word-processing programs
• Proficient in English and Russian (written and verbal); Turkmen language proficiency is preferred

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

• Ability to work under pressure and meet hard deadlines
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams with a focus on social inclusion
• Experience reporting to multiple lines
• Creativity, agility and team spirit
• Excellent communication skills

Deadline for submissions: June 30, 2022

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion – Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding – We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.