Project Assistant

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) is an international organisation comprised of 38 member countries, whose mission is to build better policies for better lives. We promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work to establish evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a broad range of social, economic and environmental challenges, from the improvement of economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion. We provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

THE ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

The Economics Department (ECO) leads co-ordinated, innovative, international action with respect to the OECD’s work on economic policy, both international and domestic. The Department implements the priorities of the Programme of Work and Budget (PWB) set by Member Countries and the Secretary-General in its area of business.

The Economics Department aims at enhancing economic performance in Member and non-Member countries through sound and innovative policy advice with a view to seeking an inclusive and durable increase in living standards. It deals with a wide array of policy areas combining macro-economic analysis and a strong emphasis on structural policy issues. Its policy advice is derived from a variety of sources such as country surveillance, cross-country benchmarking and evidence derived from empirical research. Much of the Economics Department’s policy analysis and advice is provided as input to committee-based peer review and multilateral surveillance processes and contributes to the overall OECD mission. The Economics Department interacts with several other OECD directorates working in specific policy fields.

ECO is seeking highly motivated Project Assistants to carry out a broad range of administrative tasks in support of various divisions. The selected candidate will work under the supervision of a Head of Division and in close collaboration with other support staff in ECO and the Resource Management Unit (RMU).

Main Responsibilities

Ideal Candidate Profile

Tools

- Excellent knowledge and experience in the use of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)
- Excellent knowledge of the range of software packages used in the Organisation e.g. eShare, SharePoint, SAP Missions, Concur, Invitations, Event Management System, Conference Reservation Management System, ONE, SRP, SRM, or the ability to learn quickly.

Languages

- Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French) and knowledge of the other, with a commitment to reach a good working level.
- Knowledge of other languages would be an asset.

Responsibilities

Assist the Head of Division and division staff with day-to-day requests and the overall planning of activities and efficient running of the division, including coordination of meetings, resources, and administrative processes, in collaboration with other assistants as required; Manage calendars, handle mail, draft routine correspondence in both official languages of the Organisation,; Establish and maintain effective records management, structured document retrieval and workflow management systems.; Prepare and manage commitments,contracts and associated payments for intellectual service providers (external contributors) and invited experts in cooperation with desks/project teams and the RMU to ensure timely payments and effective communication with external consultants. Liaise with the Programme,Budget and Financial Management Service (PBF) as necessary and participate in budget monitoring and expenditure forecasting. Prepare and coordinate Market Consultations and Call for Tenders as required.; Provide guidance and support division staff on financial procedures and thresholds. Liaise with the RMU to ensure compliance with the Financial Regulations of the Organisation.; Occasionally organise recruitment panel interviews as required.; As first division contact point for newly recruited staff & interns, ensure a full onboarding is provided along with the necessary training and equipment to be fully operational.; Disseminate new guidelines and best practices from the RMU to the division staff.; Assist in the organisation of workshops, meetings and conferences, held in person, remotely and in a hybrid mode, both in Paris and abroad. This includes: meeting room reservation, catering arrangements, preparation of relevant meeting documents, maintenance of participant's lists, liaising with participants, and providing other organisational and logistical support during meetings.; Contribute to the organization of Committee meetings including:; Coordinating the preparation and logistics of meetings (including pre and bilateral meetings) in cooperation with EXD, and providing operational support during meetings.; Liaise with OECD member country Delegates, follow up to enquiries, answer questions and provide efficient communications in relation to the meeting organisation.; Help prepare and format the agendas for the meetings.; Liaise with EXD interpretation, remote conferencing, reception and technical teams.; Organise business travel for staff and external participants (missions, conferences and events), including travel and accommodation bookings, visa arrangements, expense processing and follow-up actions, in coordination with RMU and the travel agency; Assist in the preparation of documents, working papers and publications, including planning, formatting, editing and proofreading in both official languages (English, French) or other languages as required (statlinks, references, cross references, manage sources, table of contents, cover page, hyperlinks, tables, figures, boxes).; Ensure conformity of documents and publications with the OECD Style Guide.; Liaise with translation team for the translation of documents.; Upload and update documents on OECD file-sharing platforms (ONE Members and Partners).; Liaise with the Directorate for Communications (COM) and ECO’s communication team for launching publications.; Liaise with print shop for printing of publications, PPTs and brochures.; Format and post the Economic Outlook and Foundations for Growth & Competitiveness country notes, in cooperation with the division statisticians (for Country Studies Divisions).; Update the intranet and internet websites, as required.; Act as division timekeeper.; Work closely with other assistants and ensure the back up of other assistants in periods of heavy workload, when necessary.; Carry out other tasks, as required.

Requirements

Secondary level of education.; Office management, secretarial and language studies would be a definite advantage; Relevant experience in similar assistant roles, preferably in an international environment.; Experience in the preparation (formatting, editing and proofreading) of documents/publications.; Experience in the organisation of large-scale meetings and events and business travel, on-site and abroad.; Experience in budget monitoring would be an advantage.; Excellent knowledge of the administrative rules and procedures of the Organisation or the ability to learn and assimilate new rules and procedures quickly.; OECD staff are expected to demonstrate behaviours aligned to six core competencies which will be assessed as part of this hiring processes: Vision and Strategy (Level 1), Enable People (Level 1), Ethics and Integrity (Level 1), Collaboration and Horizontality (Level 2), Achieve Results (Level 1), Innovate and Embrace Change (Level 1).; To learn more about the definitions for each competency for levels 1-3, please refer to OECD Core Competencies .