Job # 071417 Job Title: Admin. Officer Job Family: Administration Location: Kabul, Afghanistan Appointment: Local Hire Closing Date: 25-Sep-2007 Language Requirements: English [Essential]; Dari [Desired] Appointment Type: Term (Duration: 2 yrs)
Background / General description The overarching objective of the Bank’s work in Afghanistan is to assist Afghans in rebuilding their state. This involves assistance in policy advice, institution building, investment and donor coordination. Afghanistan and its partners are clients that demand the highest quality services from the Bank, delivered to accelerated timetables. This requires Bank staff to be innovative, familiar with international experience and capable of navigating the shortest path through the Bank’s internal processes. Aid coordination is critical to donor effectiveness and the Bank plays its role in local sector/thematic consultative groups and a wide range of international fora. Currently, the Bank has a portfolio of 17 active projects with gross commitments of around $865 million. In addition, the Bank is the Administrator of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust fund (ARTF), which has mobilized $1.3 billion in four years from 24 donors. Each year the Bank is likely to commit around $270 million per year in International Development Association (IDA) grants. The Bank also has a very active Analytical and Advisory Activities (AAA) program. The Bank operations continue in all but the most conflict-affected districts and the Bank is able to operate effectively from Kabul. There are more than 50 international and national staff working in the Kabul office, plus around 20 drivers and others to support offices and guesthouses. In addition, there are always a large number of visiting mission staff which the office supports. The current Kabul office was opened in 2002 with 5 staff . In last five years the office has transitioned to a full fledged major office of more than 80 staff , of which 12 are international staff . Kabul is a non family duty station with heightened security arrangements that entails the management of Bank owned Guest Houses and the compliance to several restrictions .The office rent multiple properties and deals with at least 20 different landlords The office operates under significantly volatile and constraining security conditions. In such a high profile post conflict country with significant institutional capacity challenges the provision of a quality performance by the Administrative Unit is critical to the overall performance of the office. Supervise and coordinate management of the Bank’s offices and residences of expatriate staff, manage property acquisition, contracting of service, transportation, procurement of goods and services, inventory management and disposal, mail and messenger services, . The incumbent supervises about five staff members as well as several contract staff members. The position entails interacting with the office Resource Management (RM) team and with General Services Department (GSD) specialists at HQs, and a wide spectrum of organizations and officials in the Government and external business community.
Duties and Accountabilities • Plan and organize the work of the Admin. Team, assign and review work, institute cost and quality control measures; train and motivate staff to provide effective and efficient Administrative support as a team. Supervise a diverse complement of regular and contract staff at various levels (staff/maintenance assistants to drivers/messengers and maintenance technicians) • Manage the Bank’s office and residences of expatriate staff including supervision of upkeep, provision of utilities, as well as operation and maintenance of plant and machinery. Establish and monitor building maintenance standards and services provided by the contractors. Develop and undertake special projects for enhancement of building services, and space allocation • Facilitate and advise expatriate staff on their relocation to Kabul Assist new staff in identifying and renting appropriate residential properties, negotiate leases and formalize lease agreements, supervise necessary renovations and repairs. Conduct annual rental market survey and make recommendations to the management for establishment of rental ceilings for expatriate staff housing • Take a leading role in exploring possibilities of contracting out services, identify contractors, negotiate and formalize contracts. Supervise the administration and quality control of contracts and the direction and development of in-house contractor staff. Review the need for procurement of vehicles, equipment and furniture/furnishings for the offices. Conduct market studies to identify better products at competitive price. Ensure necessary cost controls and inventory management. Organize and supervise disposal of used equipment and vehicles. • Establish effective guidelines and procedures for physical security of office and residential buildings and evacuation of building in case of emergencies. Attend to emergencies such as accidents and house security etc. Ensure adequate security for visiting dignitaries. Maintain high level contacts with a wide spectrum of organizations and officials in the Government and business community.
Selection Criteria • A master’s degree in a relevant field (economics, finance, general management, business administration, accounting, etc) with at least 8 years of relevant professional experience or a combination of a bachelor’s degree with at least 10 years of relevant professional experience of which at least 3 years should be a supervisory capacity. • Appropriate level of office technology skills; and • Fluency in English and local language. • Demonstrated ability to manage and supervise diverse resources and personnel with high sensitivity to cost effectiveness and quality • Thorough knowledge of the Bank’s policies and procedures • Initiative and practical resourcefulness together with exceptional negotiation skills
