Vacancy Notice No. 2008/230
Position and Grade: Support Programme Assistant (G-5)
Organizational Unit: Technical Support Coordination Section
Division of Technical Support
Department of Safeguards
Duty Station: Vienna, Austria
Issue Date: 22 April 2008
Application Deadline: 19 May 2008
Type of Appointment: Fixed term (subject to a probationary period of 6 months)
CCOG code: 2.A

Organizational Setting
The Department of Safeguards is the organizational hub for the IAEA's safeguards work. The IAEA inspects nuclear and related facilities under safeguards agreements with more than 140 States.

Within the Department of Safeguards, the Division of Technical Support is responsible for the development and implementation of the Department of Safeguard's equipment systems. Within the Division, the Section for Technical Support Coordination is responsible for planning and coordinating the Department's equipment budget, contributions from Member State Support Programmes (MSSP) and the Department's destructive analysis of nuclear materials and environmental samples. The Section is also responsible for monitoring and reporting on the performance of the Division of Technical Support, particularly its equipment systems. Additionally, the Section manages a project to identify and implement new tools for the detection of undeclared materials and activities.

The Section has four units responsible for: planning coordination, MSSP coordination, analytical services coordination and novel technologies.

The Support Programme Coordination Unit (SPC) is the central body for maintaining and providing information on the MSSPs, the resources and capabilities available, the status of the programmes and activities, and the knowledge and experience of individual programmes. In this role SPC in particular consults with the relevant operations, support divisions and project managers to review the desirability and availability of MSSP assistance, the quality of task proposals (SP-1s), agreed task outlines and application reports of completed tasks. SPC maintains and signs all substantive communication with MSSPs, coordinates the preparation of the MSSP Annual, Semi-Annual and Additional Technical Review Meetings held in Vienna, convenes and co-chairs these meetings.

Assignment
Under the general supervision of the Unit Head, the Support Programme Assistant will organize and attend Programme Review Meetings, document the decisions in the Support Programme Information and Communication System (SPRICS), compile and calculate budget forecasts for various Support Programmes, provide administrative support and control for 21 MSSPs which are providing an estimated $20 million contribution to the further development of safeguards systems, and assist the Head of the Support Programme Coordination Unit with administration of approx. 250 tasks.

MEETINGS ASSISTANCE
  • Ensure that the necessary actions to facilitate the efficient and effective conduct of about 25 review meetings with MSSPs (5-30 participants) are performed in a timely manner.
  • Prepare announcement of meetings, reserve meeting rooms, arrange for grounds passes, prepare meeting documents (arranging update of status reports by Task Officers, creating reports from SPRICS, compiling outstanding and draft task proposals).
  • Attend the review meetings and take notes of decisions and comments resulting from the meetings, update Task Outlines, Task Listing and Action List and distribute in-house and to the Member States. Prepare and keep the Meeting Schedule up-to-date and distribute it to Member States and in-house.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPRICS DATABASE:
  • Activation/completion of about 60 tasks per year.
  • Input data into the SPRICS database from a variety of sources (incoming correspondence, task outline changes by task officers, follow-up of meetings).
  • Generate routine output from computer files and make ad-hoc queries (task proposals, task outlines, various listings).
  • Provide advice to Safeguards staff and users in Member States on the utilization of SPRICS to meet their needs.
  • Control of access to the SPRICS database.
SPC OFFICE MAINTENANCE ROUTINE:
  • Facilitate the smooth and efficient functioning of the routine office work.
  • Facilitate efficient information flow and communication between the SPC Office and other Safeguards staff on Support Programme matters.
  • Review incoming correspondence in view of necessary input into the SPRICS database and/or other actions.
  • Prepare annual/semi-annual budget forecasts for Member States based on input from task officers.
  • Draft and type correspondence, particularly concerning acceptance letters and budget forecasts.
  • Maintain log-system for all task proposals (SP-ls).
  • Maintain central SPC files.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
  • Knowledge of the IAEA's Technical Support Coordination Programme and of IAEA safeguards concepts, procedures and relevant information systems desirable.
  • Good organizing skills with the ability to work with constant shifts of attention under time pressure in an efficient manner.
  • Demonstrated ability to work under a minimum of supervision and readiness to take on responsibilities.
  • Familiarity with the handling of confidential and sensitive information.
  • Good interpersonal skills combined with an ability to work in and adapt to a multicultural environment with sensitivity to and respect for diversity.
  • Ability to work accurately and pay attention to detail.
  • Good drafting skills in English. English typing and grammar tests to IAEA standard.
  • Excellent knowledge of both spoken and written English. Knowledge of another official IAEA language (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) an advantage.

Education and Experience
  • Completed secondary education.
  • At least seven years of relevant working experience, including work involving meeting preparation and documentation.
  • Working experience in an international environment.
  • Extensive practical experience in the use of computers essential: MS Office 2003 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), which is the IAEA's standard. Database management (such as the SPRICS database), data retrieval applications and document management highly desirable.

Remuneration
The IAEA offers an attractive remuneration package including a tax-free annual net base salary starting at €37 141 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), six weeks' annual vacation, pension plan and health insurance.

How to Apply
Internal and external applicants need to complete an IAEA Personal History Form. Internal applicants are required to apply online at https://personnel.iaea.org. External applicants are required to apply online at http://www.iaea.org/About/Jobs. No e-mail or hard-copy application will be accepted. All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application in due course. Applications received after the application deadline will not be considered. Applicants who do not comply with the aforementioned application guidelines or do not meet the essential requirements specified in this Vacancy Notice will not be considered.

Appointment is subject to a satisfactory medical report. Recruitment will be on a LOCAL BASIS only. Outside applicants are required to supply to the IAEA or to authorize it to seek all information relevant to their suitability for employment by the IAEA. Testing may be part of the recruitment process.

Applicants should be aware that IAEA staff members are international civil servants and may not accept instructions from any other authority. Staff members may be assigned to any location. The IAEA retains the discretion not to make any appointment to this vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade or to make an appointment with a modified job description or for shorter duration than indicated above.