Administrative Assistant (Bilingual) at African Economic Research Consortium

Job Details

The JFE is an intensive teaching environment that offers a full range of elective courses at Masters and PhD level for students from various participating universities in SSA. Apart from encouraging a more efficient use of resources, the JFE offers an ideal environment for networking and a structured exchange of people, ideas, materials and methods that reduce isolation and stimulate continued growth and collective improvement in quality.

Each year, from late June to early November, eligible universities send their post-graduate students to the JFE to be taught elective courses by a team of internationally-recruited visiting lecturers/professors. The JFE admits approximately 70 Masters and 30 PhD students after their successful completion of core courses in their home universities.

This year, the JFE will be held at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS) from June 23 to November 4, 2018.  The AERC has also introduced a bridge programme that principally aims at bringing the capacity of students from under-represented countries and groups to a level where they can gain entry into and compete effectively with other students in the AERC-supported Masters and PhD programmes.

This year, we expect about 40 students on the Masters Bridge Programme, who are currently undertaking 6-weeks of intensive tuition at the University of Burundi, National University of Lesotho and Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, to congregate at the JFE for two weeks from June 30 to July 15, 2018 to jointly prepare and sit for final examinations in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Quantitative Methods, while the JFE for the Collaborative Masters Programme (CMAP) and the Collaborative PhD Programme (CPP) will be running concurrently at the same venue.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Assisting in the setting up and closure of the JFE/Bridge Programme;
• Providing administrative and secretarial support to the JFE/Bridge Programme;
• Assisting in translation of documents and conversations from French to English or vice versa;
• Updating and maintenance of the JFE/Bridge Programme records;
• Issuance of office supplies to JFE/Bridge Programme participants and maintenance of an updated inventory;
• Assisting in preparation of documentation and/or reports for the programmes;
• Assisting lecturers in preparation of documents and facilitating their printing or photocopying;
• Assisting with follow-up of participants’ airline reservations, tickets and ground transfers;
• Assisting with data entry and analysis of students’ course and lecturers’ evaluations;
• Assisting in invigilating of examinations;
• Any other tasks that may be assigned by JFE/SFSE Programme Administrator from time to time.

Qualifications/Requirements

• Degree in Business Administration or related discipline;
• Professional qualifications in French language, preferably at a minimum of Diploma level from a recognized institution, with full proficiency in spoken and written French;
• At least 3 years’ experience in an administrative role; preferably in an international environment;
• Proficiency in computer applications – MS Office;
• Good communication, analytical, problem solving and interpersonal skills;
• A Good team player with ability to work under pressure to meet strict deadlines, and to interact and work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Willingness to reside at the facility for the duration of the programme.