Administration Secretary to the Global CEO at Fairtrade International

Key Performance Areas
In close cooperation with the Fairtrade International Executive Assistants in Bonn:
Diary Management

• Plan and design the GCEO’s long-range calendar, which includes board, donor, partner and Fairtrade International meetings and conferences.
• Coordinate the daily schedule and communicate all details with relevant stakeholders to ensure effective time management and workflow.
• Prepare agendas and materials for GCEO’s daily meetings across the Board for all membership and stakeholder engagements
• Arrange the GCEO’s global and domestic trip itineraries. Provide support when needed to the GCEO during their travels
• Manage and respond to inquiries and correspondence or reroute as required liaising with colleagues onmessages, drafting remarks, and preparing documents for review.
• Plan internal staff and leadership team meetings.
• Coordinates and prepares key documents for the GCEO and ensures that all relevant information is provided prior to appointments and meetings.
• Prepares, consolidates, and submits regional and departmental reports to GCEO, extracted from the respective direct reports monthly.
• Ensures that these reports are reviewed by the GCEO and circulated monthly to the members of the Board.
• Updates and maintains the GCEO office filing system and various databases, computer files and directories, and keeps a log of important documentations.

Time Management

• Diary management of the CEO ensuring that time is managed effectively so that her/his priorities can be met.
• Remind the CEO of deadlines and potential clashes in the diary.
• Think ahead, making sure that the CEO receives all agendas, relevant documents and -if needed- travel arrangements in good time for upcoming meetings.
• Arrange meetings for the CEO including contacting attendees, organising venues, technical equipment and refreshments as needed, making travel arrangements, presenting documentation in order and accessible way, etc. as required.
• Making travel and other arrangements in good time in a cost-effective, convenient way.
• Providing logistical support to the CEO during their travels.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Correspondence Management

• Opening all business mail and dealing with all matters that the CEO does not need to deal with herself/himself.
• Briefing about any matters that she/he has referred to others and ensuring that correspondence referred on has been satisfactory dealt with.
• Taking, revising and distributing agendas and minutes of all meetings as required.
• Wherever possible, drafting replies for the CEO where she/he needs to input or sign off correspondence.
• Keeping track of the correspondence and ensuring all correspondence has been dealt with appropriately and quickly.
• Tracking and managing social platform engagements and correspondences for the GCEO
• When necessary, taking and fielding calls and emails on behalf of the CEO.

Meeting preparation and Research Management

• Undertaking paper, internet, and face to face research for the CEO on a range of topics for reports, correspondence, talks and presentations as required. Presenting findings – facts, figures, and images – to the GCEO to incorporate into her/his work as required.
• Support the planning and administrative management of the Executive Office meetings which includeFET, Producer Driven Services, and other relevant member related meetings as designated by the GCEO.
• This includes managing the meeting calendars, setting agendas, taking minutes, producing papers as pre-reads in a timely manner, supporting the GCEO with research documents as provided by various teams in the organisations, preparing PowerPoint presentations, tables and charts as required.
• Take minutes and ensure appropriate distribution of specific leadership meetings in a timely mannernamely the Executive Teams, CEO Calls, CEO Forums and related member driven forums and Committees.
• Support the GCEO to manage correspondences in specific Sector and Board Committees.
• Assist in making SMT members aware of GCEO activities based on requirements for information as appropriate.
• Liaise with relevant departments to ensure timely preparations of speaking engagements and speech development. Proof reading of all speeches.
• Supports in the development of monthly reports from the membership back to the Senior Management Team in a timely basis.
• Support the GCEO to manage key Flagship campaigns and projects for the year, to ensure that they are completed in a timely manner.

Board Management

• Organize and plan meetings, circulating notices of meetings, ensuring availability of meeting rooms, external venues, equipment, and materials as required for the management team.
• Coordinate all logistics; prepares the agendas and takes minutes of Board, Board sub - committees, management and staff meetings.
• Produce and distribute the minutes of the meetings as appropriate; prior distribution of relevant folders to Board of Directors.
• Liaise with the regional networks to access the regional and global boards’ meeting schedules and minutes.
• Maintain up to date records of all the meetings.
• Arrange both national and international travel and organization for accommodation for the Board, producer visits, and other guests as required for international travel, obtaining visas, checking travel health requirements and obtaining foreign currency.

Global Executive Office Management.

• Working with External Relations, manage and distribute a Global Calendar of events to the member system for their use.
• Management of all visa applicationsfor global travels of the GCEO.
• Support GCEO in the management of travel expenses and claims as well as travel policy requirements.
• Manage all office expenses and administrative requirements related to travel, work related expenses.
• Provide customer relations support to all stakeholders visiting the FI-Nairobi office.
• Provide customer relations support to the GCEO while on travels.
• Digital Management of administrative and organisation matters of the executive office
• Support administration of the Fairtrade International Nairobi office budget, ensuring all expenditure is in line with the FTA’s and FI’s procedures, processing expense claims, checking invoices prior to authorization and coding expenditure to correct budget headings.
• Support the legal requirements of registration and maintenance of the office in Nairobi.
• Substitute and work collaboratively with other administrative functions at FI and FTA and undertake other tasks that are consistent with the level and responsibilities of this post.

Skills and Experience
Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Public or Business Administration, educated secretary or similar qualification.
• Member of KENASA – Kenya National Secretaries Association.

Experience and Competencies

• Minimum of 6 years’ experience as Executive Assistant at Director/CEO level or equivalent position.
• Experience in office management and logistics support.
• Experience in scheduling meetings, preparing, and disseminating related communications, coordinating complex (international) travel arrangements.
• Experience in providing administrative support, including minute taking, report writing and research for Board and committees.
• Excellent communication skills in English; written and oral, and facility in cross-cultural communication.
• Ability to write clear and concise letters, minutes, papers and reports, prepare PowerPoint presentations for internal and external use.
• Ability to work under pressure, organize and plan work on own initiative.
• Reliable, diligent and service driven working attitude.
• Good command of MS Office applications especially Word, Excel, Outlook and digital competence