Administrative Assistant
🔍 Belgium
1. SUMMARY
The International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) is an independent audit body composed of six members appointed by the North Atlantic Council (Council) from among candidates nominated by the member countries. Board Members are responsible for their work only to the Council. The Board carries out external audits of NATO bodies, assimilated entities and of the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP).
IBAN’s mandate is to assure the Council and the governments of NATO member countries that funds were used according to authorization and that the financial statements are accurate and give a fair view of NATO’s financial situation. IBAN also evaluates NATO’s activities with regard to their economy, efficiency, and effectiveness.
In order to achieve this mandate, IBAN performs 3 types of audits:
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Financial audit – an examination of the financial statements of NATO entities to check whether they are true and fair and their funds were properly used in accordance with the regulations in force.
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Performance audit – an evaluation of the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of NATO's activities, operations and programmes.
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NSIP audit – an examination of expenditures for these projects, which relate to, for example, infrastructure, equipment or information and communication systems.
IBAN conducts approximately 30 financial statement audits per year of NATO commands, agencies, benefit plans, and other assimilated entities. IBAN also performs between 50 and 100 audits annually of NSIP expenditures. In addition, IBAN implements three or more performance audits each year. The audit teams travel to NATO and non-NATO nations to carry out their work.
The IBAN’s work is guided by the three core values of independence, integrity and professionalism:
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Independence: IBAN is solely responsible to the Council for its work. It neither seeks nor receives instructions from any other authority.
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Integrity: IBAN conducts its work in a fair, objective, balanced, unbiased, and non-political manner.
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Professionalism: IBAN’s work is planned, executed and reported in accordance with international auditing principles and standards.
Under the supervision of the Principal Assistant and the Head, Administrative Support Section & Administrative Officer, the incumbent assists and supports the Board, IBAN’s Middle Management and audit teams in their audit work of financial statements, NSIP audits and performance audits. They are accountable for efficiently handling a wide range of support duties of an administrative and organisational nature for IBAN as well as other work as assigned. The incumbent also acts as the Principal Assistant in their absence.
We offer a work experience in an interesting and challenging international environment, where you will have to cooperate closely with colleagues from many different nations.
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
- have a general education at least to higher secondary level;
- have a minimum of 4 years' experience in an administrative support role;
- have strong competencies in the use of Communications Information Software (CIS) and Information Technology (IT) platforms;
- have experience in editing, formatting, and drafting official documents;
- demonstrate the ability to manage and prioritise multiple tasks simultaneously;
- demonstrate a strong drive for teamwork, flexibility and resilience to changing requirements;
- have strong communication skills, both oral and written;
- possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one and III (“Intermediate”) in the other.
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
- knowledge of document management/retrieval systems and database software such as MS ACCESS;
- an advanced level of English (level V) both oral and written
- experience in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software;
- experience in maintaining and updating collaborative tools;
- prior experience within an audit or financial team, and
- a higher level of education.
3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES
Planning and Execution
Assist with the day-to-day administration related to financial and performance audits, as well as NSIP audits when necessary. Keep track of the status of financial and performance audits from the planning stage to final approval by Council in the internal IBAN database and ensure it is up-to-date. Perform necessary follow-up with the audit teams and ensure proper correspondence with NATO entities. Organise own workload to ensure the accurate and timely execution of duties.
Organisational Efficiencies
Provide constructive suggestions to improve office procedures. Find ways to be faster, better and more effective in managing information and using office tools. Contribute to the identification of opportunities for organisational efficiencies within one’s own field of expertise.
Information Management
Under the supervision of the Principal Assistant, prepare and distribute documents for meetings of the Board. Ensure updating of the IBAN Access databases and maintain an effective follow-up and/or reminder system for pending actions regarding IBAN audits, as well as a general correspondence log for IBAN audits. Type and format all kinds of documents, including tables of figures requiring careful presentation using the standard software packages used by NATO (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Ensure formatting of audit reports and documents prepared by IBAN are in accordance with IBAN and NATO standards. Oversee the paper flow into and out of the office including retrieving and organising correspondence/documents (including classified information). Work with the audit software used by IBAN to assist auditors in the conduct of the audits.
Expertise Development
Research data on information related to IBAN audits, as directed. Proactively develop skills in areas such as planning, organisation, technology, languages, and effective communication. Liaise with other IBAN administrative staff to leverage knowledge.
Knowledge Management
Create and update the files needed for IBAN audits, such as the collection, logging and filing of documents (hard copy or electronic) in IBAN and NATO automated systems. Maintain well-structured paper and electronic filing systems.
Stakeholder Management
Liaise with points of contact to ensure efficiency in daily management of workload and processes, especially for Board Members, middle management, and audit staff when at the office in Brussels or abroad on mission. Be the point of contact for questions concerning financial and performance audits. Maintain all lists of internal and external contacts.
Project Management
Maintain and update the IBAN internal collaborative sites. Monitor and track audit recommendations in the audit software used by IBAN. Maintain and improve the internal audit databases to meet the requirements and needs of IBAN.
Perform any other tasks as assigned.
4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to the IBAN Head, Administrative Support Section & Administrative Officer through the Principal Assistant. The incumbent carries out administrative and support work for the Board Members, the Principal Auditor, the Senior Auditors and the Auditors and serve as an occasional point of contact for staff from the entities audited by IBAN.
Direct Reports: N/a.
Indirect Reports: N/a.
5. COMPETENCIES
The incumbent must demonstrate:
- Clarity and Accuracy: Checks own work;
- Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems;
- Empathy: Listens actively;
- Flexibility: Acts with flexibility;
- Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;
- Organisational Awareness: Understands organisational climate and culture;
- Teamwork: Expresses positive attitudes and expectations of team or team members.
In accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations, the successful candidate will receive a definite duration contract of three years, which may be followed by an indefinite duration contract.
7. USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING APPLICATION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Please note that we can only accept applications from nationals of NATO member countries. Applications must be submitted using e-recruitment system, as applicable:
- For NATO civilian staff members only: please apply via the internal recruitment portal (link);
- For all other applications: www.nato.int/recruitment
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More information about the recruitment process and conditions of employment, can be found at our website (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/recruit-hq-e.htm)
Appointment will be subject to receipt of a security clearance (provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate), approval of the candidate’s medical file by the NATO Medical Adviser, verification of your study(ies) and work experience, and the successful completion of the accreditation and notification process by the relevant authorities.
NATO will not accept any phase of the recruitment and selection prepared, in whole or in part, by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools, including and without limitation to chatbots, such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Chat GPT), or other language generating tools. NATO reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared, in whole or in part, by means of such generative or creative AI applications may be rejected without further consideration at NATO’s sole discretion, and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.