Office Associate

Overview

FAO's commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations. The Markets and Trade Division (EST) monitors and analyses developments and trends in international, regional and national agricultural commodity markets and the factors affecting them, collecting and disseminating up-to-date and comprehensive market and policy information for the major traded commodities and those important to food security. It also undertakes forward-looking outlook studies. The Division analyses issues that affect global food and agricultural markets and trade, including analysis of trade policies and agreements, and provides technical support and capacity development to FAO Members in all these areas. Through its Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS), the Division is responsible for FAO's early warnings on food shortfalls and food security problems. EST is also responsible for the production of FAO flagship publication The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) and the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook. The Division houses the secretariats of the Committee on Commodity Problems (CCP) and its subsidiary Intergovernmental Groups (IGGs), the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and the World Banana Forum (WBF).

The position is located in the Markets and Trade Division (EST) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Main Purpose

The Office Associate leads and coordinates the office and management support functions of the Office. He/she ensures the smooth flow of office work and information by setting priorities and organizing the day-to-day work. The job role requires in-depth knowledge and interpretation of office policies, procedures and practices. The incumbent provides procedural guidance to managers and staff in the office or location.

Supervision Received / Exercised

The Office Associate reports to the Senior Economist in the Director's Office, under the overall guidance of the Director, EST. Work is performed autonomously, showing a high degree of initiative and independent judgment. Supervision received is focused on facilitating service delivery. The incumbent effectively organizes and supervises other office support staff and provides relevant guidance and training.

Working Relationships

The incumbent maintains a wide range of contacts with managers, staff and counterparts both within and outside the Organization. Work relations may be on a high organizational level, requiring very good communication skills and experienced handling of issues.

Key Functions / Results

• Analyse, manage and monitor a large and diversified volume of complex correspondence and documentation, often of confidential and sensitive nature; ensure appropriate routing, reply, prioritization, accuracy, consistency, informal translation and timeliness; bring complex, sensitive or priority issues to the supervisor's attention.
• Provide information and guidance to staff at all levels within the organizational unit; ensure understanding of intent and deadlines.
• Arrange appointments and duty travels, maintain supervisor's calendar and receive visitors.
• Organize high-level meetings, finalize agendas and invitations, ensure the production and distribution of documentation, take notes and prepare minutes, and follow up on required actions.
• Organize and coordinate the work performed by other office support staff; coordinate activities across the division, including divisional issues, deadlines and other requests.
• Establish internal procedures and tracking systems for correspondence and documents; verify that work is done in accordance with corporate standards; monitor work progress.
• Respond to written inquiries and draft responses to non-routine questions; coordinate responses to sensitive enquiries on behalf of the supervisor.
• Follow up on the preparation of reports, correspondence, briefing notes and other documents; review documents and make changes to their format or style in accordance with standard practices; conduct research and prepare briefing materials for the supervisor; provide informal translations into another official language.
• Evaluate ongoing support requirements of the office, adapt service provision to meet changing needs and solve operational problems, as required.
• Ensure the initiation of a variety of transactions in the Organization's computerized administrative systems.
• Perform other duties as required.

Impact of Work

The incumbent's work impacts directly on the smooth and efficient operations of the Office. He/she plays a lead role in the coordination and provision of the office support services for the successful achievement of the Division's mandate.

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education.

Experience: Five years of relevant experience in management and office support work.

Languages: Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and of another official FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

IT Skills: Very good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology.

Residency: General Service Staff are recruited locally. To be eligible for this position, candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing visa/work permit and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application. "Commuting distance" means the distance within which staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence.

Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical Skills

• Thorough knowledge of communication and documentation standards.
• Thorough knowledge of corporate computerized financial/travel/human resources systems.
• Thorough knowledge of the organizational structure, administrative procedures and policies and matters of protocol.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

• Relevant experience in a front office and/or large technical teams, including handling official correspondence, protocol matters, provision of guidance, mentoring and supervision to junior General Service staff.
• Analytical skills and ability to manage and monitor large volumes of complex and diversified correspondence and documentation, often of a confidential and sensitive nature.
• Experience with the organization of high-level events and Governing Bodies' sessions.
• Ability to work under pressure and multi-task effectively.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and ability to write and/or edit documents clearly and concisely in English.
• Thorough knowledge of working on digital network systems, with OneDrive and other cloud services.

Call for Expressions of Interest

Vacancy Announcement

Job Posting: 13/Apr/2026

Closure Date : 27/Apr/2026, 11:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : EST

Job Type : Staff position

Type of Requisition : General Service

Grade Level : G-6

Primary Location : Italy-Rome

Duration : Fixed-term: one year with possibility of extension

Post Number :

CCOG Code : 2101

Important Notice : Closure Date and Time displayed are based on your device settings.

Note: The following EEO and safeguarding statements apply to FAO job postings.

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of under-represented Members and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.