FEWS NET- Decision Support Team- Administrative Assistant

Introduction

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is an integrated set of activities funded by the United States Government (USG) and is intended to provide timely, accurate, evidence-based, and transparent food insecurity early warning information and analysis. Created in 1985 in response to famines in East and West Africa, FEWS NET provides global coverage of acute food insecurity. FEWS NET’s work is implemented across several mechanisms by a team of partners that includes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the University of California-Santa Barbara’s Climate Hazards Center (UCSB-CHC), University of Maryland’s Department of Geographical Sciences, American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Chemonics International (Chemonics). Chemonics implements FEWS NET’s Decision Support Team (DST), which is charged with providing integrated monitoring and analyses of current and forecast acute food insecurity in countries worldwide to support the United States Government’s (USG) policy and programmatic decisions. The DST operates through a Washington-based technical office, regional FEWS NET offices, and national staff presence in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and eastern Europe.

FEWS NET’s objective is to produce timely, evidence-based decision support to enable the efficient allocation of humanitarian assistance on the basis of need.

Based on an in-depth understanding of local livelihoods, FEWS NET monitors information and data on factors that affect food security, such as conflict, weather and agroclimatology, crops, pasture, markets and trade, and nutrition. The FEWS NET DST produces regular reports, including Food Security Outlooks and Outlook Updates, emergency alerts, market and price updates, and targeted analyses. FEWS NET makes reports available at www.fews.net and distributes them globally to governments, relief agencies, and other organizations engaged in humanitarian response and development programs.

The eighth phase of FEWS NET began in 2024. The work of the FEWS NET DST relies on close collaboration with international, regional, and national partners on food security-related data and information gathering and analysis. Major activities include joint monitoring and assessments, data sharing and exchanges, collaborative analysis and reporting, and support of local and regional food security networks.

Position Description and Location

The Administrative Assistant (AA) is responsible for assisting the Regional Operations Manager (ROM) in daily administrative work. The AA will be based in Amman, Jordan.

Responsibilities

The main responsibilities of the AA include, but are not limited to:

• Provide administrative support to the project and assist RCM with record-keeping and bookkeeping. Develop and maintain required administrative office systems
• Ensure office consumables are available and supplies are properly stocked
• Liaise with the local vendors to ensure services provided are satisfactory
• Prepare all necessary administrative forms for project-related items
• Oversee the purchase of office supplies and related items
• Maintain inventory tracker and oversees the maintenance of office equipment
• Oversee the vehicle logbook and ensure that the vehicle is properly maintained
• Maintain trackers and ensure the leave records are maintained in personal files
• Supervise the maintenance of the project’s filing system

Qualifications

• Proficiency in written and spoken English required; local language skills desirable
• A Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field is required. Significant, directly related professional experience can substitute for education experience
• A minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in an equivalent position
• Prior international donor project experience is preferred
• Familiar with the MS world, outlook, PowerPoint, and MS Excel software
• Possess excellent organizational and multi-tasking skills