Administrative Assistant, Office of the CEO

Role Overview

This position keeps the administrative machinery of the Office of the CEO (OCEO) turning — owning the submissions, reimbursements, records, procurement steps and event logistics that sit behind every trip, purchase and meeting involving the CEO and the wider OCEO team. Reporting to the Executive Assistant, the Administrative Assistant absorbs the transactional workload so that senior colleagues can stay focused on strategic, CEO-facing priorities. Precision and follow-through are the whole point: an unsubmitted travel claim, a misrouted signature page or an invitation that never gets answered becomes a visible problem at this level of an organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare, submit and chase corporate system transactions — travel authorisations, travel expense claims, requests for payment and requests for purchase — in MyTree on behalf of the CEO, the Executive Assistant and OCEO staff, maintaining live trackers of approvals, reference numbers and open actions and surfacing delays to the Executive Assistant early.
• Run travel arrangements end to end, working with the in-house travel desk and external providers on bookings, itineraries and accommodation for the CEO, OCEO staff, consultants and invited guests, including visa requests and post-trip reimbursements.
• Support OCEO budget preparation and monitoring: contribute to the annual plan of work and resource allocation, reconcile accounting claims and expense reports, feed monthly updates to the Finance team, track equipment, travel and operating spend against budget, and run unit petty cash with clean documentation.
• Process consultancy contracts and invoices and initiate procurement of OCEO supplies, services and equipment, following each request through with HR, Finance and Procurement until it closes.
• Draft, format and proofread outgoing OCEO correspondence such as letters, invitations, internal memos and routine messages, and manage the CEO's signature workflow — verifying supporting documents, routing signed items and keeping records of what was signed.
• Maintain the central log of invitations received by the CEO and OCEO, circulate items to the Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff for triage, follow up on RSVPs, issue and record OCEO reference numbers, and keep both physical and digital filing organised.
• Deliver logistics for CEO-hosted meetings, retreats, conferences and events — room reservations, audiovisual setup, catering and materials — plus access, reception and hospitality for visitors and guests, and assist in assembling briefing packs and follow-up notes.
• Keep the OCEO supplied and presentable by ordering stationery, supplies and equipment and overseeing maintenance and office upkeep, and act as back-up to the Executive Assistant on agreed administrative and system duties during peak periods, travel or leave, within the boundaries the Executive Assistant sets.

Requirements & Qualifications

• A university degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Office Management or a comparable field, or an equivalent combination of qualifications and hands-on experience.
• At least two years of professional experience in administrative, finance or operations support, ideally gained in an international or multicultural workplace.
• Excellent command of English, written and spoken.
• Preferred: demonstrated experience processing travel authorisations and expense claims, procurement requests and financial transactions inside an enterprise system such as MyTree, an ERP or similar platform.
• Preferred: working knowledge of budget tracking, expense reconciliation and basic financial reporting.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills across Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Teams.
• Comfortable running several parallel trackers and deadlines at once, with discretion when handling sensitive documents.
• Familiarity with CGIAR or international NGO administrative procedures is an asset.