United States of America: Project Support Associate

OVERVIEW:

The Project Support Associate (PA) assists with the smooth operation of project and program activities by coordinating programmatic information and providing logistical support to Project Support Officers. S/he works with several project teams and is responsible for day-to-day coordination of project specific activities. This position provides the opportunity to develop project management skills and experience in a large international NGO while providing essential coordination and support to project staff.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

Administrative Support (20%)

• Develop and maintain project pending lists and meeting agendas.
• Schedule, attend, and document project team meetings.
• Work with Project Support Officer to ensure coverage on project portfolio during absences due to travel and leave.
• Coordinate onboarding process for new project staff.

Procurement, Finance, and Contracts (25%)

• Prepare Purchase Requests for project items to be procured in the US using MSH’s Proactis system. Follow up on invoice discrepancies.
• Adhere to MSH’s Procurement Integrity and Business Ethics standards in all activities.
• Prepare consultant agreements in compliance with procurement and purchasing policies.
• Review and preliminarily process invoices from consultants, subcontractors, and vendors for a timely submission to MSH Accounting in accordance with project requirements and MSH procedures.
• Assist in tracking and documenting project deliverables, maintain deliverables calendar.
• Assist in documenting, collecting, and tracking cost-share opportunities, as needed.
• Assist in the development and maintenance of project coding.
• Track project accruals for home office expenses.
• Participate in project financial review meetings.

Project Implementation Support (35%)

• Maintain responsibility for file management, dissemination of programmatic and team information, and contribute to MSH knowledge, programs, tools and approaches.
• Coordinate with communications staff on material management, printing, and assembly.
• Provide logistical support to project-sponsored conferences.
• Draft, edit, and translate reports, success stories, newsletter articles, presentations, and other project documents as requested.
• Update MSH’s intranet and other repositories with key project documents.
• As requested/assigned, support online learning/exchange forums, document development and research.
• Assist in project start up and close out procedures.

Travel (20%)

• Coordinate travel arrangements related to PHT project activities and ensure that all travel arrangements are in compliance with USAID and donor regulations and MSH procedures.
• Provide travelers with Memorandum of Engagement or Consultant Agreement prior to departure.
• Track and document donor approvals, trip reports, and other travel related information in project files.
• Review traveler advance requests, travel requests, and travel expenses (TEF’s) to ensure compliance with MSH travel policy and donor requirements.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Required Minimum Education:

• Bachelor's degree

Required Minimum Experience:

• 2-4 years of related work experience.

Knowledge and Skills

• Professional proficiency, written and oral, in Spanish or other relevant language preferred.
• This role requires considerable interaction with field based teams. As the face of the home office it is essential the PAs are culturally sensitive, respectful and responsive at all times.
• Strong administrative and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work as an effective team member in a complex and fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability in computer skills for word processing, databases, spreadsheets, and presentations (Microsoft Office applications preferred); and a willingness to learn new software packages.
• Ability to work with limited supervision.
• Demonstrated competence to assess priorities and manage a variety of activities in a time-sensitive environment and meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality.
• Excellent written and verbal language skills in English

Competencies and Personal Attributes

• Administrative skills, excellent written and verbal communication
• Action Oriented, Customer Focus, experiential learn willing to learn on the job

Physical Demands

• Local and international travel may be required.
• Keyboard use, pulling drawers, lifting papers <10 lbs.

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