Vacancy – Executive Secretary, Office of the Executive Director, Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen, Thailand

Mekong Institute

MI is an intergovernmental organization that contributes to regional cooperation and integration through capacity development, dialogue, and advocacy for the acceleration of sustainable socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Founded and represented by Cambodia, P.R. China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, MI’s strategies are aligned with the core tenets of the GMS Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030, ASEAN Economic Community, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

MI supports these frameworks through the implementation of projects across the areas of Agricultural Development and Commercialization, Trade and Investment Facilitation, and Sustainable Energy and Environment, while addressing issues of social inclusion and vulnerability, digital economy and innovation, and labor mobility to cement holistic and sustainable development impacts in the subregion and beyond.

Executive Secretary, Office of the Executive Director

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Executive Secretary is responsible for ensuring the Executive Director has all necessary administrative and logistic support for the fulfilment of duties. This includes making plan and arrangements for meetings and business travels for the Executive Director, as well as being first contact for high level visitors and liaison between MI and other organisations.

Main deliverables, responsibilities and tasks

Key deliverables

• Systematic and timely support services that ensure the efficient operations of the Office of the Director and facilitate the Executive Director in completing his work

• Professional management of contact with external stakeholders

• Competent and timely management of external correspondences, documentation and filing

• Efficient completion of all administrative responsibilities

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Provide administrative support to the Executive Director for his/her activities in all areas of operations

• Arrange travel, organise meetings, and undertakes any other needed logistical arrangements for Executive Director

• Manage document flow into and out of the Office of the Executive Director, ensuring confidentiality and efficient movement of documents around the office

• Keep and monitor the letter in and letter out in order both in soft and hard copies.

• Follow up on requests, appointments, meetings and other agenda arrangements for the Executive Director.

• Follow through on workflow and other areas of responsibility, exercising own initiative, drive and judgement to ensure that arrangements, transactions, and paperwork are initiated and completed on time, efficiently and accurately

• Receive and direct visitors and clients, applying principles of protocol and portraying professional image of MI

• Handle requests for information and data, applying judgement as to nature of information which can be shared

• Prepare the minutes of Staff Meeting and Senior Management Team meeting and share to Senior Management Team

• Work closely with Director of Finance and Operations to draft the Executive Order before submit to ED for approval.

• Coordinate with SMT members for SMT meeting agenda

• Translate the important letters from Thai to English and English to Thai

• Responsible for drafting the speech, opening remarks and articles as per assigned by the Executive Director

• Any other reasonable task requested by the Executive Director

Required qualifications, skills and experience

Essential

• Bachelor degree in management, administration, communication or related subject, Master degree will be an advantage.

• Knowledge of protocol requirements

• At least four-year experience of administrative work processes and systems

• Excellent organisational, administration and time management skills

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to interact smoothly and appropriately with external partners, including high-ranking officials

• Ability to take initiative and solve problems

• Able to work well both in a team and independently

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications

Desirable

• Proficiency in any of the GMS country languages

If you have the skills and experience to exceed in this position, and are passionate about equitable and inclusive economic growth in GMS, please send your CV and cover letter, to recruitment@mekonginstitute.org by December 31,2021, titled ‘Executive Secretary’.

Please note that only applications successful in progressing to the next stage will be responded to.