Regional Administration and Communications Assistant – Asia Pacific

Job Title: Regional Administration and Communications Assistant – Asia Pacific

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand (National position)

Department: Global Impact

Grade: Grade A or equivalent according to location / type of contract

HelpAge and Strategy 2030 – delivering real impact for older people

HelpAge International works with partners and a diverse global network of more than 150 organizations across 85 countries, supporting millions of older people to live safe, dignified and healthy lives. Through our partnership and collaborations, we work to ensure the inclusion of older people across society and strive to deliver a just and fair world for everyone, whatever their age. Our work is driven by our desire to deliver real impact for older people, to be inclusive, to work in partnership and to learn from our shared experience.

Our 2030 strategy Ageing in a Just World sets out how we will work together to shape the future we all share. By working together we aim to help inspire a movement for change and through ensuring all our work promotes older people’s wellbeing, dignity and voice, we can transform the lives of older people now and in the future.

Since the launch of our strategy in January 2020, the world has changed in profound ways. We are still experiencing the impacts and consequences. Recognizing and anticipating these important and fundamental shifts, HelpAge International is evolving and transforming itself to be relevant, impactful and viable. As a result we are reconfiguring our organizational design and resources in the following ways:

· Driven by our commitment to the localization agenda, we are evolving the way we partner and deliver value at country and local level. In the coming 3 years, we will localize our country offices and programmes, and develop new and diverse forms of partnerships globally. **

**

· We seek to give primacy to local agents for change. To this end, we will replace all programmes delivered by HelpAge staff and resources on the ground with implementation by partners. This will apply across all our work – humanitarian and long-term development. Going forward, our value is framed around supporting, convening and thought leadership. **

· A key way of creating value and bringing impact is collaborating across boundaries and by bringing different perspectives, skills and talent together. We will deliver our work through agile teams and a global operating model, with regional roots, to focus on impact and maintain the relationships at the national level to help build collaborations and support others to set their own agendas.**

How you can make a difference

At HelpAge International, we offer a unique and exceptional career experience to bring positive and lasting change in the lives of older persons. As countries prepare for and adapt to population ageing, you can make a difference at a critical juncture to how societies, economies and institutions adapt to this change. Guided by our commitment to our values of impact, learning, partnership, and inclusion (see values), you will work with talent like yourself and partner with other agents for change to bring systemic change and impact at scale. By acting as a supporter, convener and thought leader, together, we can make an impact that matters for older persons and their communities. HelpAge International offers you an inclusive, collaborative workplace and innovative environment.

This is a critical time for HelpAge International as we seek to transform the ways the organization works and brings value. We are looking for exceptional individuals who will explore new opportunities to create value, to find new avenues, unique ways and novel partnership and collaborations to reach our shared goals. We are looking for talent which thrives in collaborating with others (inside HelpAge International and beyond) and who can work in agile ways and across boundaries. We are seeking individuals, with an entrepreneurial mindset, who can work across diverse areas of our work, who can leverage both their unique expertise and deploy a wider range of experiences and competencies.

What you will do

i) Department info

The Global Impact Department contributes to the 2030 Strategy as follows –

· To achieve positive impact on well-being, dignity and the voice of older people by inspiring a movement for change, through implementing the strategic approach of support, convene and thought leadership.

· Leading, advocating and partnering on initiatives that support and transform systems, challenge attitudes and social norms, and influence laws, policies and practice at national, regional and global level

ii) Team info

This team is made up of 4 full time positions (Regional Representatives in Africa, Asia, EME and LAC) and one part time (Regional Representative in Europe, half time, with a reduced remit and scope). This team has the following remit –

· Ensure strong regional roots of the portfolios, enabled by collaborations with network members, partners and others. Broker new collaborations across regions within portfolios and ensure effective, partnership relationships.

· Take forward convening, support and thought leadership on ageing at regional, sub regional and national levels, and facilitate representation at regional, sub regional and national level including through direct participation of older people.

The Regional Representatives are each supported by a Regional Administrative and Communications Assistant.

iii) Key areas for impact/influence and responsibilities

These outline the broad areas of responsibility in the role, but in collaboration with your colleagues you will be able to shape and design specific activities that are relevant at any point in time. We want you to work creatively to deliver impact and respond to relevant opportunities.

With your colleagues you will develop your team workplan to drive initiatives, develop ideas, as well ensure there is space for cross organisational working and short-term tasks. From this you will devise your individual workplan that will form the basis of your day-to-day activities and your performance reviews.

Based in the Chiang Mai office, the Regional Administrative and Communications Assistant will –

· Jointly with the Regional Representative analyse and develop new initiatives appropriate to population ageing in the context of Asia/Pacific

· Collect case studies, content, materials and required information from network members, partners and programmes in the Region for use by the Global Communications team; in particular sourcing and providing communications requirements for the Sponsor a Grandparent

· Support HR arrangements for a cluster of staff; including assisting HR Managers engaging with service providers for visas, and work permit renewals, insurance claims forms for international staff, travel support, and other administrative assistance as required for this cluster of staff.

· Support with ensuring compliance with legal requirements for a HelpAge entity (if present in location) – including annual and other reporting, legal registration. Keep the Head of Operations informed of ongoing compliance.

· Be the first point of contact with the office provider for the necessary arrangement related to lease agreement, service-level agreements, and additional services required such as meeting room booking.**

· Maintaining a database of communications contacts with Network members and partners across the region to source content. **

· Support the Regional Representative with the organisation of Regional events, conferences, workshops, meetings, seminars, etc. **

· Co-ordinate any translations required for communications or other areas of work **

· Any other suitable activities as required**

· Report to the Regional Representative but also work closely with the Head of Communications and Head of Operations**

iv) Specific roles and responsibilities

This role has a number of responsibilities to support the Global Team presence in Asia Pacific as follows:

Finance:

· Support processing of international staff local benefits (e.g. rent etc)

· Support for suppliers and office space-related expenses facilitation

· Potentially local government payments through e-government sites and similar.

Human Resources:

· Support HR arrangements for a cluster of staff; admin assistance as required

· Assist HR Managers with the preparation of documents for visa and work permit renewal with relevant authorities. Issue legal documentation for staff in country

· Facilitate insurance claim forms for international staff and track usage and benefit limits

· Travel support

· Support to issue local language documents for government departments such as employment contracts

Security, Health and Safety

· Provide information on the office arrangements when needed for Health & Safety assessments

· Arrange annual medical check for staff in Chiang Mai

· Support in-office Health & Safety inductions for staff and visitors as well as security briefings for visitors

· Provide input into any Security risk assessments and plans as required

Office logistics:

· Liaise with the office provider (third-party or HelpAge Country Office); raising issues and suggestions on behalf of the team to the provider where necessary, and passing on key communications from the office provider to the team (e.g. on opening hours, how to access the building, how to book meeting rooms)

· Keep the Operations team informed of any significant issues with the office arrangement (including facilities, desk booking system etc)

· Help ensure that there are sufficient fire safety and first aid providers in place in the office location

Operations:

· Support with ensuring compliance with legal requirements for a HelpAge entity (if present in location) – including annual and other reporting, legal registration. Keep the Head of Operations/Finance/HR informed of ongoing compliance matters and concerns.

· Ensure security, data protection and health and safety incidents in the location are reported

· Point of contact for the IT team and providing some support in that location on IT (e.g. organising hardware fixes, supporting large webinar)

· Support with in-country administration on office insurance policies

· Actively participate in monthly Administrative and Communications Assistant (ACA) calls with Business Partners Support teams

v) Let’s talk about you

You will be someone with:

· Demonstrable experience in an administration role

· Experience organising international travel including flight/hotel booking, visa applications and arrangements for workshops and conferences.

· Familiarity with Microsoft package – Word, Excel, Email

· Ability to use social media to share HelpAge Communications regionally

· Ability to gather communications information from different countries and share this with others

· Reasonable level of English

At HelpAge International, we believe in the importance of empowering our people to be change makers and leaders at all levels. We expect our people to embrace and live our values, challenging themselves every day to identify issues that are most important to older persons and their communities, and to make an impact that matters.

In addition, as an HelpAge employee you are expected to:

· Work collaboratively, building mutual trust and respect, with external organisations and partners to achieve our strategic aims and objectives; being accountable for the work you do together

· Adapt to new directions or opportunities arising within the organization and in your work area; being flexible in your role, constantly using the feedback to learn more and evolve further.

· Lead behavioural and cultural change through embracing a supportive, collaborative and highly inclusive environment where everybody feels supported, respected and engaged

· Extend HelpAge’s reach and impact, by creating and identifying new business development opportunities and building relationships with new partners.

· Lead and promote a culture of including the voices of older people across our support, convening and thought leadership roles, in a way that is transformative, empowering and highly inclusive of those marginalized by gender, economic status, disability and other factors of discrimination.

Safeguarding

HelpAge International is committed to safeguarding the communities with which we work, our partners, staff and any others who we come into contact with. Therefore you will also be responsible for:

· Preventing harm and abuse from our people, operations and programmes, to anyone that encounters our work;**

· Reporting all safeguarding incidents you see, hear, hear about or suspect, using our internal reporting mechanism; **

· Complying with all safeguarding framework policies and practices**

· Completing mandatory training courses relating to our safeguarding policy framework and complying with HR vetting procedures.