Do you want to be a part of an ambitious international organisation working for the promotion of free trade and economic integration? The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Secretariat offers the opportunity for a motivated and highly skilled professional to join its Trade Relations Division (TRD) in Geneva as an Administrative Coordinator. With its 12 staff members, TRD provides comprehensive services to the EFTA Member States related to the exploration, negotiation, and management of EFTA’s preferential trade relations with third countries around the world.

EFTA is an intergovernmental organisation working for the promotion of free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its four Member States Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The EFTA Secretariat provides services to the EFTA States and has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Luxemburg. The Headquarters in Geneva services the EFTA Council and provides services for policy development, negotiations, and implementation of free trade and cooperation agreements with countries outside the European Union. The Brussels office supports the management of the EEA Agreement and assists the Member States in the elaboration of input to EU decision-making. EFTA’s Luxembourg office contributes to the development of the European Statistical system.

Division Trade Relations Division

Location Geneva

Category/Level B4

Type/Duration of Appointment Fixed term three years. If in the organisation’s interest, an additional three-year contract may be offered.

Start Date as soon as possible

Job Reference VA 07/2024

Role Description

EFTA has established preferential trade relations – primarily in the form of free trade agreements and joint declarations on cooperation – with more than 40 countries and territories outside the EU and is continuing to develop this worldwide network. The successful applicant’s role in this endeavour will include to:

• Support the trade related activities of the EFTA Member States, mainly the coordination, preparation and organisation of meetings and negotiation rounds with partner countries, both in Geneva and abroad;
• Organise, support and participate in related travels activities;
• Handle the organisation of meetings and representation events;
• Manage the division's expenses and budget with the EFTA finance team;
• Edit, proofread, format, distribute and archive documents;
• Coordinate the preparation of documents, including correspondence, legal and analytical texts;
• Support governing bodies of EFTA for TRD matters (preparation of documents for Deputies and Council meetings);
• Carry out general secretarial and administrative duties for the EFTA office in Geneva.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent;
• Experience in secretarial and administrative work, preferably in an international setting;
• Excellence in administrative tasks and good eye for detail;
• Strong Microsoft 365 skills (MS Office suite, SharePoint, MS Teams);
• Top notch interpersonal and organisational skills, enthusiastic, highly motivated and able to take initiative;
• Willingness to travel internationally, to take on extensive and variable working hours and tight deadlines;
• Ability to communicate with tact and courtesy;
• Service-mindedness, solution-oriented and flexible personality;
• Fluency in written and spoken English, EFTA’s working language.

Ideal Skills

• Experience in working with formal and/or legal texts;
• Experience with SAP Concur (or other ERP);
• Experience in event planning organisation with international participation;
• Experience in communications work and content management systems;
• Fluency in spoken and written French and Spanish.

Employment Terms

EFTA has a dynamic and diverse work environment with the opportunity to work in a team of highly qualified people. Here you will be part of an organisation based on professionalism, cooperation, trust, responsibility, and respect.

EFTA also offers:

• International career and learning opportunities.
• An inclusive environment with high regard for cultural differences.
• Competitive benefit package (salaries are normally exempt from income taxation; depending on the candidate’s family status, additional benefits and allowances may apply).

Grade: B4

Annual salary: CHF 89,090

Appointments are made at the first step of the grade. The Secretary-General reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a level different from that advertised. Through its recruitment policy, the EFTA Secretariat wants to ensure diversity in terms of gender, age, and culture.

This position is open to nationals of all EFTA Member States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).

Applications must apply online via the e-recruitment tool: https://jobs.efta.int/home.html
Please note that only applications received via our web tool will be considered.

For further information on this post, please contact:

• On job content: Mr Frank Büchel, Deputy Secretary-General and Director TRD, Write an email, tel. +41 22 332 26 04;
• On process: Ms Zhasmin Kuneva, HR Coordinator, Write an email, tel. +32 2 286 17 09
• Technical issues: HR Support, Write an email

Deadline for applications: 21 April 2024