Tobacco Board of Zambia (TBZ) was established in 1968 by an Act of Parliament, with the primary mandate being to regulate, promote, protect and facilitate tobacco production and marketing; and to provide guidance to all tobacco stakeholders in the industry through enforcement of the Tobacco Act Number 10 of 2022.

TBZ is seeking a highly experienced Executive Assistant to support the Executive Director’s Office.

In order to achieve its mandate, TBZ seeks the services of committed, vibrant, innovative, and strategically focused and business-oriented Zambian nationals to fill the following vacant position.

POSITION DETAILS

• Reporting To: Executive Director
• Section: Executive
• Department: Administration
• Location: Head Office
• Grade: TBZ4

JOB MAIN PURPOSE

To provide professional administrative support to the Executive Director’s office to allow the Director maximum focus on the governance operations and strategic workload of the Board.

JOB CONTRIBUTION TO THE CORE MANDATE

The job contributes to TBZ’s core regulatory mandate by maintaining the efficiency of the highest office, through direct support towards management of information flow, optimize the Director’s time usage, and ensure seamless coordination of executive functions.

MAIN JOB ACCOUNTABILITIES

1. Callers and Visitors Managed: Welcoming visitors and telephone inquiries, filtering assistance provided or accurate messages delivered promptly. Key Receiver: Executive Director, Visitors, Callers. KPIs: Call/visitor resolution time; message accuracy rate.
2. Incoming Mail Triage Completed: Incoming correspondence screened, prioritized and efficiently routed to the Director or correct department. Key Receiver: Executive Director, All Departments. KPIs: Mail processing time; percentage accuracy of routing.
3. Documents Produced: Correspondence and reports formatted, typed, proofread and finalized according to required specifications. Key Receiver: Executive Director, Senior Management. KPIs: Document turnaround time; quality/accuracy rating.
4. Filing System Maintained: Correspondence and records organized, secured and readily available for retrieval by authorized personnel. Key Receiver: Executive Director, Audit Team. KPIs: File retrieval time; audit compliance score for records.
5. Executive Diary Coordinated: Appointments scheduled, calendars updated and proactive reminders issued for all impending events and deadlines. Key Receiver: Executive Director. KPIs: Zero missed appointments or deadlines due to scheduling errors.
6. Client Enquiries Handled: General information requests from clients addressed using established procedures and information resources. Key Receiver: External Clients, Stakeholders. KPIs: Same-day resolution for general queries; client satisfaction rating.
7. Management Meetings Facilitated: Meetings scheduled, logistics supported, administrative tasks completed and outcomes tracked. Key Receiver: Executive Director, Management Team. KPIs: Meeting start-time adherence.
8. Travel Logistics Arranged: Comprehensive local and international travel, accommodation and itinerary planning executed according to preference. Key Receiver: Executive Director. KPIs: Travel arrangements completed successfully.
9. Office Supplies Optimized: Sufficient stock levels of stationery and consumables sustained; smooth office functionality assured. Key Receiver: All Regional Staff. KPIs: Zero stock-outs of essential items.

JOB ANALYSIS

1. Education

Minimum requirement: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Public Relations or a related field. Diploma in Secretarial Studies is an added advantage.

2. Experience

A minimum of 3 years of experience providing administrative support at a senior executive or board level.

3. Interpersonal Skills

Requires exceptional interpersonal skills to liaise with high-level internal and external stakeholders (Board Members, Government Officials, CEO-level clients). Must maintain professionalism and gravitas in all interactions.

4. Problem Solving

Requires independent problem-solving to manage conflicting priorities, last-minute schedule changes, complex travel disruptions and sensitive information flow with minimal supervision.

5. Decision Making

Makes decisions regarding schedule management, delegation of inquiries, prioritization of documents for the Director’s review and handling confidential information protocols.

6. Responsibility for Results

Directly responsible for the operational efficiency and professional image of the Executive Director’s office. Poor performance directly impacts the Director’s effectiveness and the Board’s governance capacity.

7. Responsibility for Finances

Tracks daily office expenses for the Director’s office. Processes standard expense reports and assists with travel booking as directed. This requires careful attention to detail and adherence to TBZ’s financial procedures.

8. Responsibility for Work of Others

Generally, an individual contributor role, but may indirectly coordinate the work of the Office Assistant or Driver to ensure seamless executive support.

9. Working Environment

Primarily a professional, high-pressure, indoor office environment. The role demands availability outside standard hours, exposure to highly confidential and sensitive information, and requires constant mental alertness and adaptability to rapidly changing priorities and urgent demands.

• Welcome visitors and respond to telephone inquiries, filtering assistance or delivering accurate messages promptly.
• Screen, prioritize and route incoming correspondence to the Director or correct department.
• Format, type, proofread and finalize correspondence and reports according to required specifications.
• Organize and secure correspondence and records and make them readily available to authorized personnel.
• Schedule appointments, update calendars and issue proactive reminders for impending events and deadlines.
• Address general client information requests using established procedures and information resources.
• Schedule meetings, support logistics, complete administrative tasks and track outcomes.
• Plan local and international travel, accommodation and itineraries according to preference.
• Sustain sufficient stock levels of stationery and consumables.
• Track daily office expenses, process standard expense reports and assist with travel booking as directed.

• Exceptional interpersonal skills
• Professionalism and gravitas when liaising with high-level internal and external stakeholders
• Independent problem-solving
• Schedule and calendar management
• Prioritization and delegation of inquiries
• Correspondence and report preparation, proofreading and document formatting
• Records and filing management
• Meeting coordination
• Local and international travel planning
• Confidential information handling
• Attention to detail
• Adaptability to rapidly changing priorities and urgent demands

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Public Relations or a related field.
• Diploma in Secretarial Studies is an added advantage.