Assistant to the Head of Global Cooperation & Team Leader Administration (interim position / 60–80%)

HEKS/EPER pursues the vision of a just world where the dignity of everyone is respected, peace reigns, and the natural environment is preserved. The aim is a systemic change at a social, economic and political level. HEKS/EPER is doing its part to improve the living conditions of people in Switzerland and around the world, to promote their rights, raise awareness and mobilise to this end. HEKS/EPER has over 1900 permanent employees. The organisation is active at 23 locations in Switzerland and in 31 countries worldwide with 275 programs and projects worth around CHF 137 million. In 2025, HEKS/EPER reached around 24 million people with its work.

Assistant to the Head of Global Cooperation & Team Leader Administration (interim position / 60–80%)

At our Global Cooperation head office in Zurich, we are hiring an Assistant to the Head of Global Cooperation & Team LeaderAdministration (60–80%) to cover a maternity leave vacancy for 12 months (1-year fixed-term contract). We are looking for an experienced, trustworthy, and friendly individual to join the team from February 2027 or by mutual agreement.

Your main

responsibilities

• Ensure smooth and efficient operations: Oversee the day-to-day running of the central administration within the Global Cooperation Division, ensuring a high standard of service and effective support across the division.
• Lead and coordinate the administration team: Manage the team, maintain and continuously improve internal processes, and ensure that procedures and guidelines remain up to date.
• Provide executive support to the Head of Division: Plan, organise and coordinate internal and external meetings and events, and prepare accurate minutes in German, English and French.
• Coordinate a major divisional event: Lead the logistical planning and on-site support for the five-day GC Forum in August 2027, ensuring its smooth and successful delivery.
• Drive process development and knowledge sharing: Contribute to the development and optimisation of administrative processes, facilitate knowledge transfer within the team, and leverage digital tools to improve efficiency and collaboration.
• Prepare reports and management information: Compile and analyse statistics, and develop clear, well-structured presentations and overviews to support the division’s work and decision-making.
• Manage intranet content: Create, edit and publish engaging, accurate and up-to-date content on the division’s intranet, ensuring that relevant information is accessible and well presented.

To be successful you bring:

• Commercial training, a commercial diploma or a successfully completed degree
• At least 6-8 years’ professional experience in a central administrative role, preferably in international cooperation or an international environment
• Excellent spoken and written language skills in English and French are essential; German is desirable
• You are ICT-savvy and have very good user knowledge of the Office suite, SharePoint and Teams. Knowledge of Power Automate.
• Skills on Power BI and Visio are an advantage
• You are a quick learner, think holistically and enjoy working independently, efficiently and in a solution-oriented manner
• You demonstrate a high degree of flexibility and resilience when dealing with changing priorities, different points of contact and the complexity of tasks
• You are a team player with excellent communication skills, including in an intercultural context

What you can expect from us:

• An interesting, challenging role within a renowned, internationally active NGO
• A modern working environment, including the option to work from home part of the time
• A dedicated, motivated and positive team
• Contemporary terms of employment with attractive benefits
• An easily accessible workplace in Zurich, near Schaffhauserplatz

Would you like to join the HEKS/EPER team? We are looking forward to your complete application in English (CV, cover letter and certificates) exclusively via our online portal, by 30 November.

Please note that applications sent by email or post cannot be processed. For further information, please contact Petra Rietzler, the current holder of the post (Tel: +41 44 360 88 92) or Regula Hafner (Tel. +41 79 443 55 28, interim Head of Global Cooperation).

For further information about HEKS/EPER, please consult our website .