Maxine Jacobs OUR WOMAN IN AUSTRIA

THE black, green and gold flag proudly displayed on the door is the first greeting when visitors arrive at Maxine Jacobs’ office.

If there’s still any doubt about her nationality, the small banana tree swaying in a corner across from the Joseph’s Coat potted plant, and the newspaper clippings of Jamaica’s top athletes splashed across the walls, should erase any confusion.

While it is not unusual for Jamaicans to proudly display national symbols, it is even more pronounced when it is at an office in the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

Meet 43-year-old Jacobs, a conference officer and meetings services assistant, whose warm smile and friendly demeanour is as welcoming as her cosy office on the seventh floor of the UN where she has worked since April 1994.

Having initially started in public information at the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), she later moved to her present position.

Her job function includes, among other things, dealing with official requests for meetings, training and assisting clients, assisting secretariats and planning and servicing conferences and meetings originating from outside the Vienna International Centre including Austrian government meetings and those originating from other duty stations locally and abroad.

Jacobs who describes her job as sometimes demanding but “extremely rewarding and exciting” feels proud to have landed the position since most people only dream of working in conference management.

And her ability to speak Arabic, Spanish, French and the native German is a definite plus as well as her recently acquired degree in international studies.

A highlight of her career, according to Jacobs, is having been a part of the organising team for the visits of Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai and Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and his wife Queen Silvia.

But in between planning and servicing some 10 to 15 meetings per month, Jacobs still finds time to acquaint herself with the city she has made her home for the last 17 years

Convinced that learning German would be critical to making the best of her new home, Jacobs took a year off to learn the language.

“It helps me now a lot to liaise with the foreign ministry here,” she explained.

The Kingston-born Jacobs attributes her success to her now deceased mother who ensured her children succeeded in life and her aunt Ritelda Brown, as well as mentors Margaret Carvalho and Joyce Archibald who played the mother role after her mother died.

Jacobs, a graduate of St. Richard’s Primary and the Queen’s School never dreamt she would one day work with the UN or even live thousands of miles away from Jamaica.

Her first job fresh out of school was working with computers, but it didn’t take long to realise that was not for her.

“I worked there for six months and I decided that what I really wanted was to work with people,” she told All Woman.

Six months later she moved to Life of Jamaica, now Sagicor, working in the Premium Accounting department dealing with clients who had problems with payment on their accounts.

It was then she pursued an associate degree, becoming more proficient in the field. That was the beginning of great things as she received her certification with honours and was among the first set of Jamaican life insurance students to pursue this course of study.

Pointing proudly to a framed certificate sitting among other treasured items on her desk, Jacobs said: “I take this with me because this diploma tells that I have full knowledge of what is important in customer service and public relations.”

But how did her journey from life insurance take her to the UN?

It started when she met her then husband, an Austrian living in Jamaica, and decided to return with him to Austria.

A lover of adventure, Jacobs quickly allayed the fears of friends and family worried about how she would fare in such a faraway land.

“My close friends and family members were apprehensive

because I had never been in Austria before but I knew I would manage,” she recalled.

And manage she did, integrating into the society and culture almost immediately.

“I didn’t feel homesick because the people here made me feel welcome,” she said.

For Austrians who never knew about Jamaica, Jacobs quickly took on the role of unofficial ambassador, a task she still undertakes enthusiastically every day.

“I was enjoying the best of both worlds — Jamaica and Austria,” she said laughing.

According to Jacobs, Austria, a country bordering Germany, is believed to have fewer than 30 Jamaicans living there.

Having worked in the office of the then Jamaican Honorary Consul Herbert Haberle, Jacobs hopes to be afforded that position when she is retired.

Her distinct Jamaican accent, still in intact, is enough for someone to strike up a conversation with her and provides an opportunity for Jacobs to speak about her beloved island paradise.

“I still cook Jamaican and now the commissary here at the UN is selling ackee and jerk seasoning. A lot of people know about Jamaica through me,” she quipped.

Whether it is to dole out advice to a colleague wishing to visit Jamaica or simply to invite conversation when others see her flag, Jacobs always seeks an opportunity to sell Jamaica.

And she also stays abreast of happenings in the island by her daily dose of online news.

When she is not busy working, Jacobs enjoys travelling for both work and leisure. Already she has been to all of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Central and North America.

Jacobs said she would love to see more young Jamaicans joining the international civil service.

“The Jamaicans I have met in service since April 1994 are known to be dedicated and very competent,” she said.

She noted, however, that in order to serve effectively as an international civil servant, one should be willing to travel to and work in even the most difficult regions of the world and should be ready to adapt to local cultures and norms.