Budget & Finance Specialist, P-3, End Violence Against Children (EVAC), Hosted Funds, New York, USA, Req.#566147 (Initial ONE-YEAR appointment only)

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 140,639 USD and 184,155 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Care.

The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children (EVAC) and its associated Fund were launched in 2016 by the UN Secretary-General to accelerate progress towards ending all forms of violence, abuse and neglect of children as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Every year, at least 1 billion children experience physical, sexual or psychological violence. Violence in childhood undermines all other investments in children: in their health, education and development, often with negative lifelong consequences and intergenerational impact. The Partnership brings together governments, UN and international organizations, civil society, faith groups, private sector, academia and children – in a unique public privatecollaboration focused solely on ending all violence against children. To date, the Partnership has enrolled 38 governments as ‘Pathfinding’ countries; grown to over 775 memberorganizations; helped develop and promote the INSPIRE solutions to end violence; awarded over $86 million in grants to over 85 organizations with impact in over 80 countries; galvanized those working to end violence through the Together to #ENDviolence campaign; and advanced the global agenda to keep children safe at home, school, online and in their communities.

How can you make a difference?

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The Budget and Finance Specialist will manage all aspects of the organization’s budget and financial management. The incumbent will be responsible for tracking, analyzing and reporting income and expenditures, including donor contributions, and will be accountable for analyzing needs, preparation, management and monitoring of resources, involving all sources of funds and in-kind contributions, thus contributing to the effective planning and management of the organization. The incumbent will collaborate closely with UNICEF’s Funds Support Office and contribute to overall strategies related to contribution and budget management and reporting, and capacity building of staff, ensuring compliance of all financial operations with UNICEF policies, procedures, guidelines, standards of performance, ethics, and integrity.

KEY FUNCTIONS, ACCOUNTABILITIES AND RELATED DUTIES/TASK:

1. Support to financial planning and management
   • Prepare/analyze financial data/estimates and documentation, verifying relevancy, accuracy and completeness to facilitate financial planning for the Secretariat and Fund. Provide technical and operational support and advice during strategic planning exercises and throughout the financial planning and implementation process.
   • Lead the financial oversight management, monitoring and reporting of the budgets; proactively analyse financial data and make recommendations for the Director and staff to take risk-informed decisions.
   • Provide technical and operational support on the application, interpretation and implementation of financial policies, procedures and guidelines to the Director, and other staff and stakeholders. Resolve routine financial issues and/or recommend (and record) deviation from procedures and guidelines to meet objectives.
   • Evaluate financial and reputational risk in transactions carried out by the office and alert when actions are needed by management.
   • Support resource mobilization activities, including the formulation of donor proposals, partnership agreements and contracts, as well as contribution management, monitoring and donor reporting.
   • Provide technical support to the Director and grant managers in reviewing financial plans and budgets of implementing partners; monitor compliance with HACT framework, including support to financial assessments, assurance and capacity development of implementing partners.
   • Prepare workplans, provide timely technical guidance, monitor work in progress and review work completed to approve transactions and/or certify/verify accuracy of work and compliance with IPSAS and UNICEF regulations and rules, policies, procedures and guidelines.
2. Control of accounts
   • Review budget implementation according to approved workplans and certify compliance with policies and procedures. Keep stakeholders informed for timely action.
   • Process and/or review (as per delegated authority) the accurate and timely submission of payments and other financial transactions within scope to the UNICEF Global Shared Services Centre, ensuring compliance with budgetary limits, IPSAS and UNICEF regulations, rules, policies, procedures, standards of accountability and ethics. Monitor business transactions submitted to and processed by GSSC from a perspective of efficiency, performance and risk management. Take timely action on outstanding accounts to resolve pending issues.
   • Monitor and analyze financial transactions, accounting reports and reconciliation of accounts to ensure accurate and current financial information for applicable compliance (e.g.IPSAS, donor reporting, internal policies) and management oversight, planning and/or action.
   • Support supply and logistics strategies and interventions to meet organizational needs while ensuring value for money, including procurement of fit-for-purpose services and products and providing technical and advisory support to the Director and other staff members.
   • Liaise with the UNICEF Funds Support Office (FSO) in tracking donor contributions to the Fund account to ensure their timely deposit and recording in UNICEF systems. Coordinate with FSO on funds disbursement to implementing partners.
   • Prepare or contribute to management/statutory office financial and accounting reports to the appropriate governing bodies, verifying reliability of data and compliance with organizational guidelines.
   • Provide support to the Director and other staff in collaboration with governance bodies, OIAI, donors, etc. to provide answers and follow up on resolution of financial observations and recommendations. Advise management on actions to be taken to enforce and strengthen accountabilities. Manage all aspects of internal audit exercises, if required.
   • Assure proper and timely completion of accounts closure activities (monthly, quarterly and yearly).
   • Manage and review credit card accounts transactions and operations in accordance with UNICEF/UN financial regulations and rules, policies, procedures and banking practices. Keep abreast of procedures and regulations regarding maintenance of bank accounts. Keep supervisor and relevant colleagues informed for timely action.
   • Periodically review table of authority and financial delegations to ensure compliance with existing policies, and that accountabilities are clear, documented, and placed at adequate levels as per global policies and/or best practices.
3. Knowledge management and capacity building
   • Contribute to a culture of the highest ethical standards and behaviour in management and oversight of financial resources.
   • Support and update Director and staff on budget implementation, ensuring alignment with relevant financial policies, procedures, rules and regulations.
   • Support institutional memory within the office through maintenance of wellorganized financial record-keeping and tracking.

IMPACT OF RESULTS:

The ability of the Budget and Finance Specialist to effectively manage and oversee the full range of budget and financial services directly impacts on meeting organizational/staff needs and program delivery of goals and objectives. This in turn contributes to maintaining and enhancing the organization’s credibility as an effective and responsible manager of resources and to furthering its image as a competent organization to deliver cost-effective and sustainable program results.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATION

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in accounting, finance, business administration or equivalent, or other comparable recognized professional qualification.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in financial management, budget planning and monitoring, donor proposals and reporting in an international organization and/or large corporation is required.
• Experience in a UN system agency or organization, some of which served in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Excel required.
• Experience in database packages, web-based management systems and ERP systems (preferably SAP financial modules) is an asset.
• Experience with IPSAS and/or IFRS is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

The appointment for this position is limited to END VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN (EVAC), a UNICEF-hosted fund. While UN staff regulations and rules, as well as UNICEF policies and procedures, apply to you during your appointment, certain provisions therein may apply to you differently due to the limited scope of your appointment. In particular, you will not be subject to rotation exercise as per the Executive Directive on Staff mobility and rotation (CF/EXD/2015-002) or any revision thereof. In addition, during your appointment in EVAC, you will not be considered eligible for conversion to a Continuing Appointment as per UNICEF Administrative Instruction on Continuing Appointment (CF/AI/2017-002) or any revision thereof. In the event that your post is abolished, the priority granted, and other support provided to staff on abolished posts in staff selection processes will only be extended to posts within EVAC and not to other posts in UNICEF.

Initial appointment to this position will be made for a period of one year only; contract extension is subject to funding availability and satisfactory performance.

UNICEF candidates: To return to a UNICEF appointment outside EVAC, you will need to be selected in a competitive recruitment exercise. Upon selection for a UNICEF post outside of UNICEF-hosted funds, the period you have served with the UNICEF-hosted fund will count towards the calculation of the tour of duty in your duty station and eligibility for a continuing appointment.

External Candidates: To secure a UNICEF appointment outside EVAC, you will need to be selected in a competitive recruitment exercise. Upon selection for a UNICEF post outside of UNICEF hosted funds, the period you have served with the UNICEF hosted fund will count towards the calculation of the tour of duty in your duty station and eligibility for a continuing appointment.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates irrespective of gender, nationality, and religious and ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.