Budget Operations Associate

Contract

This is a SB-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Service Board / Service Contract. It is normally only for nationals. More about SB-4 contracts.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Budget Operations Associate reports to the ROM for guidance and supervision and is responsible for providing support in budget planning, preparation, allocation, monitoring, and reporting to ensure the availability and effective and optimum utilization of UNW financial resources according to plans and approved allocation and compliance with UNW financial regulations and rules, policies and procedures to meet UNW commitments, goals, and objectives.

The Budget Operations Associate is responsible for providing assistance on budget management, fund allocation, and performance monitoring in accordance with established operational procedures, establishment and management of projects and outputs in the system, support and improve budget management as required. The Budget Operations Associate will also liaise with the HQ Budget Team, finance and HR for the preparation of monitoring reports and with programme colleagues for budget execution in accordance with the programme of work.

The Budget Operations Associate is responsible for providing assistance on different tasks including but not limited to the oversight and monitoring of the cost recovery policy and formulation of required templates and guidance. The Budget Operations Associate will also provide the required support and back-up on Quantum queries and varied and inter-related operational activities ensuring high quality and accuracy of work. The Operations Associate results and client oriented producing administrative services of the highest quality in a timely and proactive fashion.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide general administration and operations support to the Regional Office (RO) in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations and policies and strategies

• Contribute to an annual workplan for the Operations Team and monitor the implementation;
• Participate in review meetings and provide support to the assessment of the managerial and operational capacities of implementing partners in collaboration with the programme and technical team;
• Provide administrative support and guidance to colleagues on operational issues;
• Support business process mapping and the establishment of internal standard operating procedures in all areas of the Operation´s team functions;
• Support the continuous and up-to-date flow of information between the RO and COs as needed;
• Assist the pre-audit preparations for the RO to be audit ready and complete the pre-audit checklist;
• Prepare for internal and external audits and coordinating implementation of audit action plan by drafting periodic status update reports and collating supporting documents;
• Maintain filing system ensuring safekeeping of confidential materials.

Provide technical support in budget planning, analysis and management:

• Present thoroughly researched information, conclusions, and recommendations to facilitate budget preparation, planning and approval processes;
• Prepare reports containing an analysis of the office’s financial situation (expenditures versus budget allocations);
• Contribute technically to budget planning, analysis and management of the budgets;
• Provide support in reviewing project budgets to ensure that they reflect all required costs.

Provide technical support in budget monitoring, oversight and control:

• Identify operational and financial bottlenecks in budget management and approval and resolve problems and/or recommend solutions;
• Monitor budgetary status versus authorized spending limits and budget delivery results;
• Take appropriate and timely action to ensure budget compliance;
• Prepare and modify budgets for UNW management projects to ensure expenditures within authorized spending limits. Take action in cases of variances;
• Review requests from offices and recommend actions;
• Serve as technical resource person for Quantum Project/Budget Module;
• Support month end closure activities in regards to Budgets

Position Management:

• Maintain an accurate position table.
• Ensure COA for payroll for Field positions are valid and liaise with relevant sections when there are payroll errors to clear them and providing the required guidance.
• For new staff posts including extensions, review requests to ensure the availability of funds and that the rules and regulations are applied;
• Provide support in clearing staff entitlement payment issues by liaising with the finance team and the relevant sections.
• Review, clear, and process monetization requests ensuring that the rules and regulations are applied.

Provide administrative support to knowledge building and knowledge sharing

• Provide administrative support in the organization of trainings for the operations/ projects staff on administrative related matters;

• Compile lessons learnt and best practices in budget planning and administration.

Key Performance Indicators

• Adherence to UN Women rules and regulations;
• Quality support to conferences and events;
• Quality organization of files and reports;
• Timely support to team.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to administer administrative processes and transactions;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Strong knowledge of administrative rules and regulations;
• Good IT and web based management skills;
• Ability to priorities work and to multi-task.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

Completion of University Degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance or related field

Experience:

• At least 6 years of progressively responsible experience in accounting, finance or administration at the national or international level
• At least one year of experience in budget forecast, monitoring and management
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.)
• Experience in monitoring ongoing contract activities, projects, and agreements.
• Working experience in the UN System, embassies or NGO is an asset.
• Work experience in web-based platforms, ERP systems like Atlas or Quantum is an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in Spanish and English is required.

Other requirements:

The person to be hired must be a Panamanian citizen (natural or legal), or foreigner with permanent legal residence and valid work permit to remain and work in Panama for the duration of the contract.

HOW TO APPLY:

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, hence, combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Only short-listed qualified candidates will be contacted.

If you are experiencing difficulties with online job applications, please contact jobs.help@undp.org.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (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.)