CHIEF OF SECTION, FINANCE AND BUDGET

Contract

This is a P-5 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 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 173,288 USD and 217,169 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.

Org. Setting and Reporting This position is located in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), Bamako. The Chief of Section, Finance and Budget reports to the Chief Operations & Resources Management. The focus of the position is on the overall financial management of the mission that includes the implementation of the budgetary resources and financial transactions and performance of the mission ensuring optimal use of the approved funds.

Responsibilities Within delegated authority, the Chief of Section, Finance and Budget will be responsible for the following duties: - Advises and supports the Director of Mission Support, other members of the senior leadership of the Mission, and programme/fund center managers in the overall financial management of the Mission including stewardship of budgetary resources and financial transactions and performance. - Leads the Mission’s annual budget development programme, providing leadership and coordination with respect to the establishment of major resourcing priorities, preparation of comprehensive budget submissions and performance reports, application of results-based budgeting principles and analysis of the costs and benefits of major new proposals. - Prepares inputs to the UN's legislative processes for consideration of mission financing requirements. - Administers the allotments of the Mission including advice, guidance and approval of redeployment/reallocation of funds in line with implementation of planned and/or prioritised activities. - Plans, oversees and/or prepares the closing of the monthly and year-end accounts of the Mission in compliance with international public sector standards of accounting (IPSAS). - Provides oversight to ensure that processing of payments for goods and services received are in accordance with established procedures including availability of appropriate supporting documents for the processing of payments. - Administers the banking requirements of the Mission in consultation with Treasury at UNHQ. - Develops and/or applies strong internal control practices for effective and efficient financial management processes and reporting practices to support accurate and complete accounting and payment processes for staff and vendors, that meet the requirements of dynamic field operations, while ensuring full compliance with the UN Financial Regulations and Rules and IPSAS policy framework. - Provides advice, financial interpretations, adaptations and corrective actions in response to audits and other queries to ensure adherence to the UN Financial Regulations and Rules, Staff Rules, Administrative Instructions, Bulletins and Circulars. – Acts as a Certifying Officer under Financial Rule 105.5 or Approving Officer under Financial Rule 105.4 in adherence with the UN Regulations and Rules. - Manages the staff of the Budget and Finance Section in prioritizing, planning and assigning responsibilities, developing and maintaining needed expertise and knowledge, and identifying opportunities for improvement. - Performs other budgeting duties, as assigned.

Competencies Professionalism: Demonstrated expertise in applying contemporary principles and practices to financial management and resource planning, accounting and financial reporting, and financial operations, in a complex organisational setting; ability to develop and implement new policies, procedures and other improvement initiatives to promote cost-effective resource management and strengthen financial stewardship and control; extensive experience in preparing and/or interpreting financial information in an IPSAS-compliant or similar accounting environment; proven capacity to provide valued input to a strategic organisational planning and/or oversight framework; demonstrated success in addressing challenging scenarios and problems from a strategic perspective and with effective solutions; significant experience in defining operational and organizational objectives in a results-based resourcing framework; capacity to provide strategic support to senior leadership; demonstrated commitment to incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Communication: Superior capacity to speak and write with influence in communicating with senior leadership and peers throughout the Mission and at UNHQ; demonstrated experience in conveying technical financial issues to non-practitioners, adapting language, tone, style and format to the audience; listens to others, correctly interpreting messages and responding appropriately; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Planning & Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

Managing Performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; monitors progress against milestones and deadlines; regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; appraises performance fairly.

Judgement/Decision-making: Identifies the key issues in a complex situation, and comes to the heart of the problem quickly; gathers relevant information before making a decision; considers positive and negative impacts of decisions prior to making them; takes decisions with an eye to the impact on others and on the Organization; proposes a course of action or makes a recommendation based on all available information; checks assumptions against facts; determines the actions proposed will satisfy the expressed and underlying needs for the decision; makes tough decisions when necessary.

Education Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in business administration, economics, accounting, finance, or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with relevant years of experience in financial management, accounting or other related field, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Professional recognition as a CPA, chartered accountant or by a similar body is highly desirable.

Work Experience A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in cost management, budget formulation, cost control and monitoring, accounting and financial reporting or analysis and interpretation of financial results is required.

Experience in supporting international operations involving military/security, logistics, infrastructure development, or a similar undertaking is required.

Experience in formulation of new strategies/approaches to complex financial management or accounting, including cost recoveries for services provided to third parties is desirable.

Experience in the preparation of budgets in a complex peacekeeping environment is desirable.

Experience in the management of trust funds, programme support costs, and programmatic funding is desirable.

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English (oral and written) is required. Working knowledge of French is desirable.

Assessment Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an informal interview.

Special Notice - This position is temporarily available until for 3 months with room for extension. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.

• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post.

• Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.

• This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15.

• Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.

  United Nations Considerations According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.