Finance Analyst

Contract

This is a NO-A contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 1 years of experience, depending on education. More about NO-A 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.

UN Women MCO-Caribbean (MCO) covers 22 English and Dutch speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean. The MCO maintains a physical presence in five (5) countries but there remains high and consistent demand for the exercise of UN Women’s integrated mandate across the 22 countries and territories

Under the overall guidance of the Representative and the close daily supervision of the Operations Manager, the Finance Analyst is responsible for providing oversight assistance to ensure capacity and support; assistance with development projects for the finance users of UN Women for better business practices and controls as well as automation; ensuring all finance users are compliant with and trained in the accounting standards, financial regulations and rules, policies and procedures; ; and acts as the Audit focal point for the Region in co-ordination with Finance Section HQ, as well as finance users in ROs and MCOs.

The Finance Analyst supervises the Finance Assistant. The Finance Analyst works in close collaboration with Finance Section HQ, the Finance Analyst RO, Programme and Operations colleagues, teams at the country level, UNDP staff and Government officials ensuring high performance and efficiency in Finance.

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordinate the financial planning, analysis, and provision of services to MCO in accordance with UN Women internal control framework, rules, regulations, policies and procedures in close coordination with the Operations Manager

• Review and/or verify financial transactions/activities, recording/reporting system and audit reports. Co-ordinate with Finance Section RO and HQ on suggestions for amendments;
• Review financial business processes and use of ERP system to ensure accurate and complete reporting of financial transactions by UN Women personnel in accordance with the Internal Control Framework and Delegation of Authority and the timely flow of financial information in UN Women for management, monitoring, and oversight purposes;
• Coordinate all financial resources managed by the MCO and provide professional advice on financial issues to management, as necessary;
• Coordinate cash management processes, including liquidity management, recommend impress (petty cash) level, risk assessment, security for cash assets on site.
• Assist with financial risk assessment reviews for the MCO, by identifying areas of risk and providing recommendations and action plans for addressing issues raised.

Coordinate the monitoring and oversight of financial systems in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures in close coordination with the Operations Manager (OM)

• Monitor financial systems and reports for unusual activities, transactions, investigate anomalies and raise to the Om as needed;
• Coordinate the MCO timely completion of finance areas of the Month-end Instructions Checklist and Year-end Instructions Closure Checklist;
• Draft inputs to financial reports in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and ensure continued compliance. Monitor the MCO for compliance with IPSAS accounting standards by reviewing business processes and systems modules resulting in IPSAS compliant general ledger and financial statements;
• Review Implementing Partner advance procedures and test against UN Women policies to ensure compliance. Investigate and follow up on any anomalies for timely action and resolution, as necessary, in close coordination with the Operations Manager;
• Guide the proper follow up of advances to implementing partners, review their financial reports together with project managers;
• Monitor the financial status and under the guidance of the Operations Manager implement control mechanisms for management/development projects;
• Review all contractual arrangements with suppliers of goods and services to ensure that the financial terms and conditions of all contracts are being adhered to by the suppliers of goods and services;
• Report to Operations Manager any case of non-adherence for timely action and recommendations for actions/decisions, as necessary;
• Respond to questions and provide analysis as requested to the Finance Section HQ.

Coordinate financial reporting in the MCO in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures

• Track and report contributions within the resource mobilization efforts, including pipeline, contracted and overdue and future milestones. Review contributions receivables and provide information to Operations Manager for follow up, as necessary;
• Follow up and/or take prompt action to respond to audit and other findings on financial management.

Provide input from a financial perspective on the audit process in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures

• Coordinate the pre-audit preparations for financial management of the MCO to be audit ready and complete the pre-audit checklist. Travel to the sub-offices as necessary to assist during CO audits.
• Provide inputs to the training in the MCO as part of the training plan or requirement of pre-audit preparations or as otherwise determined by Operations Manager;
• Draft responses to internal and external audit inquiries and other findings related to financial management for review/approval by Operations Manager and incorporate recommendations in development in policies, procedures and practices;
• Plan and track expenditures and performance audit of financial resources, including extra-budgetary income.

Coordinate programme/ project budgets in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures in close coordination with the OM

• Coordinate all financial resources of programmes/ projects through planning, guiding, monitoring and controlling of the resources;
• Draft and monitor budgets of management projects;
• Analyze and report on the budget approvals and the delivery situation of management projects;
• Contribute to the proper mechanisms to eliminate deficiencies in budget management;
• Draft the budget, control allotments, monitor expenditures, and prepare revisions according to the needs of the MCO;
• Create projects in Atlas, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds;
• Implement and maintain control mechanism for development projects through monitoring budgets preparation and modifications and budgetary status;
• Provide assistance to offices in the region in relation to project closure and provide training on a regular basis, in conjunction with Virtual Global Service Centre Finance Specialists.

Coordinate financial training and communication for the MCO

• Perform the Finance Helpdesk function for MCO to ensure accurate and timely response to issues and advice requested in conjunction with HQ Finance Field Support Unit;
• Support in the implementation of the approved Training plans (specifically ATLAS and IPSAS) in conjunction with HQ Finance Field Support Unit and Finance specialist in RO on a recurrent basis to ensure competency across all Finance Users at the MCO;
• Provide oversight for Finance personnel of the MCO and monitor progress and provide guidance and direction to the staff as necessary to ensure goals and objectives are achieved.

Participate in knowledge management and capacity building

• Participate in the development and/or recommend enhancement/updates/improvement in ERP financial modules for better business practices and controls in the MCO;
• Contribute to the design of learning tools, best practices and innovations in financial business operational practices and management, promote transparency, ease of communications, hosting of financial documents, and all policies and procedures between all UN Women users of the MCO data.

Financial tasks, approving and certifying function

• Oversee that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas; payrolls are duly prepared; travel claims, and other entitlements are duly processed;
• Implement timely corrective actions on unposted vouchers, including the vouchers with budget check errors, matching exceptions, unapproved vouchers;
• Provide timely response to HQ requests to resolve financial data issues;
• Perform delegated approval function in Atlas on a timely basis;
• Review and provide financial clearance of all donor agreements as delegated for compliance with standard agreements on a timely basis.

Key Performance Indicators

• Financial activities/transactions and documentations are implemented/processed according to UN Women rules and regulations, policies and procedures, in close consultation with the OM
• Programme units receive timely support in relation to financial management, budgeting and planning
• Timely and accurate professional advice on financial issues provided to the MCO management
• Timely reporting on financial issues

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Good knowledge and expertise in financial planning and management;
• Good knowledge of complex financial rules and regulations, preferably UN/UN Women Financial Rules and regulations;
• Knowledge and experience in the application of complex financial systems and modules (such as Atlas);
• Good knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
• Ability to provide advice and support;
• Demonstrated knowledge of IPSAS/IFRS.
• Good analytical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Masters degree in Finance, Accounting or Business Administration or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Professionally qualified accountants from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage.
• Successful completion of UN Women’s Accounting technical test as part of the selection process.

Experience:

• At least 2 years’ experience in an accounting-specific role within a large international organization preferably in the UN system is required.
• Experience using an ERP financial system.
• Experience in providing financial and budget support to programmes/projects;
• Experience in the usage of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.).
• Experience using an online web-based management System is an asset

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required
• Working knowledge of Spanish is an asset.

Applications:

• Positions in the National Officer categories are subject to local recruitment.
• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment; Please group all documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows one document to be uploaded
• Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Other:

Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or corrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission. All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs. Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.

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, colour, 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).