Finance and Administrative Associate

Contract

This is a NPSA-7 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about NPSA-7 contracts.

Background

The Innovative and Digital Partnerships Unit was recently established within the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) to facilitate the development of creative partnerships and programs that accelerate progress towards the SDGs, raise non-traditional revenue streams for UNDP, and increase the organization’s advocacy and reach.

Individual giving is among the fledgling initiatives led by the unit and was revitalized at UNDP as a result of the COVID-19 crisis response mechanism in 2020 to meet demand from UNDP country offices (COs). Today it consists of central fundraising donor journeys (give.undp.org) as well as individual giving/crowdfunding campaigns to support COs (featured on undp.org/impact-giving).

The unit seeks to leverage an existing digital fundraising platform (Classy.org, payment processing through WePay) as well as existing financial systems (Atlas), and modes of advocacy and engagement wherever possible, with an aim to focus attention on those that are scalable or replicable. These objectives are in line with UNDP’s Strategic Plan and its emphasis to become more nimble, innovative, and enterprising. Central to this approach is testing and piloting new approaches and initiatives. The unit also provides a means to organize, track, and ensure transparency over the financial resources generated.

The Finance and Administrative Associate is expected to provide overall financial reconciliation support and tracking for the unit following a predetermined Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) and in full compliance of administrative and financial activities with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies. He/she will also develop and deliver essential functions related to UNDP’s procurement and payment processes. He / she will provide key administrative support to the unit as directed. Last, the associate with provide basic financial reporting on a regular and ad hoc basis.

The position requires the ability to occasionally troubleshoot and problem solve in an evolving landscape of projects. Hands-on technical and financial skills and attention to detail are essential to success. Prior experience working in a financial operations capacity at UNDP or another UN agency is a plus. The ideal candidate will also have a growth mindset and be interested in growing their role to contribute to streamlining financial reconciliation and reporting capacities, applying and operationalizing best practices in financial management, and contributing to the use of technology to support, scale and automate the existing infrastructure.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Financial Reconciliation and Control. Conduct the unit’s monthly financial reconciliation process, involving the review, comparison, and reconciliation of donor and payment data. Submit final product for application to the Chart of Accounts (COA) for overall control in Atlas. Maintain an internal expenditures control system ensuring that payments processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas.
• Financial Coordination. Coordinate as necessary with country office / unit focal points, GSSU Treasury, OFRM, and/or MSU personnel.
• Tracking and Reporting. Ensure the proper recognition of financial flows in Atlas by supporting high level reporting for unit revenue and expenses on a monthly and ad hoc basis.
• Program Support. On an as needed basis, support the planning, execution and delivery of fundraising campaigns by joining calls and fielding requests with various stakeholders including BERA staff, consultants, financial operations personnel, UNDP shared services, regional and country office liaisons, and UN agency teams.
• Procurement and payments. He/she will also develop and deliver essential functions related to UNDP’s procurement and payment processes, including preparation of Terms of Reference and preparations of payment requests.
• Administrative support. Support the day-to-day financial and administrative management of unit operations including assistance (provision of inputs) in the preparation of the unit budget in ATLAS; maintenance of control records on expenditures; monitoring the unit budget; organization of meetings, workshops, conferences, retreats; organization of travel/logistical arrangements for unit staff, and assistance in establishing the systems and internal procedures and carry out various administrative activities.

Competencies

CORE:

Leadership - Proactively seeks and recognizes contributions of others

Communications and Relations Management - Expresses information and views with adaptive reasoning and appreciation for complexity and variation.

Innovation - Adapt deliverables to meet client needs.

People Management - Appropriately involves team in different stages of work and decision making.

Delivery - Takes responsibility for addressing critical situations and delivering core value.

TECHNICAL

Innovation - Ability to manage organisational resources and deployment in pursuit of innovative approaches and initiatives.

Priority setting - Ability to scan and synthesize diverse sets of information to arrive at strategic priorities and positioning recommendations.

Accounting (General) - Knowledge of accounting concepts, principles, regulations, and policies and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.

Office Administration - Ability to manage day-to-day office activities (including but not limited to travel management, facilities and asset management, policy and procedures maintenance) to meet operational needs.

Operational Efficiency - Ability to identify and execute opportunities to improve operational efficiency.

Financial Reporting and Analysis - Ability to evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful manner.

Financial Management - Ability to create a process to achieve financial goals.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Completion of Secondary Education (HS) is required;
• A Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Financial Management, Business Administration or any other related field, is desirable.
• Having a Certificate credentials for CIPFA (Charted Institute of Public Finance Accountancy), the world’s leading global body for Public Finance Management, is desirable; Other Accounting certification is a plus.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years (with HS Diploma) or 4 years (with Bachelors Degree), of relevant work experience at the national or international level in financial reconciliation or relevant administrative work, preferably for a social mission-driven organization;
• Knowledge of financial operations and reconciliation expertise;
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office 365 Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive;
• Direct experience with a UN agency or UNDP in the area of financial operations and/or hands on experience with ATLAS, WePay, Classy.org to support digital fundraising/individual giving is highly desirable;

Language Requirements:

• Proficiency in the English language, both oral and written, is required;
• Knowledge of another UN language is desirable.