Finance and Administrative Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts towards ending hunger. Its objective is to achieve food security for all and to ensure regular and sufficient access to good quality food enabling everyone to lead a healthy and active life. FAO has been present in Haiti since 1978. It supports the Haitian Government through technical cooperation in agricultural development policies and strategies, improving food security and household resilience in the face of food crises, natural disasters and the consequences of climate change.

Reporting Lines

The Finance and Administrative Specialist works under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR), the direct supervision of the Head of the Administration Unit, in close collaboration with the relevant units of the Regional Office for Latin America and Caribbean (RLC), the Subregional Office for Central America (SLM) and Headquarters.

Technical Focus

The Finance and Administrative Specialist will contribute to the consolidation and strengthening of the Administration Unit team, refining of workflows and efficiency gains.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Lead and organize the country office on financial and administrative matters related to assets and logistics management;
• Supervise, oversee and/or contribute to the delivery of financial reporting, general accounting, project accounting, and/or investment activities/services in accordance with FAO policies and regulatory framework;
• Identify operational, administrative and other constraints which may affect programme implementation and propose solutions to improve quality, timeliness and cost effectiveness;
• Oversee preparation, monitoring and revision of the country office budget;
• Ensure the maintenance of up-to-date financial records, including the preparation of bank and other reconciliation statements and supervises and conducts the year/biennium end closure of accounts;
• Review accounts and ensure proper payment authorization including the preparation of appropriate expenditure
• documents;
• Lead the retrieval, entry, selection and analysis of data from a wide variety of sources, including FAO’s corporate administrative systems and data bases;
• Ensure that financial commitments, expenditures and periodic budgetary reports are controlled and in line within established limits;
• Coordinate the work and supervise the Finance and logistics teams;
• Lead the financial planning and budget allocation of a staff development plan for both fixed-term staff and NSHR personnel;
• Analyze financial/investment/risk related issues and provide financial advice and assistance to the country office Representative;
• Prepare and review ad hoc reports on programme, project and office accounts; coordinates and provides special reports for periodic budget preparation and audits; and liaise with local banks and financial institutions;
• Provide inputs to the Business Continuity Plan of the country office in line with FAO’s Business Continuity policy (MS 114) with regards to the financial emergency preparedness of the Country Office, special agreements with the financial institutions in emergency situations, etc.;
• Liaise with host Government for the maintenance of premises and ensure that all procurements and custom clearances
• for programmes, projects and the office are properly requested and obtained;
• Propose improvements to the business model of the country office;
• Contribute to the implementation of streamlining of financial procedures and liaise with other UN Offices for common practices;
• Ensure the compliance with the Financial Documentation and Reporting HQ/RLC requirements – bank reconciliation, administrative advances reports, etc;
• Ensure the maintenance of a reliable digitalization of the financial documentation – digital archiving of the financial documents;
• Replace and ensure the effective operation of the unit during the absence of the Administrative Officer from the duty station.
• Support the regular (monthly) update of a HR Plan to identify in advance forthcoming needs;
• Support timely action of the HR team according to identified needs of the Projects Coordinators and the Representation;
• Support the preparation in advance of a SDV for FT and NSHR at the beginning of each year;
• Train Representation and field personnel on administrative and operational matters.
• Support the management the assets, procurement and contractual actions of the Office (including inventories, solicitation processes, site inspections, bidder's conferences, contract negotiations, disputes or claims, market research and other as set forth in the FAO Manual Section;
• Coordinate the regular (quarterly) update and implementation of the Procurement Plan of the Office, ensuring that procedures for purchasing goods and services are implemented and authorized according to the rules and procedures (best value for money) and that the importation and clearance of goods and equipment comply with relevant regulations;
• Advise requisitioning units on the full range of procurement issues, providing support and guidance at all stage of the procurement cycle, meeting objectives under tight deadlines.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree or equivalent in Finance, Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics or related field;
• At least 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing financial management advisory services and/or managing staff and operational systems;
• Working knowledge (level C) of French and limited knowledge (level B) of another FAO language (English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, or Russian) for COF. For PSA, working knowledge of French would suffice. Knowledge of Spanish and/or English is desirable.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems;
• Relevant experience in field operations in challenging environments;
• Extent and relevance of experience in financial management;
• Extent and relevance of international experience, preferably in UN peacekeeping and/or in the UN security management system, would be an asset;
• Extent and relevance of experience in the financial monitoring, planning and reporting;
• Demonstrated experience in writing concise financial reports in French/Spanish/English;
• Previous experience in Haiti will be a distinct advantage.