Finance and Budget Assistant

Contract

This is a G-6 contract. This kind of contract is known as General Service and related categories. It is normally only for nationals. It usually requires 6 years of experience, depending on education. More about G-6 contracts.

Org. Setting and Reporting These positions are located in the Payroll Section of the Finance Division in Office of Programme Planning, Finance and Budget (OPPFB), Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance. The incumbents will report to the Chief of Section.

The Payroll Section administers payroll and benefits compensation of all staff members in the United Nations organization, here in Headquarters as well as International Staff in field missions. They are also directly accountable for the complete management of any and all payroll-related tasks within the Umoja System.

Responsibilities Responsibilities: Within delegated authority, the Finance & Budget Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Budget: - Provides support with respect to the review, analyses and preparation of the medium-term plan and its revisions. - Prepares supporting documents (narrative and supporting tables) with respect to finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements. - Assists managers in the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions. - Undertakes research and provides support to higher level Finance & Budget Officers with respect to budget reviews of relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies. - Monitors expenditures and compares with approved budget; prepares adjustments as necessary. - Reviews requisitions for goods and services to ensure (a) correct objects of expenditure have been charged, and (b) availability of funds. - Assists in preparation of budget performance submissions and finalization of budget performance reports, analysing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures. - Monitors integrity of various financial databases. - Verifies accuracy of input data, ensuring consistency of data in previous allotments to new allotments issued. - Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports. - Prepare request to Controller’s Office on redeployment of funds and to Finance section on movement of funds. - Review the monthly Troop Strength on uniformed personnel (military contingent, United nations police (UNPOL) and Formed Police Unit (FPU) upon receipt from military and police components. - Review data on monthly staffing complement.

Finance: - Scrutinizes source documents for completeness, accuracy and validity of charges. - Investigates erroneous charges and takes appropriate corrective accounting actionsas part of the review of rejected payments in the payroll liability account and rejected GL. - Communicates with field offices regarding missing documentation or any other issues related to discrepancies between their accounts and those maintained at Headquarters. - Reconciles and reviews suspense accounts and ensure proper clearance procedures have been followed. - Extracts details of income, expenditure, assets and liability from accounting system in order to analyze and verify accuracy and validity. - Consolidates the review, the monthly global payroll vendor account posting and update the payment details prior to disbursement. - Assists with the monitoring and review of the open items in the payroll accounting GL accounts. - Investigates and processes the relevant journal voucher to clear the open items in these accounts. - Prepares worksheets and assists with the preparation of financial statements. - Audits various accounting transactions, e.g., payroll, education grants, final payments, income tax returns, travel claims, etc., to ensure correctness of disbursements and adherence to relevant staff rules, financial regulations and rules, ST/AI issuances or practices. - Serves as Approving Officer for disbursements up to an authorized level. - Provides guidance and training to colleagues as required.

General: - Keeps up-to-date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to programme, ensuring compliance with intergovernmental recommendations and decisions as well as with United Nations policies and procedures. - Drafts or prepares correspondence to respond to enquiries in respect to relevant financial and budget matters. - Maintain and keep up-to-date files. - May be responsible for providing guidance, training and daily supervision to other general service staff in the area of responsibility. - Performs other related duties, as assigned.

Competencies •PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge in the use and application of the Organization's financial regulations and rules as well as accounting policies and practices. Ability to extract, interpret, and analyse a wide variety of data and to resolve data discrepancies and other problems.Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.

•PLANNING AND 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.

•CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients" and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education High school diploma or equivalent.

Work Experience A minimum of seven years of experience in finance, budget, accounting, administrative services or related area is required.

One year of experience in payroll processing is required.

Experience servicing a large and diverse pool of clients is required.

Experience with the HCM module of SAP or similar ERP system is desirable.

Experience using a Customer Relationship Management tool such as iNeed is desirable.

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Assessment Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice - This position is temporarily available until 31 December 2022 and is subject to availability of funding/position. 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.

• 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.

• This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.

• Passing the Global General Service Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Services and related categories in the United Nations Secretariat. Applicants who have not passed the GGST at the time of application may be invited for the test after submitting an application. Having passed the Administrative Support Assessment Test [in English] at the United Nations headquarters, Economic Commission for Africa, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, United Nations Office at Geneva, United Nations Office at Vienna, International criminal tribunal for Rwanda or International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia may be accepted in lieu of the GGST.

• 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.

• Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as "retirement." Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.

  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.

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.