Finance Assistant

Organizational Setting

The cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Ukraine has been designed to reinforce national capacities and to contribute to a broader development of agriculture, sustainable management of forests and fisheries, and animal and plant disease control. FAO is providing technical support for climate change adaptation, as well as working with civil society to mitigate soil erosion and degradation. FAO is also contributing to building resilience and boosting development in conflict-affected regions by supporting the economic recovery of farmers and rural communities. FAO’s presence in Ukraine has upscaled and is distributed by offices in Kyiv, Lviv and Dnipro under the overall responsibility of the Head of the FAO Office/Designated Responsible Officer in Ukraine. The recent and large-scale escalation in hostilities in Ukraine is exacerbating the already dire food security situation of the most vulnerable rural households and small farmers. In response to the evolving situation, FAO Ukraine is scaling up its emergency humanitarian and resilience programming in conflict affected areas of Ukraine. including previous programming areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson; and Lviv and Zakarpattia in the West; as well as newly affected areas. In order the address to rapidly deteriorating situation, FAO has established a Rapid Response Plan (RRP) that is in line with the UN Flash Appeal and intended to provide life and livelihood saving interventions for the most vulnerable smallholder farming households impacted by the conflict.

Reporting Lines

The Finance Assistant will work under the overall supervision of the Head of Office/DRO and direct supervision of the Operations Officer. The Finance Assistant interacts with a variety of colleagues within the work unit and with immediate clients served within the Organization, providing routine assistance to promote the effective and efficient delivery of finance-related services.

Technical Focus

The Finance Assistant performs a large variety of routine administrative and financial duties in support of the control and maintenance of accounts and in the processing of finance/ accounting/ budget-related transactions. The incumbent exercises judgment, identifies errors and supports sound financial practice.

Tasks and responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Head of Office/DRO and direct supervision of the Operations Officer, the Finance Assistant will undertake the following duties:

• Process claims or invoices and other payments requests in line with relevant regulations and instructions; • Ensure that all supporting documents and information required to justify payment, including receipts, banking details, etc., are complete before releasing payments; • Settle invoices and claims after verification of supporting documents; • Compile and verify budget and accounting data by checking files, calculating costs and estimating anticipated expenditures; following authorization, make disbursements from petty cash as per delegation, maintain records of such disbursements and balance accounts as required; • Assist in the preparation of periodic accounting records, finance and budget documents; record receipts and disbursements (ledgers, cash books, vouchers, etc.); • Reconcile data for recurring or special reports; maintain contacts with local banks, verify account status and currency exchange rates and obtain approval for cheque clearance; • Keep Petty Cash and maintain proper records. • Perform other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Secondary School Education or University degree in Economics, Finances, Banking, Public Administration or other related field. • Three years of relevant experience in finance / budget-related support work / procurement or other related fields • Working knowledge (level C) of English. Knowledge of one of the other FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an advantage. Proficiency in Ukrainian. • National of Ukraine.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Good knowledge of financial rules and regulations, accounting policies and practices • Good knowledge of corporate financial systems • Good knowledge of the communication and documentation standards • Good knowledge of the banking system processes and architecture • Good knowledge of the MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment. • Desirable: Experience of working in a state institution or other non-for-profit organisation • Desirable: Knowledge of key Ukrainian documents regulating the sphere of taxation, bank payments and accountability

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.