Finance Assistant

Organizational Setting

The Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE) leads FAO's support to countries in the region in transforming their agrifood systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It identifies regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development and ensures the planning and implementation of FAO's strategic response in the region through a multidisciplinary approach. It implements approved programmes and projects, monitors programme implementation, and ensures that they contribute to addressing regional priorities. RNE also advises on the incorporation of regional priorities into the FAO Strategic Framework and Programme of Work and Budget.

RNE supports regional policy dialogues, facilitates the emergence of regional partnerships, and supports knowledge exchange, capacity development and resource mobilization for food security, agriculture and rural development in the region. It develops and maintains relations with region-wide institutions including the Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs).

The post is located in the Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE) in Cairo, Egypt.

Main Purpose

The Finance Assistant undertakes finance-related support activities of medium complexity. He/she ensures quality, transparency and consistency of processes. The job role requires in-depth knowledge and interpretation of financial policies, procedures and practices. The incumbent provides procedural guidance to other staff in the Organization as and when needed.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Finance Assistant reports to the Senior Administrative Officer. He/she performs his/her work autonomously, showing a high degree of initiative, judgment and responsibility. Supervision received is focused on guidance regarding cases of high complexity and on facilitating service delivery and meeting client requirements. The incumbent effectively organizes his/her own work and provides relevant guidance and training to junior colleagues and internal customers.

Working Relationships

The incumbent maintains a wide range of contacts with staff throughout the Organization as well as with colleagues within and outside of core team, providing experienced coordination and delivery of finance support processes and services.

Key Functions/Results

• Review source documents for completeness, accuracy and validity; • Extract details of transactions from the integrated financial system in order to analyze and verify; • Investigate errors, take corrective' actions; perform reviews and ensure proper clearance procedures; • Support continuous improvement efforts by participating in testing and implementation of new financial process automations; • Assist in monitoring transactions, ensure ex-ante or post-factum due diligence is performed; • Prepare worksheets and assist in preparation of reports by compiling and consolidating data from various sources; • Draft and prepare correspondence and respond to queries; • Evaluate ongoing financial support requirements, adapt service provision to meet changing needs and solve operational problems as required; • Provide procedural guidance to staff; guide and train junior finance support staff; • Perform other duties as required.

Impact of Work

The incumbent's work impacts directly on the efficiency, effectiveness, accuracy and timeliness of the services provided by the team. He/she plays a pro-active role in the successful achievement of the unit's mandate.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education. Experience: Four years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, cash management and/or asset management related support work. Languages: Working knowledge (proficient - level C) of English and limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of Arabic or French. IT Skills: Very good knowledge of MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.

Residency: General Service Staff are recruited locally. To be eligible for this position, candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing visa/work permit, and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application. "Commuting distance" means the distance within which staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence.

Competencies

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

Technical Skills

• Good knowledge of financial rules and regulations, accounting policies and practices in order to ensure that all processing controls are strictly adhered to. • Good knowledge of the processing and approval process of a variety of transactions; ensuring audit requirements are maintained regarding supporting document retention, adherence to rules, accuracy and overall completeness. • Thorough knowledge of the communication and documentation standards.

Desirable Qualifications and Skills

• Experience with integrated ERP systems (Oracle). • Limited knowledge (intermediate – level B) of other official FAO languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). • Experience in Shared Services Centre work environment.