Finance Associate

Contract

This is a SB-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Service Board / Service Contract. It is normally only for nationals. More about SB-3 contracts.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women work in Ukraine focuses on supporting the government and civil society in advancing gender equality and implementation of the national and international commitments. UN Women has been concentrating its interventions towards the realization of following strategic goals: women’s leadership and participation; implementation of women, peace and security agenda, and gender responsive governance. UN Women works closely with the UN Country Team in integration of women’s rights and gender equality in all spheres of UN work.

The project “Transformative approaches to achieving gender equality in Ukraine” aims at employing transformative approaches to the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment, which we understand as breaking out with ‘business-as-usual’; instead of focusing on barriers women face and empowering women through working with women, gender transformative approaches engage variety of agents of change. Transformative approaches aim at removing the root causes, structural barriers, and restrictive social norms, that underpin the persistence of gender inequalities in various areas of life. In our case transformative approach means engaging with the key institutions at the same time, that have significant impact on either reproduction of restrictive gender stereotypes or can help to break down these social norms and pave the way to greater gender equality and women’s empowerment: the government, women’s organizations, and the private sector.

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Programme Coordinator, and in close cooperation with the Operations Manager, the Finance Associate contributes to the effective management of UN Women project “Transformative approaches to achieving gender equality in Ukraine” (2022-2026) by ensuring effective delivery of financial services in the project and transparent utilization of financial resources. The Finance Associate promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UN WOMEN rules and regulations.

The Finance Associate works in close collaboration with the Operations, Programme and Management Support staff of the UN Women Office and UNDP for resolving finance-related issues and exchange of information.

Impact of results:

The key results of this post directly impact on the ability of UN Women to effectively implement UN Women’s programs and related operations in the country. This impact should lead to enhancing the visibility and image of UN Women as an effective leader on gender equality and women’s rights and empowerment within the country.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

• Support implementation of the programme/operations and financial management strategies\
• ****Support management and administration of project budget****
• ******Provide accounting and administrative support to the Project Management******
• **********Facilitate knowledge development and knowledge sharing**********

1. Support implementation of the programme/operations and financial management strategies by:

• Ensuring full compliance of financial processes, financial records and reports with UN WOMEN rules and regulations and other relevant policies on financial recording/reporting system. Follow-up on audit recommendations; implementing effective internal controls over proper functioning of a client-oriented financial resources management system;
• Providing day-to-day financial management and financial operations support to the project in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations and relevant Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs);
• Providing inputs for implementation of cost-saving and reduction strategies in consultation with the office management;
• Perform a role of Alternate Finance User and Petty Cash Custodian in the corporate ERP system;
• Review, submit and facilitate processing of VAT claims with the government.

2. Provide support to management and administration of project budget by:

• Assisting in preparation and monitoring of project budget, and maintain necessary budgetary controls and records;
• Collecting and presenting of financial information for formulation of the project/country programme work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements and execution modalities. Entry of new grants data into Atlas in the form of Annual Work Plans (AWPs), monitoring of AWP status;
• Preparation and interpretation of Office Utilization and Delivery Reports ensuring accuracy of data;
• Provision of information for the audit of projects, implementation of audit recommendations;
• Implementation of the control mechanism for the projects through monitoring of budgets preparation and modifications;
• Tracking and reporting on mobilized resources;
• Preparation of financial reports;
• Analyzing, review and certification of the cost recovery charges levied by UNDP for their services in supporting programme implementation;
• Liaising with UNDP for banking, financial and other support required.

3. Provide accounting and administrative support to the Project Management focusing on achievement of the following results by:

• Preparation and proper control of the supporting documents for payments and financial reports for projects; preparation of supporting documents required for creation of PO- and non-PO vouchers;
• Preparation of accurate financial reports and forecasts, including monthly and quarterly disbursement reports and financial reports for donors;
• Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas; payrolls are duly prepared and processed; travel claims and other entitlements are duly processed;
• Analyzing expenditure incurred in line with the approved work plan of the implementing partners and flagging for deviations / exceptions;
• Providing support in linking the financial inputs with the physical progress under the project;
• Maintenance of filing of all financial and administration records and documents;
• Providing administrative coordination support for internal / external and annual audit exercise;
• Examining all financial reports and FACE forms from project partners for accuracy and alignment with the project budget and work plan and follow-up on correction of mistakes / deviations, if any;
• Providing other administrative and logistical support for procurement, events and meetings.

4****. Ensure facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing by:

• Facilitation/conduction of trainings for the operations/programme/projects staff on Finance;
• Synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices in Finance;
• Providing sound contribution to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Other duties assigned by the supervisor.

MEASURABLE OUTPUTS OF THE WORK ASSIGNMENT:

• Full and appropriate use of UN Women Financial Operational Policies and Procedures and UN Women Standard Operating Procedures during implementation of the Project.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR EVALUATION OF RESULTS:

• Quality of work;
• Relations with colleagues and ability to be an effective team player;
• Initiative;
• Technical skills;
• Knowledge of required procedures;
• Communication and listening skills.

Competencies

CORE VALUES

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

• Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions;
• Ability to extract, interpret, analyze data and resolve operational problems;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Ability to support a team and team building skills;
• Good knowledge of financial rules and regulations;
• Strong IT skills;
• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Ability to handle web-based management systems;
• Attention to details.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• BA /BSc degree in Business Administration, Bachelor of Commerce, Human Resources, Finance, Social Sciences, International Relations and any other related fields.

Experience:

• Min three (3) years (with Bachelor’s Degree) of relevant experience in administrative/finance or project finance support preferably in an international setting.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (Word, Excel etc.).
• Experience in handling of web-based management systems.
• Knowledge of working in ATLAS ERP will be an added advantage.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in oral and written English and Ukrainian.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check).