Finance Associate G6 Fixed Term (12 Month Renewable Contract) Windhoek, Namibia

Finance & Economy

Overview

Coordinate finance, budget and administration support services effectively

You have:

• Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area.
• Fluency in both oral and written communication in the UN language in use at the duty station and in the duty station’s language, if different.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of accounting theory, concepts and principles, financial accounting reporting, budgeting, and cost allocations.
• Good data mining skills with working knowledge of Microsoft Package. Prior experience in ERP applications (SAP) a significant advantage.
• Ability to offer guidance or basic on-the-job training to more junior staff.

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WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to end global hunger. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no** child goes to bed hungry** and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to help communities rebuild their shattered lives. Present in nearly 80 countries, the organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to nutritious food and contribute to the lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas. We manage an operating budget of approximately $5.9 billion each year, distributing 12.6 billion rations to those most in need. We reach an average of 80 million people with food assistance in around 80 countries each year. The World Food Programme office in Johannesburg is a Regional Office coordinating and supporting the delivery of humanitarian assistance to 11 Southern Africa countries including, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville.

For more on WFP and what we do, please go to http://www.wfp.org/videos/zero-hunger

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Namibia, an Upper Middle-Income Country, has made significant economic and social progress since its independence in 1990. The Namibian economy, until recently, recorded strong and steady economic growth while the country’s poverty rate was reduced significantly from 69% in 1993 to 17.4% in 2018. This impressive achievement has been underpinned by sustained political stability, sound macro-economic management and good governance. Some progress in reducing the pervasive income inequality has also been made.

Despite these gains, Namibia remains amongst the most unequal nations in the world. Stunting and malnutrition continue to stagnate. According to the preliminary findings of a recent assessment carried out following the 2018/2019 drought and COVID situation, an estimated 400,000 people are food insecure with food insecurity more prevalent in the north-western regions mainly due to prevailing chronic poverty, drought and the prevailing COVID impact on households. Main contributing factors to food insecurity and under-nourishment are the high poverty rate, inequality of the income distribution, and the incidence of HIV/AIDS.

This position will therefore be core to WFP’s contribution to the Government of Namibia and other stakeholders in addressing stagnating food and nutrition security situation while putting in place interventions to accelerate the journey towards zero hunger. The position will enable WFP to 2 actively engage in the Namibia Market Systems and Financial landscape in order to co-lead, review, refine and develop programmes and products that support a range food system activities in order to contribute positively to the accelerated journey towards Zero Hunger.

JOB PURPOSE

To coordinate and provide finance, budget and administration support services involving the recording and interpretation of financial and budgetary information to ensure the efficient functioning of the support services and inform decision-making.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Finance, the Finance Associate, will have the following responsibilities:

Assist in providing the procedural and technical support to staff within the areas of finance and budget, to ensure compliance with WFP financial policies, rules and regulations. Monitor monthly expenditure forecasts and provide expenditure reports in order to facilitate informed decision-making. Monitor the sub-impress bank and petty cash accounts regularly, to ensure that adequate funds are available,

Perform bank reconciliations, disbursements, clearance of receivables, overall cash management and monthly financial closures on a regular basis in accordance with corporate requirements. Cleaning of GL accounts by monitoring and clearing of all overdue accounts, vendors and customers, Contribute to the preparation, implementation and monitoring of budgets, monitor expenditure and budget forecasts, to ensure that relevant future funding requirements are me Monitor and analyse general ledger accounts in order to initiate and achieve corrective actions Processing and preparation of payroll in an accurate and timely manner. Verify and clearing of vendor claims, advances and other receivables and observe appropriate procurement procedures, to ensure that suppliers are paid in a timely manner and in conformance with WFP finance rules and regulations Assist in compiling information from various sources in order to prepare reports relating to budgets, accounting, finance and statistics. Retrieve, format and validate information obtained from various financial information systems and bring any discrepancy or inaccuracy to the attention of the supervisor and follow up corrective actions. Perform administrative duties related to the reconciliation of fixed assets and fuel expenditure to ensure that the databases are accurately updated. Maintain the web-based register for all invoices and payment transfers and record paperwork, to ensure that all documents are maintained and filed in compliance with WFP standards and guidelines. Monitor and record all expenses in line with the approved budget to ensure that correct expenditure costs are charged and payments to external suppliers, cash grants and other supplier invoices are processed in a timely manner. Processing and timely preparation payments to vendors and the provision of monthly vendor statements Take up assigned tasks during the absence of the Finance Officer. Perform any other related duties as required.

VAT management

Ensure all invoices qualifying for VAT are properly captured and filed Ensure Monthly Reconciliation of the VAT GL and the VAT report Filling of all VAT returns and diligently following up with the refunds. Other Responsibilities

Controls and Knowledge sharing Providing guidance to staff on accounting, policy theory and practice, recommending solutions to various issues Enhance controls and advise other assistants on best practices Knowledge sharing sessions with staff on Policies and procedures and ensuring these are communicated and implemented throughout the Regional department Liaison with RBJ technical teams on Imprest/Payroll/Travel audit/accounts payable/RM etc

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Country Office ability to measure impact, quality and progress of programmes. Country Office teams able to influence behaviour change in stakeholders where policy change requires changes in behaviour and implementation at various levels in order to be meaningful and sustainable.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Coaches team in the most effective ways to communicate WFP’s Strategic Objectives to WFP team and partners in the field.
• Be a force for positive change: Implements new methods or tools to improve team’s work processes and productivity.
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Maps team’s activities and tasks to specific successes in beneficiary communities to showcase positive impact.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Explains to teammates how each unit contributes to the overall WFP mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Identifies skill development opportunities such as training modules or on-the-job experiences for self, colleagues and direct reports.
• Create an inclusive culture: Facilitates team building activities to build rapport in own unit.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Facilitates the pairing of junior colleagues with coaches within own team.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Proactively anticipates potential challenges and develops mitigation plans to ensure that team meets goals and targets.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Identifies opportunities to be creative in own work and to help team be more innovative and accurate in their respective tasks and areas of work.
• Focus on getting results: Monitors team’s deliverables and provides feedback to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and accurately.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Provides accurate guidance to team on expected responsibilities and tasks, whilst also upholding own commitment to the team.
• Be Decisive: Sets an example and provides guidance to junior team members on when to escalate issues when faced with challenging issues in the workplace or in the field.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Facilitates partnerships with other WFP units to accomplish missions in the field.
• Build strong external partnerships: Sets an example and provides guidance to team on how to build relationships with external partners.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Articulates to colleagues or direct reports the value of contributing to other WFP teams and agency partnerships in fulfilling WFP’s goals and objectives.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Organizes, monitors, and prioritizes own and team’s efforts to ensure that they will fulfill the needs of internal and external partners.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability Name Description of the behaviour expected for the proficiency level Internal Controls & Compliance Demonstrates basic knowledge of internal controls, risk management, and monitoring mechanisms and their applicability to WFP's critical activities. Performance Budgeting, Analysis & Reporting Demonstrates participation in business planning efforts by developing basic project-level budgets and forecasts, incorporating information from various sources as appropriate to monitor KPIs. Resource Management Demonstrates ability to track and compile reports on HQ and Field staffing and resource usage on a project-level basis. Financial Mgmt. & Accounting Principles Applies knowledge of financial and accounting principles and practices to ensure compliance with WFP policies, applicable procedures and accounting standards. Supply Chain and Operations Knowledge Demonstrates basic understanding of WFP programme, implementation, and supply chain principles (including project modalities & structures).

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area.

Knowledge and Skills: Ability to offer guidance or basic on-the-job training to more junior staff. Sound knowledge and understanding of accounting theory, concepts and principles, financial accounting reporting, budgeting, and cost allocations. Ability to analyse and synthesize information, interpret data, retrieve information, and clearly and concisely communicate result. Good data mining skills with working knowledge of Microsoft Package. Prior experience in ERP applications (SAP) a significant advantage. Strong communication skills with the ability to prepare, present and discuss findings in written or oral form. Excellent interpersonal skills and team player, with the ability to work in a multi-cultural environment. Ability to offer guidance or basic on-the-job training to more junior staff

Language: General Service (Field): Fluency in both oral and written communication in the UN language in use at the duty station and in the duty station’s language, if different.

CONTRACTUAL INFORMATION

• This is a 1 Year Renewable Fixed Term Contract
• Net monthly salary range: NAD 29960 - 34259
• Benefits: 30 days Annual Leave, Pension & Medical Insurance

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

This vacancy announcement will close on Tuesday, the 15th of March 2022 at 11:59pm Namibian time.

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This position is only open to Namibian Citizens and Namibian Permanent Residents

Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

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Potential interview questions

Added 4 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: wfp.org