Finance Consultant

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

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 Jordan Country Office supports the Government of Jordan to implement global norms and standards on gender equality and women’s empowerment; promotes women’s economic empowerment; and implements a resilience and empowerment model for Syrian refugee women and vulnerable Jordanian women. The country office is implementing its Strategic Note for the period 2023 – 2027. The operations Unit is undergoing multiple recruitments to strengthen its capacity including Finance to strengthen oversight of financial services to country office, there is a need to recruit a consult to perform financial tasks. The Finance consultant will support provision of financial services for the Jordan Country Office, which will collectively ensure the office has sufficient support to smoothly deliver the CO results.

Objective of the Assignment:

Under the daily supervision of the Operations Manager, the Finance Consultant will support the following areas:

1. Provision of Financial Services to the Jordan Country Office
2. Financial Management and programme Support
3. Coordinate the partners audit process in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and procedures
4. Act as the focal person for the UN Trust Fund grantees

The specific tasks for each of these areas of responsibility are outlined below. The Finance consultant works in close collaboration with the Operations and Program teams in the Country Office as well as with the Regional Office and UN Women HQ for solving financial issues and information delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Provision of Financial Services to the Jordan Country Office

1.1 Verification of Invoices/Vouchers for Payment

• Review the accuracy of the payment amount (e.g. review the calculation of the travel advance);
• Ensure that the payment modality is correct (i.e. EFT or cheque);
• Ensure the Invoice is created in the same currency as the purchase order;
• Ensure the chart field is correctly entered;
• Confirm that the payment has not already been made;
• Ensure the Project Manager has certified that the goods have been received/services have been rendered satisfactorily;
• Ensure the payment is made against the original commitment recorded by the Committing Officer;
• Ensure the correct vendor is selected;
• Ensure that credit notes received are offset against the amount to be paid;
• Ensure payments are entered into the system with the correct due date, so that the payment can be scheduled in accordance with the agreed upon payment terms;
• Ensure proper supporting documentation is attached and/or available;
• Ensure the payment is not made for personal purposes;
• Ensure no other information is available to bar the payment or prevent fraudulent payment
• Verify that the terms and conditions of payment are consistent with the PO or contract document
• Verify that if the PO requires three-way matching, the Project Manager (or her/his designate) has recorded satisfactory receipt of goods/services in the ERP System;
• Verify that if the PO requires only two-way matching that satisfactory receipt of goods/services has been documented outside of the ERP System, and
• If there are any budget or match exceptions document the exception(s) and bring them to the attention of the Committing Officer who approved the PO;
• Verify that the request for non-PO payment is approved by the Project Manager (including, if applicable, verifying of satisfactory receipt of goods/services);
• Verify that the payment does not require a PO;
• Verify that the payment is in compliance with UN-Women Financial Regulations and Rules, and
• Obtain explanations for any exceptions from the Project Manager and bring these to the attention of the Committing Officer, prior to her/his approval of the non-PO payment.

2. Financial Management and Programme Support

2.1 General Ledger

• Update the General Ledger through the creation of General Ledger Journal Entries (GLJE), as applicable.

• Regularly monitor the General Ledger postings and take corrective action (where incorrect)

  2.2 Control Budget

• Regularly monitor the Control Budget postings and advice on corrective action (where incorrect)

  2.3 Requisitions

• Creation of Requisitions

• View Purchase Orders (POs) and Requisitions and take corrective action (where incorrect)

• Monitor Purchase Orders as part of the Month-End and Year End closure instructions

  2.4 Programme and Project Management (PPM) (only done in absence of program staff)

• Creation of Projects

• Monitor Project Financials and take corrective action (where incorrect)
• Creation of Awards when delegated by Programme Officers/Managers (for nationally implemented projects) or Project Managers (for projects directly implemented by UN-Women).
• Monitor Awards and ensure they in line with the Programmes and Projects

• Creation of Award Budgets

  2.5 Account Payable (AP)

• Verify the work of the Invoice (Voucher) Creation

• Creation of Vouchers(invoices) for regular resources and extra-budgetary; and other resources

• Monitor Vouchers(invoices) ageing and take corrective action where necessary

  2.6 Assets

• In conjunction with the Assets Focal Point monitor all assets and advice on corrective action where necessary

  2.7 Cost Sharing Agreements

• Upload to Donor Agreement Management System (DAMS) all cost-sharing and trust fund agreements, and, in the case of government cost-sharing, signed programme documents because the contributions are received in UN-Women bank accounts will be applied based on the Account Receivable item, it is important to ensure that all signed cost sharing, and trust fund agreements are authorized and upload to DAMS in a timely manner.

  2.8 Conduct Monthly reviews

• Overdue cost-sharing and any potential shortages of resources.

• The cash status of projects funded by other resources against commitments and disbursements and ensure that these projects have at all times available cash to continue with commitments and disbursements. If at any time it is determined that cash is not available, or planned commitments and disbursements will exceed available cash, then a revision of the cash schedule of the cost sharing agreement should be made.
• The forecast of projected extra-budgetary revenue, commitments and disbursements, and identification of deficits.
• Review of ageing of outstanding pre-payments and payables.
• The review and collection of accounts receivable, funds received in advance and pending milestones relating to contribution agreements.
• The review of ageing advances to implementing partners/responsible parties to ensure reports are being collected and expenditures being recorded on a timely basis.
• The funds availability in the ERP System for each project to ensure that there are sufficient funds to cover the duration of existing staff positions; and
• The status of ongoing and inactive projects in order to coordinate with project managers to initiate operational closure or with Programme Officers/Managers to initiative financial closure.

• Coordinate the month-end closure and ensure all items have been accurately completed within the timeframe and all certifications/forms and information required have been submitted.

  2.9 Petty Cash reconciliations

• Maintain Petty cash accounts in accordance with UN-Women Petty Cash Policies and Procedures.

• Monthly checks shall be done on petty cash to ensure cash and paid vouchers(invoices) are equal to the petty cash imprest and evidence should be maintained
• Perform monthly reconciliation with the General Ledger
• Serve as the focal point for clearing partner agreements prior to level 1 approver in PGAMS as delegated by the OM
• Serve as the focal point for clearing partners capacity assessment as delegated by the OM

3. Coordinate the partners audit process in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and procedures

• Serve as a focal point for communication between UN-Women’s management and the audit firm.
• Monitor the Auditors’ reports and management letter and ensure action is taken by management where applicable.
• Prepare and support the program team for the partners audit exercise.
• Follow up on audit recommendations, observations and develop action plan to support their implementation.
• Support the program team in drafting management responses to audit observations.

4. Act as the focal person for the UNTF grantees

• Review of grantees financial reports
• Upon receipt of certified report, create the appropriate liquidation voucher in Quantum and sending for approval
• If a tranche disbursement is applicable, the FP shall be responsible for creating the appropriate advancement voucher in Quantum and sending for approval
• Undertake financial monitoring missions, in coordination with UNTF staff, using standard UNTF templates. Submit Mission Report with issues of concern and agree on the corrective measures to be undertaken with UNTF. Ensure follow-up and implementation of recommendations by grantee.
• Advise if a grant project is considered a “high risk” project for UN Women to be included in the annual audit. Liaise with grantee to alert them if they qualified for audit in the preliminary selection. Request grantee to fill out the pre-audit questionnaire and return it via email. Review the questionnaire and share it with Audit and UNTF. Share the audit preparation guide with the grantee
• Monitor the audit observations and ensure grantee addresses them for the remaining life of the grant

Deliverables:

Deliverables

Timelines

Monthly progress report (English) with the achieved responsibilities in line with the ToR and timesheets

Every 5th of the month

Final report (in English) about the achievements, lessons learnt, and recommendations

09th August 2023

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Excellent knowledge of financial rules and regulations and accounting principles;
• Excellent knowledge and application skills of IT tools and understanding of management systems;
• Excellent knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
• Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems;
• Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in finance.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems.
• Experience of accrual accounting, IPSAS and the use of ERP system is required
• Background in programming/ projects management is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

• Criteria 1: Education (10 points)
• Criteria 2: Experience (55 points)
• Criteria 3: Language requirements (5 points)

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;
• 'Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Application:

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
• Personal CV; and Financial proposal; Proposed inclusive daily rate.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

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.)