Finance Management Associate (English)

Consultant Finance & Economy

Contract

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

Background

The United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (the Trust Fund) is a multilateral grant-making mechanism established in 1996 pursuant to General Assembly resolution 50/166. It is administered by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) on behalf of the United Nations system.

The Trust Fund supports local, national, regional, and cross-regional programmes to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against women and girls in all contexts. It provides funding for proven, innovative and catalytic multi-year programmes by national and local governments, civil society organizations and United Nations country teams. Since 1996, the UN Trust Fund has awarded US$ 182 million in grants to 572 initiatives in 140 countries.

Under the guidance of the UN Trust Fund Capacity Development and Grants Operations Manager and direct supervision of the Grants Operations Analyst, following a client-oriented approach, the Finance Management Associate will provide budget support services ensuring effective and transparent utilization of financial resources and integrity of work in accordance with UN Women Financial Regulations and rules, UN Trust Fund operational guidelines and UN Women Policies, Finance Manual and instructions.

The Finance Management Associate works in close collaboration with the UNTF Operations Team as well as with the Programme teams in UNTF for solving complex finance-related issues and information delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Implement financial strategies, and adapt processes and procedures in full compliance of UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems

· Perform duties in full compliance with UN Women financial regulations and rules, policies and standard operating procedures, including internal controls;

• Keep abreast of and ensure full compliance with amendments to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS);

· Keep abreast of and ensure full compliance with all UNW Financial Regulations and Rules, Operations manuals, Internal Control policies and procedures, Standard operating procedures, Finance manual, and Delegations of Authority to ensure consistency across UN Trust Fund and UN Women.

· Review and verify financial transactions, activities, and documentation; taking corrective actions as needed and reporting any unusual activities;

· Validate the accuracy of the financial reports by ensuring that the supporting documents submitted by grantees match the reported transactions.

· Provide feedback and accounting advice to grantees on technical accounting and operational topics (ai. foreign currency exchange rates use, interest, accruing staff costs, etc).

· Prepare supporting documentation package and all the necessary checklists for the approval of the Portfolio Managers and further processing by the Operations Analyst or Finance Associate.

· Prepare supporting documentation package for the disbursement of funds to grants recipients and follow up on successful receipt of funds by the grantees.

· Review submitted Full-Fledged proposals and NGO assessment forms and provide detailed feedback on the requested budgets and validating supporting documents.

· Support the Programme and Finance Analyst and Portfolio Managers in the budget management for UNTF grant projects: provide guidance and corrective recommendations on budgets submitted by selected grantee organizations to the Fund for its approval and advise on any finance issues arising.

· Review of the supporting documents provided by grantees in response to financial observations from the external audit of UNTF projects, completing audit action plans on the audit extranet and uploading evidence that all ineligible expenditures are recovered.

· Raising invoices in Quantum and facilitating all system requirements to ensure transactions are implemented in the system in a timely manner.

· Other duties as required. Additional and finance related task: analysis on the grant making proposals from the operational and financial perspective.

· Review requests for project budget modifications ensuring adherence to financial rules and regulations and UNTF budgetary guidelines, validating requests for accuracy, flagging any discrepancies and providing financial guidance to grantees, as well as ensuring that data is transferred correctly to the grants management system.

· Monitor financial exceptions reports for unusual activities or transaction, investigate anomalies and report to the supervisor conclusions and/or present recommendations for actions/decisions;

· Collect, verify and present information and data for use in the planning of financial resources and the formulation of the UN Trust Fund (UNTF) programme work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements and execution modalities;

· Provide advice and recommend solutions to a wide range of financial issues;

· Completion of all tracking logs on a daily basis across financial and operational pillars.

· Monitor the proper functioning of the financial resources management system for office and programmatic budgets and resources;

· Follow-up on audit recommendations to monitor implementation of corrective actions;

• Actively promote a client-oriented finance service to UNTF office and Country offices.

2. Prepare and administer the UNTF budgets in full compliance of UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems

· Formulate the budget, control allotments, monitor expenditures, and prepare revisions according to the needs of the UNTF;

· Track the appropriate and timely use of financial resources;

· Prepare cost recovery documents or bills for the services provided by UN Women to other programmes or organizations;

· Create projects in Atlas, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds

· Ensure the maintenance of the control mechanism for development projects through monitoring budgets preparation and modifications and budgetary status;

· Maintain internal expenditure control system;

· Undertake corrective actions on un-posted vouchers, including vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions and unapproved vouchers. Frequently review and investigate payment vouchers which are in error; and respond to UNTF requests to resolve financial data issues;

3. Provide finance support to the UNTF Programme and Operations teams

· Prepare PO and non-PO vouchers for development projects as required

• Prepare Accounts payable journal entries (APJV’s) from proper supporting documents authorized by the budget owners and project managers;

· Review transactions in Quantum,

· Monitor the setup of budgets in Quantum to ensure they are in accordance with budgets agreed with donors and are input into Quantum at the detailed Activity ID level;

· Monitor each grantee over-expenditure of budgets and follow up with project manager.

· Monitor regularly transactions posted to projects ensuring actual expenditure has been recorded against correct budget category and activity, take timely corrective actions as required;

· Maintain proper follow up of advances to implementing partners, review their financial reports together with project managers;

· Monitor the financial status and under the guidance of the UNTF Operations Analyst implement control mechanisms for management/development projects;

· Keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely actions/decisions and review status reports for quality control;

· Provide information inputs to financial reports for UN Trust Fund, HQ Finance and stakeholders;

· Provide inputs and take necessary actions to facilitate timely financial project closure;

· Assist with preparation for Audit of Projects and Partners by third party audit firm. Follow-up and/or take action on audit recommendations to ensure implementation of corrective actions. Assist in reviewing the audit reports on NGO executed projects.

Deliverables:

• Timely, complete and accurate financial transactions/activities/documentation
• Timely and accurate advice on UN Women financial rules and regulations
• Timely and regular monitoring of financial resources management system and timely expenditure of financial resources
• Timely and accurate support to budget formulation and controlling allotments
• Timely and accurate monitoring of internal expenditures control systems
• Timely and quality financial support to programmes and programme team

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

· 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

VI. Recruitment Qualifications

Education and certification:

• Completion of Bachler’s Degree with specialized training in finance and/or management.
• Master's degree in accounting or finance would be an asset.

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 in the use of PeopleSoft/ATLAS and/or Quantum is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required and mandatory
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

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Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org