FINANCE OFFICER

Overview

Provide financial support and manage compliance for the Service Line

You have:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, finance or in a related field is required.
• At least five (05) years of progressively responsible experience in finance, administration, budget, business administration, human resources management, or related area is required.
• For first level degree holders, seven (07) years of qualifying experience will be a must.
• Experience with financial management or accounting in an international setting is desirable.
• Experience processing financial and/or payroll transactions, utilizing an ERP (i.e., SAP, PeopleSoft, etc.), in an international setting is desirable.
• Experience working in a Shared Service Centre or similar setup to provide support to clients in an international setting is desirable.
• Fluency in English, oral and written is required; knowledge of French is desirable.

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 74,649 USD and 97,747 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

Org. Setting and Reporting

The Department of Operational Support (DOS) was established to provide end-to-end operational support, advisory services and other solutions to operating entities across the Secretariat, including departments, offices away from headquarters, peace operations, and regional commissions.

The Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, Uganda (RSCE), was established in July 2010, following the adoption of General Assembly resolution 64/269. The Centre provides efficient, client-oriented and scalable services with the goal of moving transactional, non-location-dependent administrative functions to the Centre from its client entities. This includes transactional elements of human resources, finance, multimodal movement and control, personnel and cargo transport and information and communications technology (ICT) support. In addition to these services, the Office of the Director RSCE and support offices through the Deputy Director RSCE provides overall guidance on the operations of the RSCE including strategic planning, communication, budgeting, human resources management, property management, quality assurance and business intelligence, conference services, record keeping and archive management, and audit response and risk management.

For more information, please visit https://rsce.unmissions.org.

This position is located in the National Staff Benefits and Payroll Service Line of the RSCE under the Department of Operational Support. The Finance Officer at this level reports to the Service Delivery Manager.

Responsibilities

The focus of the post is to provide support to the overall management of a service line within allowances and Payments Service Delivery model of the RSCE. This post provides guidance and direction to the relevant service delivery area. The Finance Officer at this level is responsible for a fully integrated and regulatory-compliant Service Line. The post provides advice to staff members and managers, encompassing sub-functional specialties in relation to the activities of their Service Lines such as financial management.

On behalf of the Service Line, the Finance Officer supports the RSCE with:

Administration of Allowances and Payments • Managing the achievement of RSCE key performance indicators (KPIs) and all Service Level Agreements (SLAs) components for the RSCE projects/programmes/operations related to the respective Service Line. • Treasury role for all payments originating from RSCE client Mission, and all payments assigned to the RSCE house banks; liaises daily with the UN Treasury at HQ for the oversight on payments of vendors and personnel released by the RSCE. • Oversees the preparation of staff members’ entitlements including claims, danger pay, daily subsistence allowance, mission subsistence allowances for Government Provided Personnel, Civilian Police and Staff Officers, volunteer living allowance and any other allowances for payments in conformity and adherence to applicable United Nations polices e.g., staff rules, financial regulations and rules, ST/AI issuances or practices, IPSAS policy framework etc. • Supervises the disbursement processes of the RSCE or the Client Missions as appropriate; monitors the house bank account balances and transaction summaries; manages cash flow requirements. • Provides advice, financial interpretations, adaptations and corrective actions in response to audits and other queries to ensure adherence to the UN Financial Regulations and Rules, Staff Rules, Administrative Instructions, Bulletins and Circulars under the guidance of the Service Delivery Manager. • Acts as a Certifying Officer under Financial Rule 105.5 or Approving Officer under Financial Rule 105.4 in adherence with the UN Regulations and Rules. • Reviews and verifies completeness of documentation supporting invoices and payment requests. • Approves and creates profiles in payroll systems. • Management of delivery of services such as processing of non-travel related commercial vendors’ invoices and payments to vendors providing goods or services to all RSCE Client Missions (processing invoices resulting from commitments such as Purchase Orders, Fund Commitments, Direct Expenditures, Medical clinic invoices and Replenishment of imprest/petty cash. • Development of the Service Line’s annual budget development programme, particularly with respect to the establishment of major resourcing priorities, prepare cost estimates and budget proposals, in terns of the Service Line’s resourcing requirements such as non-staff requirements, including programmatic aspects; review, analyze and revise data with respect to the finalization of the budget proposals as well as Result Based Budgeting inputs. • Participates in the preparation, review and finalization of budget performance reports in compliance with the Legislative requirements and recommendations and Controller’s instructions; reviews and ensures valid variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures. • Participates in developing inputs to the UN’s legislative process for consideration of the Centre’s financing requirements by FBFD, Controller’s Office, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) and the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly.

Others • Assists with the development of a communication strategy with a provision of input related to their service line for the RSCE dedicated intranet page on Finance issues as required. • Supervise the work and manage the performance of administrative support staff. • Performs other duties as may be assigned.

Competencies

Professionalism: Knowledge of financial and payroll policies, principles, practices, and procedures, including IPSAS requirements in relation to payroll. Ability to identity sources for data collection, conduct independent research and analysis, identify, apply analytical and evaluative skills to resolve transaction errors, and formulate options and present conclusions. Ability to apply various United Nations or a similar entity administrative rules and regulations in work situations. Ability to provide supervisory support to junior team members. Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments. Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards. Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules. Supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments. Takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Client orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Managing performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority. Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member. Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills. Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines. Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff. Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative. Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff. Appraises performance fairly.

Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, finance or in a related field is required. A first-level degree with seven (07) years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Job - Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

At least five (05) years of progressively responsible experience in finance, administration, budget, business administration, human resources management, or related area is required. For first level degree holders, seven (07) years of qualifying experience will be a must.

Experience with financial management or accounting in an international setting is desirable.

Experience working in a United Nations common system (Peacekeeping field operations, political missions and UN agencies, funds and programmes) – or similar international organization or non-governmental organization is desirable.

Experience processing financial and/or payroll transactions, utilizing an ERP (i.e., SAP, PeopleSoft, etc.), in an international setting is desirable.

Experience working in a Shared Service Centre or similar setup to provide support to clients in an international setting is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English, oral and written is required; and knowledge of French is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This post is funded for an initial period of one year and may be subject to extension.

The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

Staff Members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedure.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.

Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

Potential interview questions