Finance Specialist, P-3, Division of Finance and Administrative Management (DFAM), Brussels, Belgium

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 140,639 USD and 184,155 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.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

For every Child, a Future …

The incumbent is responsible for the preparation of the most complex of the statements of account, for example, the statements for grants funded by the European Union, which is a strategic partner to UNICEF. All statements must be prepared in compliance with the donor agreements including strict adherence to the deadlines. The incumbent also provides extensive support and guidance to country offices with regards to the preparation of the statements and, more generally, with regards to the management of complex grants. In addition to ensuring compliance with donor agreements, the incumbent carries out functions in accordance with UNICEF’s accounting policies and procedures, and UNICEF Financial Regulations and Rules.

How can you make a difference?

Key functions and accountabilities include the following:

• Guides regional and country office staff on the resolution of issues with donor reports, with the EC/ECHO reports being the most complex. All reports must be in compliance with the contribution agreements and UNICEF accounting policies and Financial Regulations and Rules.
• Responds to queries from donors, especially EU verifiers, on the UNICEF donor reports and, in the process, give donors confidence that reports are correctly prepared in compliance with the contribution agreements.
• For Joint Programme arrangements, including where UNICEF is acting as Administrative Agent and where UNICEF is acting as a Participating Organisation, ensure that the donor reports meet the unique accounting and reporting requirements.
• Provide guidance to regional and country offices on maximizing funding from the EU in the context of significant fluctuations in Euro exchange rates
• Oversee the completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of financial transactions in VISION and Insight to ensure that donor statements and other reports are correctly stated. Take corrective action where required, which could include deriving additional information from VISION or requesting the necessary information directly from the country offices.
• Provide guidance to regional and country offices on grant management, especially on accounting matters that have implications for financial reporting.
• Seek to improve the grant management and donor reporting functionality of VISION and liaise with staff in DFAM, PPD, and ICTD as appropriate to bring about the improvements.

To qualify as a Champion for every Child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master’s) in accounting or a related field including MBA and/or a professional accounting or auditing qualification (such as Chartered Accountant, Certified Public Accountant or equivalent) is required. Preference will be given to holders of professional accounting qualifications or equivalent.
• A minimum of five years’ experience in positions of increasing responsibility in the field of accounting, preferably financial donor reporting is required.
• EC and ECHO financial reporting experience is highly desirable
• Financial reporting in non-standard reporting formats is highly desirable
• Knowledge of SAP is highly desirable
• Fluency in English (verbal and written) is required. Knowledge of an additional UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.