Finance Specialist, P-3, Public Partnership Division, Brussels, Belgium # 121878 (REQ#558501)

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.

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.

And we never give up.

For every child, hope

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

This post is located in Public Partnership Division in Brussels, with joint reporting lines to the Department of Financial and Administrative Management (DFAM) and PPD Brussels. The post will report to the Director of the UNICEF Partnerships Office in Brussels and will work in close collaboration with the contribution management team and the Programme Specialist heading the contribution management function in the Brussels office.

This position is responsible for managing various financial and contractual issues in the UNICEF Office for Relations with the European Institutions and in close coordination with concerned Regional and Country Offices. Notably these will include working on the financial reports to the EU, verification exercises, Residual Error Rate exercises (RERs), on-the-spot checks and exercises by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) on programmes of UNICEF Country Offices (COs) and Regional Offices (ROs) that the EU contributes funding towards. The successful candidate will work with the Brussels Office, across the development and humanitarian sectors, in close collaboration with the Department of Financial and Administrative Management and will report to the Deputy / Senior Advisor of the office in Brussels and to DFAM.

The Finance Specialist is a seasoned professional in the field of finance, management of development/operations and has a sensitivity to reputational risks and the broader impact of financial donor reviews. The quality of work performed by the Officer directly impacts on the professionalism of the incumbent and the overall reputation of UNICEF. S/He follows established procedures, UNICEF rules and regulations, and is expected to make recommendations on strategies, risk management and improvements where necessary to address current weaknesses and mitigate risks to important UNICEF programmes. The Finance Specialist is accountable for quality, substantive input and ability to project a competent and trusted image of UNICEF to partners.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Coordination of assessment, RERs, verifications, and ECA exercises.

• Identify key actors for each verification mission and build constructive relationships.
• Verify that UNICEF requirements for conducting verification missions are adhered to.
• Coordinate UNICEF responses/information with ROs/COs and DFAM in response to requests around verifications to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Perform quality review of information prior to release to verifying body and initiate meetings/discussions with relevant functional heads where required (HQ/RO/CO).
• Liaise with verifier/auditor representatives throughout the reviews ensuring they are well informed about the status of their requests, as well as UNICEF rules and regulations and FAFA
• Ensure that relevant UNICEF divisions are informed during all steps of the review process and provide inputs as deemed relevant.
• Lead process of resolution in the event of ineligible expenses and conduct rigorous process of review of criteria for determination of ineligible expenses as part of DFAM.

2. Provide corporate guidance, advice and support for verification missions.

• Provide advice and support to each RO/CO under review, as required. This is usually done remotely but it may require a field visit in some cases.
• Identify recurrent issues and follow up with relevant UNICEF divisions to determine corporate positions.
• Help develop and issue relevant guidelines and provide other corporate guidance to the office with a programme undergoing verification.
• Help develop and revise relevant directives including detailed standard operating procedures that define the verification process.
• Analyse and integrate inputs from independent and external reports on verifications to directives, manuals, policies, etc.
• Review and update DFAM and UNICEF Brussels Office global guidelines concerning EU verifications.
• Conduct analysis and develop lessons learned from verifications to drive process improvement.
• Develop Frequently Asked Questions on verifications and circulate to offices under review

3. Review of interim and final financial reports

• As part of DFAMs accountability, support COs/ROs for the review and drafting of financial reports, drafting guidelines and providing direct support as needed.
• Reviews interim and final financial reports received from COs/ROs upon sharing with DFAM and Brussels office, ahead of their EU submission deadline.
• Provides guidance to COs/ROs to ensure alignment between the financial reports and the detailed transaction lists generated from InSight.
• As part of DFAM provide technical assistance to other HQ Divisions, Regional and Country offices regarding periodic processing activities, Vision, and General Ledger master data.

4. Other tasks as required

• Perform other duties and back-up functions to other staff in the unit during their absence, as required. This includes working with the Director of the Brussels Office, the Administrative Associate and in close collaboration with the Operations Manager in PPD NY, to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of Office operations processes and arrangements.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Advanced University degree in a relevant subject (Finance, Development Management, International Development, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field) or First level University degree in the same subjects with additional 2 years of relevant professional experience. *A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant progressively responsible experience in audit, accounting, compliance, evaluation, finance, risk management, business administration, management/operations or related field. UNICEF and/or UN system experience desirable.
• Knowledge of the United Nations system, its key actors and coordination mechanisms. Knowledge of UN/UNICEF corporate governance and organizational structure. Understanding of UN/UNICEF rules, regulations, policies and procedures. In-depth knowledge of internal controls and proper accounting procedures and systems.
• Desirable: Knowledge of EC’s financial and contractual requirements, familiarity with EC’s control instruments.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French and/or another UN language is highly desirable.

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…

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• 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:

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

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

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.