National Professional Officer (Administration/Finance)

Organizational Setting

FAO's Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional food, agriculture and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). The Subregional Office for Eastern Africa is a subsidiary of FAO's Regional Office for Africa (RAF). The Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE) is co-located with the FAO Representation in Ethiopia (FRETH) and the Administrative Support Services Unit (ASS), which serves both SFE and FRETH.

The post is located in the Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Reporting Lines

The National Professional Officer (Administration/Finance) reports to the Administrative Officer who has oversight of ASS and is responsible for the coordination of all administrative support services for both FAO offices co-located in Addis Ababa.

Technical Focus

Programme administration and financial management, including accounting and personnel administration.

Key Results

Effective and efficient provision of administrative support to the programme and project activities of the Subregional Office/FAO Representation.

Key Functions

• Plans, organizes, and coordinates the office's administrative services; • Provides administrative support in the implementation of FAO collaborative programmes and ensures periodic monitoring of their implementation; • Plans and implements procedures, norms and systems in compliance with existing policies, for a full range of administration-related processes including personnel; • Manages and supervises the administrative team; • Reviews and analyses data from a wide variety of sources, including FAO's corporate systems and database; • Prepares reports, financial and budgetary estimates for projects; plans and organizes the application, control and accounting of approved budgetary allocations by projects and programmes; prepares special reports for budget preparation , audits, and other requests; • Reviews accounts, processes payments in accordance with established rules and liaises with local banks and financial institutions; • Oversees the financial and administrative correspondence and filing system of the office; • Monitors the receipt of Government contributions and ensures that all procurement and custom clearances for programmes, projects and the office are properly requested and obtained; • Ensures the compliance with the Organization's security guidelines (Minimum Operational Security Standards, MOSS).

Specific Functions

• Reviews accounts and ensures proper payment authorization including the preparation of appropriate expenditure documents; • Reviews and certifies cheque payments, bank transfer and instruction letters, payroll payments for staff and Non Staff Human Resources (NSHR); Checks and verifies accuracy and completeness of supporting documents for payments; Reviews and certifies prepayments and advances and the timely settlement of same; • Ensures the maintenance of up-to-date financial records, including the preparation of bank and other reconciliation statements and supervises and conducts the year/biennium end closure of accounts; • Administers controls, and disburses funds within the approved budgetary allocation following established rules and regulations and within the delegated authority; • Analyses and investigate technical problems, rejections and queries relating to recoveries, payments, rates etc. to verify correctness and alignment of records including adjustments and settlements of outstanding items in corporate systems; • Reviews Segregation of Duties under Procure to Pay cycle and coordinates with the office's administrative services • Reviews and certifies VAT reimbursement requests from Revenue Authority; • Updates Financial Risk Assessment for Ethiopia and assists in the implementation of Financial Risk Management tools; • Ensures Physical Verification of Assets for SFE and FAO Ethiopia is done accurately in a timely manner; • Participates in the relevant UN OMT Working Groups (i.e Finance Working Group) to ensure timely and quality implementation of the Business Operations Strategy (BOS 2.0 – 202- 2025) for Ethiopia; • Act as FAO focal point for financial inputs and updates in the Business Operations Strategy (BOS 2.0 – 202- 2025) for Ethiopia.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• National of Ethiopia; • Advanced university degree in a field related to business or public administration and/or finance; • Two years of relevant experience related to business or public administration or financial management; • Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of English; • Working knowledge (proficient – level C) of the local language.

Competencies

• Results Focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building Effective Relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions; • Extent and relevance of experience in the field of office management and administration including supervisory experience; • Extent of knowledge of UN or standard operational rules and procedures and project/programme administrative management procedures; • Extent of knowledge of FAO's corporate systems and database, or knowledge of other accounting or financial modules or applications relevant to accounting procedures or project budget management would be considered an asset; • Demonstrated analytical and judgment skills and ability to apply rules and regulations in the subject field.