Finance Associate

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The Division of Management and Administration is responsible for the planning, allocation and management of financial, human and administrative resources including information communications and technology, the effective and efficient delivery of essential operations services in UN Women, continuous development and improvement in operations, policies, and methods to align with UN Women and stakeholders’ evolving business needs and advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of the UN Women overall mission, strategy and plans of actions.

The Finance Associate position forms part of the Financial Management Section of UN Women under the responsibility of the Deputy Director of Financial Management. Under the guidance of Deputy Director of Financial Management and direct supervision of Finance Specialist – Unit Head, the Finance Associate is responsible for the preparation/discharge of allocated duties within assigned Unit of the Financial Management Section; The Finance Associate will always promote a client-oriented approach and abide by UN Women’s financial regulations and rules. 

The Finance Associate works in close collaboration with the staff of the Division of Management and Administration, Programme Division, Regional Office and Country Offices, as well other UN entities in headquarters and field offices for resolving complex finance-related issues and information delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Ensure administration of UN Women's financial resources:

Prepare and review invoice payments created based on proper supporting documents authorized by the budget owners and project managers;
Verify supporting documents and COA after project managers validate invoices and before routing to an Approving Officer;
Prepare various reports on incomplete/unpaid vouchers and initiate follow-up actions;
Prepare and verify requests for general ledger journal entries (GLJEs), including supporting documents for general ledger adjustments
Reconcile assigned General ledger balances on a regular timetable as set by section.
Prepare other regular finance indicators or reports as requested;
Approval of vendors in ERP where assigned under Delegation of Authority;
Prepare various financial reports for management, including bi-monthly and monthly Aged Outstanding Advances to Partners;
Verify and recommend for approval Accounts payable standard invoice application for liquidation of Partner Advances, and prepared correction journals as necessary;
Monitor, reconcile and follow up with ROs and COs Advances to Implementing Partners which are not in accordance with the policy;
Review all requests for Write-off or Unilateral liquidation of Aged Advances to Partners submitted to Finance Section
Respond to requests to resolve financial data issues;
Provide administrative and financial support to ROs, COs and HQ Sections as required
Review and carry a finance verification for travel invoices in ERP
Run daily reports to monitor Dummy payment and UNDP payment and reconcile between both reports.
Run weekly report to reconcile between discrepancies projects and GL accounts in Projects Portfolio Management (PPM) and GL
Provide semi-annual and annual Partner Advances and Expenditure reports for partner audit selection.

Administer and provide financial inputs to revenue management:

Record signed Donor Agreements in Contracts/Revenue module of ERP and correspond with RCs and COs with queries;
Record deposits received in the un-applied tracking sheet, Donor Agreement Management System (DAMS) and apply funds to projects in the Accounts Receivable module
Update the Financial Commitments in DAMS when deposits are received;
Prepare covering letters for checks and ensuring they are passed to UNDP for banking;
Provide support for revenue management and revenue reporting;

Administer and provide financial inputs to financial donor reporting and other management reports:

Prepare financial reports for donors for UN Women offices timely and submit to Virtual Global Service Centre (VGSC) Finance Specialists;
Monitor outstanding donor reports to donors and initiate follow-up actions with Country Offices and Sections. 
Prepare other regular finance indicators or management reports as requested;
Provide budget setup support to permit accurate reports in formats required by Donor (E.g. EU report).

Administer and implement financial procedures focusing on timely closure of projects:

Perform and provide advice for financial project closure of projects for UN Women (UNW) offices;
Monitor, reconcile and follow up with Country Offices and Sections on status of closed projects not yet financially closed;
Prepare various reports on project closure status and initiate follow-up actions;
Ensure proper control of the supporting documents for refunds to donors and general ledger journals;

Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing focusing on achievement of the following results:

Build and strengthen the capacity of UN Women offices in areas of financial management, including conducting trainings.
Assist in the coordination of and provide input to training materials on financial management areas assigned or other related finance items.
Actively participate in knowledge sharing and changes of duties with other staff in Finance team, as requested, to ensure that all duties have back-up staff assigned and trained;
Ensure full compliance with amendments to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). Inform other UN Women Finance Users to ensure IPSAS compliance and currency; 
Ensure full compliance with all UN Women 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 Women and harmonization with other UN Agencies. Provide recommendations to Unit Head for proposed amendments;
Synthesize lessons learnt and best practices in financial processes and procedures;
Provide input to Finance business processes mapping and elaboration of the content of Internal Control Framework, Operations Manual in consultation with management;
Provide input to proposals and implementation of cost saving and reduction strategies in consultation with management;
Participate as a member of the UN Women Financial Management Section in the internal and external audits of UN Women, including full understanding of audit recommendations and clearance timetable;
Assist with the implementation of development projects and suggest areas for consideration for future development of systems, processes, and automation;
Actively promote a client-oriented Financial Management Section.
Perform other duties from time to time as requested by Supervisor or Deputy Director of Financial Management.

Key Performance Indicators

The key results have an impact on the overall efficiency in financial resources management and success in implementation of operational strategies. Accurate analysis and presentation of financial information enhances UN Women's credibility in use of financial resources and proper financial process management. The information provided facilitates management decision making.

Timely and accurate of reports and compilation of data
Timely response to requests to resolve financial data issues
Timely completes accurate financial transactions/activities and documentation
Timely and accurate advice on and full compliance with UN Women financial rules and regulations and policies
Quality inputs which result in better-run systems and processes
Timely monitoring of systems so that errors can be quickly resolved
Proper control of supporting documents

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

Strong accounting skills
Knowledge of financial rules and regulations, and accounting
Strong IT skills and proficiency
Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems
Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions
Results and client-oriented approach to work
Strong communication and relationship management skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Completion of High School (Secondary Education) is required.
University Degree in Accounting or Finance is an advantage.
Completion of UN Women Accountancy and Finance Test required (to be conducted during the recruitment process).

Experience:

At least 7 years of progressively relevant finance work experience is required.
Experience in the usage of computers ,office software packages (MS Word, Excel, including vlookup, etc) and database packages is required.
Experience in web-based ERP financial systems (i.e. Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, etc) is required.
Experience with IPSAS and/or IFRS is desirable.
Experience in developing complex financial reports required.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English.
Knowledge of any other UN language is an advantage.