Finance Analyst

Background

The Office of Financial Resource Management (OFRM), Bureau for Management Services, supports the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the promotion of its sustainable human development agenda. It achieves this by developing and making fully operational a dynamic and harmonized integrated resource management framework based on comprehensive analysis that enhances UNDP’s financial and administrative performance, as well as facilitates UN reform and coherence. To these ends, the framework addresses strategically critical financial resource planning and management issues, including results based budgeting; the integration of the Programming Arrangements and the Institutional Budget within the context of the integrated; enhanced cost classification and cost recovery; capital budgeting; adherence to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS);  foreign exchange and investment activities; corporate reporting of organizational assets; performance management tools and initiatives; and support to UN harmonization.

Effective and efficient integrated resources management is enabled through a continuous and robust process comprising of:

• Formulation and implementation of corporate financial and administrative strategies, policies and procedures.
• Formulation, alignment, documentation, and implementation of UNDP’s funding frameworks, assuring their integrity, viability and alignment with the Strategic Plan.
• Provision of policy guidance, advisory services and operational support to strengthen client capacities and help them achieve results, seeking to build consensus within UNDP and with key stakeholders on critical budgetary related matters requiring Executive Board legislation.
• Administration of the organization’s internal control framework, overseeing and monitoring financial management of all global UNDP offices, including through formulation/implementation of resource planning, management and oversight tools and reports.
• Promoting clear accountability for financial transactions and producing financial statements, including financial reporting to donors and the UNDP Executive Board.
• Providing corporate reporting guidance to ensure that assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses are adequately recorded in all locations.

The Financial Performance Management and Reporting (FPMR) Division, part of the Office of Financial Management (OFRM), is responsible for establishing key aspects of the financial framework, policies, and procedures, and guidance in alignment with UNDP’s organizational goals and Strategic Plan. 

 

Within FPMR, there are three units:

•  Corporate Financial Reporting and Agency Services (CFRA): Responsible for promoting clear accountability for financial transactions and for producing UNDP’s corporate financial statements.
• Financial Performance Management (FPM): Responsible for managing aspects of financial performance, including the administration of the Annual Representation process and oversight of financial risks related to implementing partners, including the agency-wide Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT) framework.
• Payroll Finance Oversight (PFO): Responsible for the financial oversight of payroll accounting functions, as well as the reporting of employee benefits and liabilities for all UNDP personnel.

Position Purpose

This job description is generic, to accommodate evolving business needs and to leverage synergies across interventions in pursuit of its strategic goals. This reflects the interconnected nature of global development risks and crises, which require multidisciplinary teams for integrated and systemic responses.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. UNDP personnel are expected to work across functions, teams, units, and projects to enable horizontal collaboration and drive collective impact. As such, this is a generic job description to ensure that the Finance Analyst can move across teams in FPMR and provide value in all capacities. 

The Finance Analyst in the FPMR Division of OFRM play a strategic role in all applications of financial reporting (IPSAS and management reporting) and other financial frameworks, including the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT). 

The Finance Analyst ensures the integrity of UNDP’s financial data, contributes to the preparation of financial statements and other statutory reports by leading in various aspects and subject matters, and conducts monitoring and oversight in support of OFM’s corporate financial responsibilities and to support the Global Process Owner functions within FPMR. The Analyst provides expert advice on financial reporting (statutory and management) and risk management matters across the organization. Additionally, the Finance Analyst supports management during internal and external audits by leveraging their technical expertise in finance and accounting and risk management along with a deep understanding of audit processes and assertions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Note: these functions are common to all Financial Analysts in FPMR and do not constitute an exhaustive list as the Finance Analyst is expected to perform competently on a number of areas as would be expected of any experience professionally qualified accountant.

1. Execute timely and efficient financial closure processes, including:

• Research technical accounting matters and provide analyses and recommendation
• Accurate transfer of data from source modules to the General Ledger
• Management and accounting of all financial transactions including complex treasury and investment accounting transactions.
• Executing financial closure periodic processes and analysis and oversight thereof
• Review and analysis of financial information and financial statements
• Periodic reconciliation of assigned GL balances
• Posting adjustments to ledgers as required

2. Contribute to the preparation of IPSAS-compliant financial statements and other corporate reports, including:

• Planning and preparation, including researching reporting requirements, assessing materiality and reporting scope. This will require in-depth knowledge of all IPSAS standards, including complex areas such as revenue recognition, leases, transfer expenses, financial instruments, employee benefits, property, plant & equipment and intangibles, provisions & contingencies, foreign currencies and translation, and consolidation to name a few.
• Assist with compilation, analysis (recognition, measurement and disclosures) for the financial statements, preparing:

• Statement of Financial Position
• Financial Performance Statement
• Statement of Changes in Net Assets
• Statement of Cash Flows
• All Notes to the financial statements, including disclosure review and drafting narrative text for inclusion into the financial statements.

• Conduct analytical reviews, including comparing year-over-year trends, ratios, and material fluctuations for inclusion in the Financial Report and for management reviews.
• Support the supervisor with Briefing Notes and Talking Points, including summary insights on financial performance and changes in standards or estimates.

3. Assist in the development of risk-informed financial policies and procedures, as follows:

• Conduct research and risk analysis to inform the development of financial policies aligned with UNDP’s risk management framework and appetite.
• Assist in drafting and updating financial policies and procedures that incorporate risk mitigation measures and reflect operational needs.
• Benchmark policies against international standards and peer organization practices to ensure quality and relevance.
• Engage stakeholders to gather feedback and ensure policies are risk-informed, user-friendly, and contextually appropriate.
• Support ongoing policy review and refinement based on implementation feedback, emerging risks, and evolving best practices.

4. Ensures data integrity and proper functioning of interface controls, including:

• Ensure all finance-related submodules - including cash, payroll, AP, AR, and assets - are properly posted to the general ledger and reconciliations are completed in line with established practices. Address discrepancies in collaboration with ITM and business owners and obtain sign-off from relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure there are no pending transactions across all source modules, including cash, payroll, AP, AR, and assets.
• Perform analytical reviews of month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year movements. Regularly monitor the trial balance, Quantum ERP reports, and Power BI dashboards to detect data anomalies, and coordinate with business units or country offices to clear exceptions.
• Adhere to established protocols for communicating data integrity issues, including their identification, investigation, resolution, and final sign-off.
• Support FPMR management in enhancing data integrity policies, procedures, and processes, ensuring alignment with system changes.
• Collaborate with the OFM Business Analytics team to conduct analysis on large and complex data sets.
• Assist in automating business processes to improve efficiency and reduce manual intervention.

5. Support various aspects of internal and external audits, including the annual financial audit of the UNDP financial statements conducted by the UN Board of Auditors and other internal audits and performance audits conducted during the year:

• Audit planning and coordination support, including support scheduling and preparation for audit opening, interim, and closing meetings and review and ensure implementation status of prior year audit observations.
• Documentation and data preparation, including preparing and validating the trial balance, lead schedules, and general ledger extracts. Compiling supporting documentation (vouchers, contracts, reconciliations, financial notes) tied to major balance sheet and income statement accounts. Ensure readiness and completeness of accounting records and working papers.
• Audit fieldwork support, including responding to auditor queries and requests in a timely, accurate, and professional manner. Preparing transaction samples and tie them back to the general ledger and source documents. Providing walkthroughs and documentation of key finance processes and internal controls (e.g., AP, AR, payroll, asset management).
• Monitoring and issue resolution, including maintaining and updating an audit request tracker to monitor status of outstanding items, escalating unresolved or sensitive issues to the supervisor and liaise with other departments and offices as necessary to coordinate delivery of cross-functional documentation.
• Post-audit follow-up including supporting drafting of management responses to audit observations and assisting in the compilation and review of the audit report, representation letters, and financial statement adjustments (if any). Documenting lessons learned and contribute to process improvement proposals.
• Year-Round audit readiness, including ensuring reconciliations and supporting documentation are updated periodically and timely. Maintaining clear audit trails for key transactions and accounts and supporting internal control assessments and capacity-building efforts as required.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of FPMR and OFRM and the broader organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: May supervise and manage team personnel

 

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
Learn Continuously:

LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
Adapt with Agility:

LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
Act with Determination:

LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
Engage and Partner:

LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

People Management:

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Audit & Investigation - General / Financial and Managerial Accounting and Finance key concepts:

Key concepts and principles of financial accounting, interpret financial analysis, managerial accounting, etc.
Data / Data Analysis:

Ability to extract, analyse and visualize data to form meaningful insights and aid effective business decision making
Finance / Accounting (General):

Knowledge of accounting concepts, principles, frameworks, standards, regulations, policies and trends, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or
practical situations
Business Direction & Strategy / Negotiation and Influence:

Reach a common understanding/agreement, persuade others, resolve points of difference through a dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions and create ‘win-win’ situations.
Business Development / Knowledge Generation:

Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need. Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.
Business Direction and Strategy / System Thinking:

Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.
Business Management / Portfolio Management:

Ability to select, prioritise and control the organization's programmes and projects in line with its strategic objectives and capacity Ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives with regular activities for optimal return on investment.
Knowledge and understanding of key principles of project, programme, and portfolio management.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A professional accounting qualification from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy is required.
A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience or an Advanced (Masters) University Degree in Finance and/or Accounting is required.

Experience:

Applicants with Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience.
Applicants with a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience in preparing financial statements and analyzing balance sheet accounts at national and international levels.
Strong analytical and report-writing skills with a proven track record are desired.
Experience with ERP financials, preferably Oracle is desired.
Experience of conforming to IPSAS/IFRS and full accruals accounting conventions is desired.
Audit experience is desirable.
Language Requirements:

Fluency in the UN language of the duty station is required. (English for Malaysia)
Fluency in the national language of the duty station is required for local staff. (Bahasa Malaysia for Malaysia)

Multiple positions. Possibility for Roster.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Probation

For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

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