Senior Finance and Budget Assistant, G7

Job Opening number: 18-Finance-UNISDR-90495-R-GENEVA (X)

Org. Setting and Reporting

Created in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) is the designated focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of efforts to reduce disasters and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations and regional organizations and activities in both developed and less developed countries. Led by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG), UNISDR has over 100 staff located in its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in regional offices. Specifically, UNISDR guides, monitors, analyses and reports on progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, supports regional and national implementation of the Framework and catalyses action and increases global awareness to reduce disaster risk working with U.N. Member States and a broad range of partners and stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians and the science and technology community.

The position is located in the Resource Planning and Management Section in Geneva. The incumbent reports to the Finance and Budget Officer, P-4.

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Finance and Budget Officer, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

• Assists the Finance and Budget Officer in providing guidance and training to staff and management on rules, procedures and workflows related to finance, budget and procurement, including trouble shooting in Umoja in case of issue; Coordinate with service providers and liaise with UNISDR units, sections and offices on a wide range of issues related to finance, budget and procurement; Drafts standard operating procedures (SOPs) on matters related to budget, finance and procurement; Guides more junior finance and budget assistants in the team.
• Acts as Certifying officer under Financial Rule 110.4 to ensure that proposed obligations and expenditures are in accordance with approved budgets and established rules and regulations.

Financial analysis, projections and reporting:

Main focal point for preparation of expenditure data from Business Intelligence Module in Umoja, for financial projections; Prepares and updates the estimated costs of VC posts incumbent liabilities; Create financial projections through reviewing the income information provided by the Resource Mobilization Section, the BI expenditures reports, the calculations for staff liabilities and the cost plans and projected expenditures; Revises the Office’s cost plans to reflect changes in project, staffing, etc, along the year; Organize and attend meetings on financial analysis and projections internally and externally as delegated by the Finance and Budget officer. Prepares inputs for financial reports, RB performance reports, donor reports, etc.; Participates in the year-end closing activities and reviews ULOs.

Procurement and grants management:

Approves low value purchase orders, below USD 10,000 threshold and approves work orders for services provided by other UN providers; Certifies financial commitments in UMOJA (e.g. financial authorizations). Certifies commitments and payments to grantees, implementing partners, third-party vendors and monitors/clears payment advances to grantees; Monitors income including applied deposits; Liaises with UNOG counterparts on unapplied deposits.

Accounting:

Reviews AP/AR GL accounts; Reviews accounting data when closing a project or grant; Initiates and follows up on refunds to donors, as needed; prepares supporting documentation and Journal Vouchers to reallocate expenditures between projects/grants as needed; Prepares General Journal Vouchers for cash transfer.

MoUs and other agreements:

Contributes to MoUs with service providers, reviews donor agreements from a financial perspective.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM: Knowledge of, and ability to apply financial rules, regulations and procedures in the UN environment. Knowledge, skills and ability to extract, interpret, analyse and format data across the full range of finance and budget functions, including programme development and database management, claims and treasury operations. Ability to identify and resolve data discrepancies and operational problems. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.

TEAMWORK: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honours commitments; delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within prescribed time, cost and quality standards; operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; takes personal responsibility for his/her own shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

CLIENT ORIENTATION: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent.

Work Experience

A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in finance, budget, accounting, administrative services or other related area. Experience in processing transactions using the finance modules of SAP is desirable. Experience providing guidance/training on finance and budget rules, procedures and SAP processes to staff at large is desirable. Experience providing financial projections and reports using SAP business intelligence module is desirable. At least two years of experience as certifying or approving officer in the United Nations system is desirable. Experience preparing budget for donor proposals and reports is desirable. Experience supporting a decentralized office is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in English is required; knowledge of French is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which will be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.

Passing the United Nations Administrative Assessment Support Test (ASAT) at Headquarters, ECA, ESCWA, UNOG,UNOV, ICTR, ICTY or the Global General Services Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Service category in the United Nations Secretariat.

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. Extension of the appointment is subject to extension of the mandate and/or the availability of the funds.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse, or crimes other than minor traffic offences, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.