Finance & Budget Assistant
Responsibilities This post is located at the Nairobi duty station. Under the
overall supervision of the UNEP/Global Environment Facility (GEF)/Green Climate
Fund(GCF) and Adaptation Fund (AF), Finance Management Officer (FMO), and
within delegated authority, the incumbent will perform the following functions:
PROJECT
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT:
- Verify documents for overall budgetary accuracy,
consistency and uniformity in presentation and ensure comprehensiveness
and compliance with formats prescribed; Cross-check consistency of figures
in tables with the text of the reports, and verify references to other
reports and documents, suggest corrections to be made to the Fund
Management Officer and Programme Manager concerned;
- Co-ordinate with other finance and programme staff
in preparing budgets with respect to project documents;
- Liaise with Programme Management Team and UNON to
obtain and review banking details forms, F.249 and required supporting information.
- Coordinate input of data in the Integrated,
Planning, Monitoring and Reporting Tool to facilitate Results Based
Management Reporting
PROJECT
IMPLEMENTATION:
- Prepare/review funding documents for budget
allotments,
- Review expenditure reports from executing agencies
to ensure: (a) correct expenditure coding block has been charged (b)
validity of charges (c) availability of funds;
- Prepare fund commitments in Umoja Extension 2,
review and process cash advances, UNDP authorizations and fund transfers to
EAs, ensuring that the advances are within the approved budget and
approved by the FMO;
- Initiate processing of cash advances and
expenditures through UMOJA and follow up with UNON for remittances of
funds and approval of recorded expenditure reports and liquidation of
issued advances.
- Assist FMO with regular review of UNDP IOVs to
ensure that they have been properly recorded; – Review of UNOPS
Expenditures and process payments and ensure recording of expenditure.
- Notify payees on status of payments and investigate
complaints of non-receipt.
- Monitor expenditures to ensure they remain within
authorized levels; prepares adjustments as necessary
- Analyze variances between approved budgets and
expenditures and prepare requests for adjustments as necessary;
- Reviews requisitions for goods and services to
ensure (a) correct objects of expenditure have been charged, and (b)
availability of funds.
- Monitors integrity of various financial databases.
- Assist in preparation of annual project revisions
and supporting schedules;
- Reconcile project accounts against independent
audit certificates received from executing agencies.
- Review/prepare project structure and commitments
in Umoja;
- Conduct project management training on use of
various project reporting templates during the inception workshop and at
other points when required.
PROJECT EVALUATION AND
CLOSURE:
- Update project database with relevant project
information on revision/closure of projects;
- Provide financial information required in Project
Implementation Review (PIR), Mid-term review/evaluation and Terminal
Evaluation;
- Assist in the preparation of project completion
and closing revision and supporting schedules.
- Process disposal of non-expendable equipment in
accordance with UNEP procedures before closure of projects.
- Prepare request for refund of unspent balances for
approval by Fund Management Officer; Track receipt of expected income
through Treasury deposit report and ensures credit is posted correctly to
the proper Trust Fund.
GENERAL
- Provide general administrative support to Fund
Management Programme Management Officers and other team members;
- Drafts or prepares correspondence to respond to
enquiries in respect to relevant financial and budget matters
- Provide guidance and training to colleagues and
supervise other General Service staff as required;
- Archive documentation as required, Keep log of
archived files and track of archived information.
- Track and follow-up on administrative processes in
progress; Maintain and keep up-to-date project files.
- Perform any other related duties as may be
assigned.
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.
- COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly
and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from
others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits
interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style
and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information
and keeping people informed.
- 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.
Education
- Completion of High school diploma or equivalent is
required. Finance-related training would be an advantage.
- Passing the Global General Service Test (GGST) is
a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Services and
related categories in the United Nations Secretariat. Applicants who have
not passed the GGST at the time of application may be invited for the test
after submitting an application. Having passed the Administrative Support
Assessment Test in English at the United Nations headquarters, Economic
Commission for Africa, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia,
United Nations Office at Geneva, United Nations Office at Vienna,
International criminal tribunal for Rwanda or International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia may be accepted in lieu of the GGST.
Work Experience
- A minimum of seven (7)years of progressively
responsible experience in finance, budget, accounting, administrative
services or related area is required.
- Experience with SAP or similar Enterprise Resource
Planning system (ERP) is required.
- Experience with Global funds such as Global
Environment Facility (GEF), Adaptation Fund (AF) and /Green Climate Fund
(GCF) is required.
- Experience with an international organization is
desirable.
Languages
- English and French are the working languages of
the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in oral
and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United
Nations language is desirable. NOTE: “fluency equals a rating of “fluent”
in all four areas (read, write, speak, understand) and “Knowledge of”
equals a rating of “confident” in two of the four areas.
Assessment
- Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an
assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Special Notice
- Appointment against this post is for an initial
period of one year and may be subject to extension.
- 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. External candidates will be considered only when no suitable
internal candidate from the duty station is identified. The candidate is
responsible for any travel expenses incurred to take-up the appointment.
- 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.
- Internal Applicants – when completing the
Candidate Profile, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and
contact information are completed and up to date. This information is the
basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability
for the position and to contact you.
- The United Nations Secretariat is committed to
achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff.
Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
- All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply
on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well
before the deadline stated in the job opening. On-line applications will
be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not
receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your
application may not have been received. If the problem persists, please
seek technical assistance through the Inspira “Contact Us” link.
Deadline : 15th March 2022
How
To Apply
Interested
and qualified? Go to United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) on careers.un.org to apply
