Background
Project "Assistance in Establishing Tax Advisory Services in Belarus":Tax advising is a part of a standard business services package for legal entities and individuals, and constitutes a viable industry in most countries worldwide. Tax advisory services range from legal advice to tax optimisation and comprehensive tax-related assistance. The absence of an institutionalized corps of tax advisors in Belarus has a negative effect on Belarus' attractiveness to investments, and acts as a constraint to private initiative and enterprise competitiveness. It also results in missed opportunities for improving Belarus' overall doing business rank and building more productive and more constructive relationships between corporate taxpayers and the tax authorities.
The overall project goal is to improve the business environment and investment climate in Belarus by establishing tax advisory services.
The immediate objectives to be addressed by the project are as follows:
1. To create a favorable legal environment for establishing tax advisory services;
2. To facilitate training for tax advisers, including through development of qualification requirements, training curricula and guidelines for training and accreditation;
3. To promote institutionalized tax advisory services by raising professional and public awareness and testing a new model of tax servicing.
The national executing entity for this project will be the Ministry of Taxes and Duties. The project is financed by SIDA.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Conducts financial monitoring of project commitments and expenditures, assists in ensuring proper delivery of the project budget;
- Prepares budget revisions;
- Prepares payments and the required payment documentation;
- Prepares requests for travel and payment details for processing by UNDP;
- Prepares personnel recruitment documentation and create appropriate ATLAS entries;
- Inputs financial data into ATLAS through the external access system;
- Creates payment requisites, vouchers, vendor entries, and generate reports in ATLAS;
- Performs cash custodian's duties being primarily responsible for project’s cash disbursements and maintain project’s petty cash book;
- Maintains and update project inventory lists, manage equipment transfer;
- Organizes procurements in accordance with UNDP rules and procedures;
- Exercises due diligence in relation to payment documents;
- Reviews financial reports from the local implementing partners (if any);
- Prepares financial reports for donors and other partners and financial contributors to the project activities;
- Liaises with the UNDP Country Office programme and finance units in making transfers of funds, verification of financial reports, performance of budget revisions and documenting receipt of contributions;
- Maintains files with the project documentations and consultant reports;
- Organizes project meetings (external and internal), keep meeting records;
- Provides logistical support to the project activities;
- Performs other duties related to the project upon request from UNDP.
Competencies
- Demonstrates corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
- Self-development, initiative-taking;
- Acts as a team player and facilitating team work;
- Outstanding analytical, organizational and administrative skills;
- Remains calm, in control even under pressure;
- Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to communicate with staff and constituencies from multiple organizations;
- Ability to perform well under pressure, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment;
- Ability to use various office computer software, including web-based information management systems.
Required Skills and Experience
- University degree or specialized education, preferably in economics, finance, administration or management;
- At least 2 years of administrative/finance experience;
- Excellent finance and budgeting skills;
- Working knowledge of UNDP rules and regulations is an asset;
- Previous experience in UNDP projects is an asset;
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems.
- Good command in written and spoken English and Russian is mandatory, including the ability to draft, edit and finalize documents in English and in Russian.