UN WOMEN Jobs - 61881- UN Women: Finance Specialist

UN Women: Finance Specialist – Revenue Management

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

TA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

26-Nov-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

364 days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The UN Women (UNW), 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Division of Management and Administration is responsible for the planning, allocation and management of financial, 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 Specialist reports to the Finance Specialist - Operations Unit, for guidance and supervision and responsible for the management, oversight and effective control of UNW program and project financial resources, timely and effective delivery of a whole range of financial services ensuring compliance with UNW Internal Control Framework, financial rules, regulations, policies, procedures and approved allocations; and contributes to the development of financial policies, rules, procedures, systems and tools to ensure efficiency and efficacy in financial management and operations.

Duties and Responsibilities

Financial planning, analysis, management and services:

Analyze and monitor the financial status of financial resources and keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely actions/decisions to ensure optimum utilization of regular and non-core resources and donor funding;
Recommend and/or implement cost saving and reduction strategies including cost recovery strategies and cost effective financial arrangements;
Review, recommend and implement and/or verify financial transactions/activities, recording/reporting system and audit reports and ensure full compliance with and consistent approach to UNW internal control framework and financial rules, regulations and strategies;
Review, recommend and oversee the financial business processes and use of Atlas system to ensure accurate and complete reporting of financial transactions by UNW staff and the timely flow of financial information in UNW for management, monitoring and oversight purposes.

Approving and certifying function:

Perform delegated approval function in Atlas on a timely basis;
Verify and approve revenue transactions in Atlas on a timely basis, including amendments in accordance with signed donor agreements and funds received. Ensure accurate and complete revenue transactions in accordance with UN Women’s revenue recognition policy.

Monitoring, oversight and control:

Monitor financial systems and reports for unusual activities, transaction, investigate anomalies. Report to the Chief of Accounts findings and recommendations for actions/decisions;
Supervise the timely year-end closing of accounts and preparation of UNW statutory financial statements.

Advisory support and technical guidance:

Provide advice and support to UNW HQ and Field Offices on financial reporting, including providing input in the review and/or policy development of donor and cost-sharing and trust funds agreements, donor reports, management reports and financial statements;
Provide input to the continuing review of delegation of responsibility to Field Offices and HQ for reporting responsibility;
Provide recommendations to Finance Specialist – Operations Unit and Chief of Accounts for improvements to existing reports and development of new reports.

Revenue Management:

In accordance with the timelines required by Chief of Section:

Reconcile on a monthly basis the revenue transactions in Atlas contracts module to general ledger, ensuring that the clearing account is reconciled, as well as the Accounts Receivable report per contracts module is reconciled general ledger accounts receivable balance;
Take all necessary corrective actions to ensure that transactions in revenue, undeposited receipts, accounts receivable and clearing account are completed on a monthly basis;
Ensure all general ledger transactions recorded in general ledger are supported by audit workpaper file, reviewed for accuracy and completeness on a bi-monthly basis;
Management mid-year and annual year-end cut-off and closure in accordance with IPSAS and UN Women’s revenue recognition policies in accordance with timetable as determined by Chief of Accounts;
Prepare monthly revenue management report deliverables in accordance with deadlines;
Prepare revenue financial reports required by Director, Senior Management Team, Executive Director and Executive Board.
Prepare adhoc revenue reports as requested;
Follow up and/or take prompt action to respond to audit and other findings in relation to revenue management including incorporating recommendations in development in policies, procedures and practices.

Knowledge management and capacity building:

Contribute to and actively promote the automation of UNW revenue and receivables reports;
Contribute to the development of accounting policies, procedures, internal control, business flows, reporting and systems;
Identify, participate in the development and/or recommend enhancement/updates/improvement in Atlas financial modules;
Capture, synthesize and/or codify lessons learned and best practices in financial management and services. Disseminate to clients and stakeholders as appropriate to build capacity and knowledge;
Design and/or introduce, learning tools, best practices and innovations in financial business operational practices and management.

Audit:

Prepare responses to internal and external audit inquiries and other findings related to financial management of revenue management for review/approval by Chief of Accounts;
Follow up and/or take prompt action to respond to audit and other findings on financial management of revenue management including incorporating recommendations in development in policies, procedures and practices.

Supervisory and other responsibilities:

Prepare workplan for Reporting unit in collaboration with the Finance Specialist – Operations Unit. Establish priorities, timelines, targets and standards of monitoring results;
Under the guidance of the Finance Specialist – Operations Unit, is responsible for supervision of staff and monitoring progress and providing guidance and direction to the staff as necessary to ensure goals and objectives are achieved;
Establish RCA for each member of the team based on the work plan and ensure preparation and review meets established timelines;
Provides coverage of other staff duties within Finance Section during times of sickness and annual leave as requested by Chief of Accounts;
Rotates duties within the Finance Section at similar level at the request of Chief of Accounts for cross training and reassignment as necessary to the functioning of the Finance Section;
Performs other responsibilities as requested by Finance Specialist – Operations Unit or Chief of Accounts.

Impact of Results:

The key results have and impact on the effective and efficient management of UNW regular and non-core resources. Sound policies and advice, proper oversight, control and monitoring of program and project resources, and timely and accurate financial reporting enhance the UNW reputation with governments, donors as a trusted partner and reliable custodian of funds and fosters a culture of accountability.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Strong knowledge and expertise in financial planning and management;
Solid knowledge of complex financial rules and a regulations, preferably UN/UNDP/UNW Financial Rules and regulations
Demonstrated business acumen and judgment;
Conceptual/strategic skills and success in implementing financial re-engineering, management systems development, policy design, innovation and knowledge product development;
Solid knowledge and experience in the application of complex financial systems and modules (such as Atlas);
Advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
Selected candidate will be required to undertake UN-IPSAS training.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced (Masters) University Degree in Finance/Accounting or a professional accounting qualification from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy. Professionally qualified accountants from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage.

Experience:

Minimum 5 years of extensive and progressively responsible experience in accounting, financial management and at least (2) years of which should be at the supervisory level, in a large international and/or corporate organization preferably in the UN system and its organizations;
Experience of IPSAS or IFRS highly desirable;
Experience in the usage of office software packages (MS Word, advanced Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
Experience in web based management systems and ERP financial systems such as PeopleSoft;
Experience in PeopleSoft revenue contract module is highly desirable.

Languages:

Fluency in oral and written English is required;
Proficiency in another UN working language is desirable.

Application Information:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;
Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

Note:

In July 2010, the United nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.