UN WOMEN Jobs - 66162- Project Finance Associate

Project Finance Associate

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Nairobi, KENYA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jul-2016

Application Deadline :

23-May-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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, 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.

UN Women Kenya will be implementing specific projects on devolution, peace and security and elections in 2016-2017 as follows:

The devolution project will seek to strengthen the capacity of the county government to analyse, formulate and execute gender-responsive plans and budgets at the devolved level. The project will also enhance the capacities of accountability bodies and gender equality advocates to track (oversight) and report on budget allocations and expenditures at the county level. This project will be implemented within the framework of the joint UN Strategy on Devolution;
The peace and security project seeks to expand and strengthen the institutional capacity of International Peace Support Training Centre, a centre of Excellence to serve as knowledge centre for expanding technical capacity, training and policy research and analysis on women, peace and security in order to better-inform the broader peace and security agenda in Kenya and the Eastern Africa region. The project will also seek to engage and strengthen the capacity of women’s civil society groups’ in preventing and countering extremist violence in Kenya;
The elections project will aim to increase women participation and indeed the number of women elected in all elective positions. The elections project also integrates peace and security and EVAW initiatives to ensure peaceful and violence free elections. Ensuring peace and non-violence during electioneering period is key to having free, fair and transparent elections, as it encourages women to participate and contest in elections, therefore making elections inclusive and participatory.

All these projects will require UN Women to work in partnership with relevant government institutions, CSOs/women organizations, peace platforms, the media and private sector to significantly deliver on devolution support, peace and security and mitigate electoral related gender based violence as a measure to promote women participation in peaceful electoral processes.

UN Women is seeking the services of a Project Finance Associate to be based at the Kenya Office to provide project, finance, budget and administrative functions to support these projects. The Project Finance Associate will report to the Deputy Country Director who is the head of programmes and will work closely with the country program team and UN Women operations unit in Kenya.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

Support the specific project management and implementation;
Provide project administration and project financial services;
Support in the preparation, and administration of project budgets;
Provide accounting services and administrative support;
Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing.

Support the specific project management and Management:

Support resource management issues related to formulation and review of the projects;
Track delivery of projects through ATLAS and other tools focusing on aged advances, risk analysis and implementation of project monitoring plans;
Follow up and facilitate timely clearance of cost sharing expenses and Partner expenses;
Provide quarterly breakdown of offline and online donor project expenditures consistent with official financial reports;
Support monitoring and reconciling of outstanding advances between UN Women in ATLAS and implementing partners’ records (FACE).

Provide project administration and project financial services:

Review and verify financial transactions/activities/documentation for accuracy, appropriateness and completeness and ensure full compliance of financial services and transactions with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and recording and reporting systems;
Review transactions for accuracy and propriety prior to submission to the supervisor for approval and/or action;
Monitor the financial status and implement control mechanisms for development projects;
Keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely actions/decisions and review status reports for quality control;
Monitor financial exceptions report for unusual activities or transaction, investigate anomalies and report to the supervisor conclusions and/or present recommendations for actions/decisions.

Support in the preparation and administration of project budgets:

Assist in the budget formulation, tracking allotments, monitoring expenditures, and preparing revisions according to the needs of the Elections, Devolution and P&S projects;
Provide information to the executing agencies on routine implementation of projects;
Keep track of the appropriate and timely use of financial resources;
Help implement control mechanism for development projects through monitoring budgets preparation and modifications and budgetary status. Track and report on project financial resources.

Provide accounting services and administrative support:

Maintain up to date and accurate data in Atlas and take timely corrective actions on erroneous data;
Monitor proper follow up of advances to implementing partners, review their financial reports together with project managers and together be fully satisfied before making next installment.

Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

Support training initiatives on financial processes by supporting training and/or helping organize training events and activities;
Collect and compile lessons learned and best practices in financial management and services;
Contribute in financial business operational practices and management innovations where applicable.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

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

Professionalism:

Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference 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:

Thorough knowledge of financial rules and regulations and accounting principles;
Excellent knowledge and application skills of IT tools and management systems;
Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems;
Very good analytical skills and results orientation;
Client oriented approach to work;
Skills to manage relationships.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Secondary Education is required;
Specialized national or international certification in accounting and finance would be an asset;
University Degree in Business or Public Administration desirable, but it is not a requirement.

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of progressively responsible experience in financial management and administration, in a large corporation or organization is required;
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
Experience in handling of web based management systems;
Knowledge of IPSAS and/or IFRS is desirable.

Language:

Written and oral proficiency in English is required.