UN WOMEN Jobs - 67771- Finance Specialist

Finance Specialist

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Panamá City, PANAMA

Type of Contract :

FTA Local

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

17-Aug-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

NO-C

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year (with possibility of extension

Languages Required :

English Spanish

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

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.

Under the overall guidance of the Chief of Accounts, and under the direct supervision of the Regional Operations Manager, the Finance Specialist is responsible for providing assistance to offices in the Region as necessary to ensure capacity and support; assistance with development projects for the finance users of UN Women for better business practices and controls as well as automation; ensuring all finance users are compliant with and trained in the accounting standards, financial regulations and rules, policies and procedures; assisting Finance Section HQ in dedicated support, training, advice for Regional Offices, Programme Presence Offices (PPOs), Multi-Country Offices and COs (ROs/MCOs/COs); and acts as the Audit focal point for the Region in co-ordination with Finance Section HQ, as well as finance users in ROs, PPOs and MCOs/COs.

The Finance Specialist supervises and leads finance support staff. The Finance Specialist works in close collaboration with Finance Section HQ, Programme and Operations colleagues, teams at the country level, UNDP staff and Government officials ensuring high performance and efficiency in Finance.

Duties and Responsibilities

Organize and oversee resources management processes, including liquidity management, recommend impress level, risk assessment, security for cash assets on site:

Identify areas of risk and providing recommendations and action plans for addressing issues raised as part of the financial risk assessment reviews;
Participate in broader planning processes;
Anticipate needs, bring solutions and participate in actions to achieve financial targets.

Manage the monitoring and oversight of financial systems in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

Monitor financial systems and reports for unusual activities, transactions, investigate anomalies;
Supervise and assist the RO and Programme Presence Offices with timely completion of their Month-end Instructions Checklist and Year-end Instructions Closure Checklist;
Prepare all financial reports in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and ensure continued compliance. Monitor the RO and Programme Presence Offices for compliance with IPSAS accounting standards by reviewing business processes and systems modules resulting in IPSAS compliant general ledger and financial statements;
Review Implementing/Responsible Partner advance procedures and test against UN Women policies to ensure compliance. Investigate and follow up on any anomalies for timely action and resolution;
Review all contractual arrangements with suppliers of goods and services to ensure that the financial terms and conditions of all contracts are being adhered to by the suppliers of goods and services;
Report to Operations Manager and Chief of Accounts any case of non-adherence for timely action and recommendations for actions/decisions;
Assist and respond in a timely manner to questions and provide analysis as requested to the Finance Section HQ and Offices of the Region;
Provide financial oversight to EVAW Trust Fund.

Manage financial reporting in the RO and Programme Presence Offices in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

Prepare timely and accurate financial reports to SMT, governments and donors as required under the donor agreements and other cost-sharing arrangements; in collaboration with Finance Section HQ;
Track and report of contributions within the resource mobilization efforts, including pipeline, contracted and overdue and future milestones. Review contributions receivables and provide information to Operations Manager for follow up;
Generate ad hoc financial and other reports as requested;
Follow up and/or take prompt action to respond to audits and other findings on financial management;
Provide recommendations to Operations Manager and Chief of Accounts for improvements to existing reports and development of new reports. Identify and assist to develop projects for the Finance Users for improvement in accounting systems, processes and procedures.

Manage the audit process in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

Manage the pre-audit preparations for financial management of the RO and Programme Presence Offices to be audit ready and complete the pre-audit checklists. Travel to the COs as necessary to assist in the preparation for CO audits and when required during CO audits;
Conduct training to the Region as part of the training plan or requirement of pre-audit preparations or as otherwise determined by Operations Manager or Chief of Accounts;
Prepare responses to internal and external audit inquiries and other findings related to financial management for review/approval by Operations Manager and Chief of Accounts and incorporate recommendations in development in policies, procedures and practices;
Provide technical support and guidance to project managers during the NGO/DIM audit processes;
Plan and track expenditures and performance audit of financial resources, including extra-budgetary income.

Manage programme/ project budgets in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

Manage all financial resources of programmes/ projects through planning, guiding, monitoring and controlling of the resources;
Provide technical support and guidance in planning and set-up of the budgets under UN Women Management/ Development Results Framework;
Monitor delivery of the Regional Office and Offices from the region;
Analyze and report on the budget approvals and the delivery situation of management projects;
Develop proper mechanisms to eliminate deficiencies in budget management ensuring quality and accuracy of information;
Submit financial information for timely preparation of donor reports;
Oversee that advance payments and direct payments for programme implementation are properly reviewed and made on a timely basis and recorded into Atlas.

Manage financial training and communication for the Region and Programme Presence Offices:

Monitor the effectiveness of the services of the Region’s finance team on a regular basis to ensure close relationship between Finance Section and Finance Users in the region and take corrective measures as needed;
Lead and support development projects to ensure effective finance and communication tools are in place and regularly monitored for improvements;
Perform the Finance Helpdesk function for the region to ensure accurate and timely response to issues and advice requested by Country Offices in conjunction with Finance Section HQ;
Supervise Finance staff of the RO and Programme Presence Offices and monitor progress and provide guidance and direction to the staff as necessary to ensure goals and objectives are achieved.

Participate in knowledge management and capacity building:

Identify, participate in the development and/or recommend enhancement/updates/improvement in Atlas financial modules and other financial systems for better business practices and controls in the RO and Programme Presence Offices;
Capture, synthesize and/or codify lessons learned and best practices in the region support and financial management and services. Disseminate to Finance Section HQ and other Offices to share knowledge and build capacity;
Design and/or introduce, learning tools, best practices and innovations in financial business operational practices and management, promote transparency, ease of communications, hosting of financial documents, and all policies and procedures between all UNW users of the RO data.

Competencies

Core Values:

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.

Respect for 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:

Very strong knowledge and expertise in accounting and financial management;
Very strong knowledge of complex financial rules and a regulations, preferably UN/UN Women Financial Rules and regulations;
Demonstrated business acumen and judgment;
Strong conceptual/strategic skills and success in implementing financial re-engineering, management systems development, policy design, innovation and knowledge product development;
Very strong knowledge and experience in the application of complex financial systems and modules (such as Atlas);
Advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
Ability to provide advice and support;
Strong communication skills and personable approach is required;
Strong analytical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced (Masters) University Degree in Finance/Accounting is required;
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 is required;
Experience in the usage of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Cloud, etc);
Experience in web based management systems and ERP financial systems such as PeopleSoft (Atlas);
Completion of UN Women Accountancy & Finance Test required.

Language:

Fluency in English and Spanish are required;
Working knowledge of Portuguese and/or French is an asset.

Note:

All applications can include only one attachment that consists of a complete and signed http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment Form together with an updated English CV. Applications without the complete P11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Only short-listed qualified candidates will be contacted.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.