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.

In Ukraine UN Women works with the government, parliament and civil society to advance gender equality through the implementation of the national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s human rights. The work of UN Women Ukraine is guided by the following strategic goals: elimination of violence against women and girls; implementation of the women, peace and security agenda; and gender responsive governance. UN Women collaborates closely with the UN Country Team to integrate women’s rights and gender equality in all spheres of the UN’s work in Ukraine.

The project “Enhancing accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment in national reforms, peace and security” aims to: consolidate the efforts of government, parliament and civil society to remove structural barriers to gender equality and women’s human rights; ensure accountability of national governance, reforms, planning and budgeting for commitments and priorities in the areas of gender equality and women, peace and security; strengthen cross-sectoral coordination and oversight for gender and women’s rights commitments; strengthen coalitions between government, parliament, media and civil society for evidence-based advocacy in Ukraine; strengthen the capacity of gender advocates and women’s groups to effectively demand gender equality in reforms and peacebuilding.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the Programme Coordinator, and in close cooperation with the Operations Manager and the Finance Associate, the Finance Assistant contributes to the effective management of UN Women project “Enhancing accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment in national reforms, peace and security” (2017-2021) in Kyiv, Ukraine, by ensuring effective execution of financial services and processes in the project and transparent utilization of financial resources. The Finance Assistant promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UN WOMEN rules and regulations.

The Finance Assistant works in close collaboration with the Operations, Programme and Management Support staff of the UN Women Office and UNDP for resolving finance-related issues and exchange of information.

Impact of results:

The key results of this post directly impact on the ability of UN Women to effectively implement UN Women’s programs and related operations in the country. This impact should lead to enhancing the visibility and image of UN Women as an effective leader on gender equality and women’s rights and empowerment within the country.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

• Support implementation of the programme/operations and financial management strategies;
• Support management and administration of project budget
• Provide accounting and administrative support to the Project Management
• Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Support implementation of the programme/operations and financial management strategies by:

• Ensuring full compliance of financial processes, financial records and reports with UN WOMEN rules and regulations and other relevant policies on financial recording/reporting system. Follow-up on audit recommendations; implementing effective internal controls over proper functioning of a client-oriented financial resources management system;
• Providing day-to-day financial management and financial operations support to the project in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations and relevant Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs);
• Providing inputs for implementation of cost-saving and reduction strategies in consultation with the office management.
• Perform a role of Alternate Finance User in the ATLAS ERP system.

 2. Provide support to management and administration of project budget by: 

• Assisting in preparation and monitoring of project and operational budgets, assist in preparation of these budgets and maintain necessary budgetary controls and records;
• Collecting and presenting of financial information for formulation of the project/country programme work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements and execution modalities. Entry of new grants data into Atlas in the form of Annual Work Plans (AWPs), monitoring of AWP  status;
• Ensuring accuracy verification of Delivery Reports;
• Provision of information for the audit of projects, implementation of audit recommendations;
• Implementation of the control mechanism for the projects through monitoring of budgets preparation and modifications;
• Tracking and reporting on mobilized resources;
• Preparation of financial reports;
• Analyzing, review and certification of the cost recovery charges levied by UNDP for their services in supporting programme implementation;
• Liaising with UNDP for banking, financial and other support required.

3. Provide accounting and administrative support to the Project Management focusing on achievement of the following results by:

• Preparation and proper control of the supporting documents for payments and financial reports for projects; preparation  of supporting documents required for creation of  PO- and non-PO vouchers;
• Preparation of accurate financial reports and forecasts, including monthly and quarterly disbursement reports and financial reports for donors;
• Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas; payrolls are duly prepared and processed; travel claims and other entitlements are duly processed;
• Preparation of financial reports as required; provision of inputs to reports including donor reports;
• Generating project expenditure reports on monthly and ad hoc basis  to review accuracy of expenditure data captured in Atlas;
• Analyzing expenditure incurred in line with the approved work plan of the implementing partner and flagging for deviations / exceptions;
• Providing support in linking the financial inputs with the physical progress under the project;
• Maintenance of filing of all financial and administration records and documents pertaining to project;
• Providing administrative coordination support for internal / external and annual audit exercise;
• Examining all financial reports and FACE forms from project partners for accuracy and alignment with the project budget and work plan and follow-up on correction of mistakes / deviations, if any;
• Providing other administrative and logistical support for procurement, events and meetings.

4. Ensure facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing by:

• Facilitation/conduction of trainings for the operations/programme/projects staff on Finance;
• Synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices in Finance.
• Providing of sound contribution to knowledge networks and communities of practice
• Other duties assigned by the supervisor.

MEASURABLE OUTPUTS OF THE WORK ASSIGNMENT:

• Full and appropriate use of UNDP/UN Women Financial Operational Policies and Procedures and UNDP/UN Women Standard Operating Procedures during implementation of the Project.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR EVALUATION OF RESULTS:

• Quality of work;
• Relations with colleagues and ability to be an effective team player;
• Initiative;
• Technical Skills;
• Knowledge of required procedures;
• Communication and listening skills.

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

• Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions;
• Ability to extract, interpret, analyze data and resolve operational problems;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Ability to support a team and team building skills;
• Good knowledge of financial rules and regulations;
• Strong IT skills;
• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Ability to handle web-based management systems;
• Attention to detail

Required Skills and Experience

The UN Women Ukraine is committed to workforce diversity. Women and men with disabilities, other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, IDPs, refugees legally entitled to work in Ukraine, are particularly encouraged to apply.

UN Women Personal History Form (P11) must be completed, signed, and attached as part of the online application. P11 can be downloaded here - https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558