Finance Associate

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Finance, the Finance Associate will provide essential support to the finance team in ensuring the accurate and efficient financial management of Cities Alliance projects and grants. This role involves a variety of tasks related to day-to-day financial operations, project accounting, and donor reporting.

• Project Finance Support:

  • Develop and monitor project budgets, ensuring alignment with project plans and available funding, and providing regular variance analysis.

  • Prepare accurate and timely project financial reports, including expenditure tracking, forecasting, and donor-specific reporting, in compliance with relevant regulations and accounting standards.

  • Support project audits and expenditure verifications by proactively gathering and organizing documentation and providing clear explanations and information to internal and external auditors and verifiers.

• Implementing Partner Support:

  • Support the capacity assessment of Implementing Partners.

  • Review interim and final financial reports submitted by Implementing Partners.

  • Support Implementing Partner spot checks by performing periodic on-site or remote reviews of Implementing Partners' financial records and procedures to assess adherence to contractual agreements, established financial guidelines, and sound internal controls, identifying potential risks and recommending corrective actions.

• Quarterly Closure Support:

  • Conduct recurring reviews of project account transactions, verifying accuracy, completeness, and adherence to relevant policies, procedures, and donor requirements.

  • Coordinate the termination or extension of purchase orders with expired or soon-to-expire delivery dates.

  • Review and clear outstanding balances related to receipt accruals, exchange rate fluctuations, and local currency differences.

  • Reconcile and confirm balances for VAT, receivables, petty cash, operational advances, prepayments, and prepaid expenses.

• Petty Cash Management:

  • Establish and maintain petty cash accounts.

  • Process replenishment requests and ensure adequate documentation.

  • Close out petty cash accounts as required.

• Operational Advance Management:

  • Establish operational advances for staff travel and other operating expenses.

  • Manage replenishments for recurring operational advances.

  • Ensure timely settlement and closure of advances.

• Retainer Payments:

  • Ensure quarterly accrual of retainer payments in coordination with the focal person in the Operations team.

• Cost Recovery:

  • Prepare and post quarterly cost recovery from projects.

• Annual Work Planning:

  • Support the preparation and consolidation of Cities Alliance Annual Work Plans and budgets.

• Donor Reporting:

  • Maintain and monitor the donor reporting tracking tool to ensure timely submission of reports.

• Project and Grant Closure:

  • Support the financial closeout of projects and grants, ensuring all necessary documentation is complete and accurate.

• Other:

  • Handle other ad-hoc tasks assigned by the supervisor related to the financial management of projects and grants.

• Completion of secondary school is required. 
• A university degree (Bachelor's degree or Master's degree) preferably in one of the following disciplines:accounting, finance, economics and/or related areas is desirable and will substitute some years of experience required.

• A minimum of 6 years of relevant experience in administrative management, finance or accounting, preferably with the United Nations, in an international NGO or non-profit organization is required. 
• Good understanding of bookkeeping, accounting principles and financial management practices is required
• Familiarity with Donor and Implementing Partner financial reporting is an asset. 
• Proficiency in accounting software or ERP systems is an asset.
• Proficiency in Google Workspace, particularly Google Sheets/Docs is an asset.
• Working knowledge of Google AppScript is an asset

• Fluency in English is required. 
• Knowledge of another UN language is an asset.