Finance Associate

The Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR), based in Geneva, is responsible for the effective management, coordination and oversight of UNOPS operations across the region. The ECR region spans the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Caucasus, and Türkiye, where UNOPS works with partners to achieve sustainable impact in health, education, environmental management, housing, rule of law, good governance, economic development, and social inclusion. With a wealth of experience in procurement, infrastructure, project and grant management, UNOPS in the region directly implements projects, provides technical advisory services and capacity building to advance the Sustainable Development Goals in support of national governments.

On 24 February 2022, the military of the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, with strikes across the territory of Ukraine. Since then, Russia’s invasion imposes a severe humanitarian and socio-economic toll, global energy and food crisis, large-scale destruction of the country's infrastructure, and disruptions in the provision of critical services and degradation of social fabrics and communities’ ties, triggering one of the world’s most significant forced displacements. 

Severe attacks on energy and critical infrastructure facilities leave millions of people without electricity, water or heating supply, struggling to access water, food, health services, materials to repair homes, among others. The continued attacks cause substantial damage to the country’s economy and agricultural production, and also affect the poorest countries worldwide.

UNOPS support to partners spans the humanitarian-development nexus from emergency response to building back better, across the housing, health, education, transport, energy and mine action sectors, through infrastructure, procurement and technical assistance / project management interventions, with the ultimate aim of supporting the country on its EU accession and in its achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The UNOPS Ukraine and Eastern Europe MCO (UEMCO) operates in Ukraine, Moldova, and Poland, supporting urgent humanitarian needs while building pathways for recovery and development. In Ukraine, UEMCO delivers large-scale infrastructure, energy, housing, education, and mine action projects in partnership with UN agencies, international financial institutions, the European Union, and bilateral donors. Its agile portfolio responds to fast-evolving needs with strong procurement and implementation capacity. In Moldova, UEMCO supports justice sector reform and is exploring opportunities to expand its role across public sector modernization and infrastructure. In Poland, UEMCO works with government and private sector actors to strengthen ties with UN procurement and contribute to Ukraine’s recovery, leveraging Poland’s EU experience to support Ukraine’s future accession and integration.

The Finance Associate provides accounting, budget administration, cash management and financial reporting support to ensure efficient and compliant financial operations. The incumbent performs a wide range of financial transactions with a high degree of accuracy, ensuring compliance with UNOPS financial rules and regulations (FRRs), policies and donor requirements.

Budget Administration and Cost Recovery

• Support the preparation, monitoring and revision of project and office budgets, ensuring accuracy and alignment with UNOPS financial policies and donor/ partner agreements.
• Prepare and maintain financial data and analysis on budget utilization, expenditure trends, and funding gaps for management decision-making.
• Assist in developing cost-recovery models and maintaining an efficient cost allocation system in compliance with UNOPS guidelines.
• Contribute to the preparation of cost-sharing and trust fund agreements, follow up on partner contributions, and ensure proper recording in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
• Provide inputs on the financial implications of operational plans and support the implementation of cost-saving and efficiency measures.
• Assist in project financial closure processes, ensuring accuracy and completeness of records in accordance with UNOPS project closure protocol.

Accounting, Payments and Payroll

• Review and verify payment requests and supporting documents for completeness, accuracy and compliance with approved budgets and UNOPS FRRs.
• Prepare and process vouchers (purchase orders, accounts payable, payroll and journal vouchers) and execute pay cycles in the ERP system.
• Ensure timely and proper recording of goods receipt, service delivery and accruals.
• Maintain an internal expenditure control system, ensuring transactions are properly matched, posted, and supported by adequate documentation.
• Process and reconcile accounts receivable and accounts payable, including follow-up with partners and projects on pending items.
• Perform monthly and quarterly account reconciliation, identifying and resolving discrepancies in coordination with HQ and project teams.
• Support payroll processing, ensuring accurate and timely disbursement and resolution of queries.
• Ensure timely month-end and year-end closure of accounts and submission of required financial reports.
• Respond promptly to HQ queries to resolve financial data or audit issues.

Office Cash and Treasury Management

• Review and monitor cash positions for local accounts to ensure sufficient funds for operational disbursements.
• Oversee the daily review of zero-balance accounts, imprest management, and proper recording of receipts and contributions.
• Prepare monthly cash flow forecasts and liaise with operations and project teams to gather cash requirement estimates.
• Conduct bank reconciliations, ensuring accuracy and prompt resolution of variances.
• Initiate and record bank transfers, replenishments, and foreign exchange transactions in the ERP system.
• Manage petty cash and operational advances, ensuring compliance with policy and timely settlement.

Financial Reporting and Analysis

• Prepare and review financial reports, including interim financial reports (IFRs), donor expenditure statements, and management dashboards.
• Support preparation of variance analyses, cost distribution summaries, and project-level expenditure reconciliations.
• Participate in quarterly and annual financial closure activities, ensuring completeness and consistency of data.
• Support internal and external audit exercises, ensuring timely submission of documentation and clearance of audit findings.
• Maintain accurate records of Value Added Tax (VAT), prepayments, operational advances and other balance sheet accounts, ensuring reconciliations are performed regularly.
• Analyze and prepare adjusting entries (GLJEs) and ensure accuracy of financial postings across projects.

Knowledge Building and Sharing

• Support the organization, facilitation and delivery of training and learning sessions on finance topics.
• Participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives and Communities of Practice (CoPs), contributing insights and lessons learned.
• Conduct research on finance-related topics and contribute to the drafting of reports, summaries and briefing notes.

Required

• Secondary school (or equivalent) with 6 years of relevant experience OR
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or other disciplines with 2 years of relevant experience is required.

Desired

• Professional certification (e.g. CPA, ACCA, CA, CIMA) is desired.

Required

• Relevant experience is work in project financial management, budgeting, cash management and financial reporting, or related areas.
• Demonstrable proficiency in the use of collaboration and productivity tools (e.g. MS Office, G-Suite, etc) and web-based management systems.

Desired

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.
• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.
• Experience with financial systems or ERP software is desired.