Finance Associate

The UNOPS Africa Regional Office, based in Nairobi, Kenya, oversees the delivery of over 250 projects across 40 countries, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected settings. Supported by more than 1,000 personnel across five multi-country offices—spanning North, West, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Horn of Africa—the office advances national priorities through strategic initiatives in Climate Action, Health, Infrastructure, Peace and Security, Middle-Income Country Support, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The Regional Office provides strategic leadership, operational support, and oversight in key areas including Partnerships, Communications, Management and Oversight, Infrastructure and Project Management, Health and Safety, and Security. By promoting excellence in project delivery, fostering knowledge sharing, and driving continuous improvement, the office contributes to sustainable infrastructure, transparent resource management, and a better quality of life for communities across the continent.

Based in Addis Ababa, the Horn of Africa Multi-Country Office (HAMCO) delivers project management, procurement, and infrastructure services across Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan, with a primary focus on health, agriculture, and economic development. Established in 2009, HAMCO partners with governments and development stakeholders to implement impactful, results-driven initiatives that contribute to sustainable development. Since 2024, new projects have been aimed at expanding access to healthcare, education, energy, and livelihoods, particularly in underserved and conflict-affected regions. HAMCO also provides human resource management services, supporting the effective implementation of development initiatives. Key efforts include equipping research facilities, strengthening education and health systems, building vaccine research capacity, and enhancing resilience in communities affected by crisis. Through these interventions, HAMCO contributes to inclusive growth, regional stability, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the Horn of Africa.

Based in  Mekele, Ethiopia, under the supervision of the Support Services Senior Analyst in coordination with the Finance Specialist, the Finance Associate will assist in various tasks related to the financial verification of the claims for payments. The Finance Associate will ensure high quality, accuracy and consistency of work promoting a client-oriented approach consistent with UNOPS financial rules and regulations. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the UNOPS operations, program and projects’ staff to resolve finance-related issues and information exchange

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.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities. 
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.