Finance Assistant

In Latin America and the Caribbean, UNOPS operates across 23 countries, delivering high-impact solutions that drive sustainable development. UNOPS focuses on building and improving resilient infrastructure—including roads, bridges, public facilities, sanitation systems, and housing—to enhance quality of life and foster inclusive growth. UNOPS also supports public health by procuring essential medicines and medical equipment, ensuring broader access to healthcare services. By strengthening institutional capacities, UNOPS promotes transparent, efficient, and equitable public management. As a trusted partner to governments and development stakeholders, UNOPS aligns its interventions with national priorities, helping countries advance the Sustainable Development Goals through practical, results-driven support.

Based in Brazil, the UNOPS Southern Cone Multi-Country Office (SCMCO) also oversees operations in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, supporting national priorities and development goals across the subregion. In Argentina, UNOPS strengthens public institutions by providing technical assistance in planning, procurement, and oversight of infrastructure projects—particularly in public buildings—and building capacity in public procurement, with a focus on technological innovation. In Brazil, where UNOPS has operated since 2012, the office collaborates with UN agencies, financial institutions, and government bodies at all levels to deliver services in health, education, urbanization, social rehabilitation, PPPs, and institutional strengthening. UNOPS has played a key role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and currently manages 17 active projects across the country. Its work emphasizes transparency, operational efficiency, and results-driven management while aligning with the strategic and operational needs of its partners. Across the Southern Cone, UNOPS promotes sustainable development by enhancing national capabilities and supporting the delivery of high-impact, inclusive infrastructure.

The Finance Assistant provides financial and administrative support to ensure accurate processing of financial transactions, maintenance of proper records, and compliance with UNOPS financial rules and regulations. The Finance Assistant plays a key role in supporting day-to-day financial operations and contributes to the smooth functioning of the finance unit through accuracy, timeliness and a client-focused service approach.

Implementation of Operational Strategies and Procedures

• Ensure compliance of financial transactions and documentations with UNOPS rules, regulations and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Assist in maintaining internal control systems to ensure accuracy and integrity of financial data.
• Support implementation of financial and administrative processes aligned with organizational and donor/partner requirements.
• Contribute to the preparation and review of financial documentation in accordance with established workflows and approval hierarchies.

Accounting and Financial Support

• Assist in the processing of financial transactions, including verification of supporting documentation for payments, invoices and claims.
• Enter and update financial data accurately in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, ensuring completeness and proper coding
• Maintain an orderly and accessible filing system of all financial records (electronic and hard copy) in accordance with audit requirements.
• Support in preparing payment instructions, journal entries and fund application requests as guided/ authorized by the supervisor.
• Assist in reconciling vendor accounts and reviewing pending items to support timely payment execution.
• Support the collection and verification of documentation for accounts receivable and follow up with partners, donors and offices on outstanding items.
• Provide data and information for the preparation of financial reports, cash flow statements and budget monitoring exercises

Administrative and Operational Support

• Assist with the preparation of correspondence, summaries and simple reports related to financial activities.
• Provide support in organizing finance-related meetings, compiling supporting materials, and taking minutes where required.
• Maintain accurate logs of fund applications, pending payments, and financial correspondence.
• Support coordination with relevant stakeholders (Finance, Procurement, HR, Programme teams) to ensure smooth information flow and consistency of records.
• Respond promptly to routine financial queries from internal clients and external partners under guidance from the supervisor.

Knowledge Building and Sharing

• Actively participate in finance-related training and capacity-building initiatives for personnel.
• Contribute to knowledge networks and Communities of Practice (CoPs).

• Required
• Secondary school (or equivalent) with 4 years of relevant experience OR
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or other disciplines with 0 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. 
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience requirements outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to considering all candidates in a fair and transparent manner, and we value diverse perspectives and experiences, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals with diverse 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.