UN Women: Finance Analyst

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.

Under the overall guidance of the Chief of Accounts in Headquarters (HQ) and the daily supervision of the Operations Manager, the Finance Analyst is responsible for providing assistance to offices in the Region as necessary to ensure capacity and support; assistance with development projects for the finance users of UN Women for better business practices and controls as well as automation; ensuring all finance users are compliant with and trained in the accounting standards, financial regulations and rules, policies and procedures; assisting Finance Section HQ in dedicated support, training, advice for Regional Offices, Multi-Country Offices and COs (ROs/MCOs/COs); and acts as the Audit focal point for the Region in co-ordination with Finance Section HQ, as well as finance users in ROs and MCOs/COs. 

The Finance Analyst supervises and leads support staff of the Finance Sub-Unit. The Finance Analyst works in close collaboration with Finance Section HQ, Programme and Operations colleagues, teams at the country level, UNDP staff and Government officials ensuring high performance and efficiency in Finance.

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordinate the financial planning, analysis, and provision of services to the CO/MCO/RO in accordance with UN Women internal control framework, rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

• Recommend and/or implement cost saving and reduction strategies;
• Review and/or verify financial transactions/activities, recording/reporting system and audit reports. Co-ordinate with Finance Section HQ on suggestions for amendments;
• Review financial business processes and use of Atlas system to ensure accurate and complete reporting of financial transactions by UN Women staff in accordance with the Internal Control Framework and Delegation of Authority and the timely flow of financial information in UN Women for management, monitoring and oversight purposes;
• analyze and oversee all financial resources managed by the CO/MCO/RO and provide high-quality professional advice on financial issues to the CO/MCO/RO management, as necessary;
• Coordinate cash management processes, including liquidity management, recommend impress level, risk assessment, security for cash assets on site.
• Assist with financial risk assessment reviews for the RO/MCO/CO, by identifying areas of risk and providing recommendations and action plans for addressing issues raised.

Coordinate the monitoring and oversight of financial systems in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

• Monitor financial systems and reports for unusual activities, transactions, investigate anomalies;
• Coordinate the CO/MCO/RO timely completion of their Month-end Instructions Checklist and Year-end Instructions Closure Checklist;
• Draft all financial reports in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and ensure continued compliance.  Monitor the CO/MCO/RO for compliance with IPSAS accounting standards by reviewing business processes and systems modules resulting in IPSAS compliant general ledger and financial statements;
• Review Implementing Partner advance procedures and test against UN Women policies to ensure compliance.  Investigate and follow up on any anomalies for timely action and resolution, as necessary;
• Review all contractual arrangements with suppliers of goods and services to ensure that the financial terms and conditions of all contracts are being adhered to by the suppliers of goods and services;
• Report to Operations Manager and Chief of Accounts any case of non-adherence for timely action and recommendations for actions/decisions, as necessary;
• Respond to questions and provide analysis as requested to the Finance Section HQ.

Coordinate financial reporting in the CO/MCO/RO in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

• Draft timely and accurate automated interim financial reports to governments and donors as required under the donor agreements and other cost-sharing arrangements for submission to Virtual Global Service Centre Finance Specialists;
• Track and report contributions within the resource mobilization efforts, including pipeline, contracted and overdue and future milestones.  Review contributions receivables and provide information to Operations Manager for follow up, as necessary;
• Write ad hoc financial Donor and other reports as requested;
• Follow up and/or take prompt action to respond to audit and other findings on financial management.

Coordinate the audit process in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

• Coordinate the pre-audit preparations for financial management of the CO/MCO/RO to be audit ready and complete the pre-audit checklist.  Travel to the COs as necessary to assist during CO audits;
• Contribute technically to the training in the RO/MCO/CO as part of the training plan or requirement of pre-audit preparations or as otherwise determined by Operations Manager or Chief of Accounts;
• Write responses to internal and external audit inquiries and other findings related to financial management for review/approval by Operations Manager and Chief of Accounts and incorporate recommendations in development in policies, procedures and practices;
• Plan and track expenditures and performance audit of financial resources, including extra-budgetary income.

Coordinate programme/ project budgets in accordance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures:

• Coordinate all financial resources of programmes/ projects through planning, guiding, monitoring and controlling of the resources;
• Prepare and monitor budgets of management projects;
• Analyze and report on the budget approvals and the delivery situation of management projects;
• Contribute to the proper mechanisms to eliminate deficiencies in budget management; 
• Submit financial information for timely preparation of donor reports;
• Prepare advance payments and direct payments for programme implementation and record them in Atlas.
• Provide assistance to offices in the region in relation to project closure and provide training on a regular basis, in conjunction with Virtual Global Service Centre Finance Specialists.

Coordinate financial training and communication for the CO/MCO/RO:

• Monitor the effectiveness of the services of the finance team on a regular basis to ensure close relationship between Finance Section and Finance Users in RO/MCO/CO and take corrective measures as needed;
• Coordinate development projects to ensure effective finance and communication tools are in place and regularly monitored for improvements;
• Perform the Finance Helpdesk function for RO/MCO/CO to ensure accurate and timely response to issues and advice requested in conjunction with Finance Section HQ;
• Support in the implementation of the approved Training plans (specifically ATLAS and IPSAS) in conjunction with Finance Section HQ and Finance specialist in RO on a recurrent basis to ensure competency across all Finance Users at CO/MCO;
• Provide oversight for Finance staff of the RO/MCO/CO and monitor progress and provide guidance and direction to the staff as necessary to ensure goals and objectives are achieved.

Participate in knowledge management and capacity building:

• Identify, participate in the development and/or recommend enhancement/updates/improvement in Atlas financial modules for better business practices and controls in the RO/MCO/CO;
• Capture, synthesize and/or codify lessons learned and best practices in the RO/MCO/ CO support and financial management and services. Disseminate to Finance Section HQ to share knowledge and build capacity;
• Contribute to the design of learning tools, best practices and innovations in financial business operational practices and management, promote transparency, ease of communications, hosting of financial documents, and all policies and procedures between all UN Women users of the RO/MCO/CO data.

  Financial tasks, approving and certifying function:

• Oversee that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Atlas; payrolls are duly prepared; travel claims and other entitlements are duly processed;
• Implement timely corrective actions on unposted vouchers, including the vouchers with budget check errors, matching exceptions, unapproved vouchers;
• Provide timely response to HQ requests to resolve financial data issues;
• Perform delegated approval function in Atlas on a timely basis;
• Review and provide financial clearance of all donor agreements as delegated for compliance with standard agreements on a timely basis.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Financial activities/transactions and documentations are implemented/processed according to UN Women rules and regulations, policies and procedures;
• Programme units receive timely support in relation to financial management, budgeting and planning;
• Timely and accurate professional advice on financial issues provided to the RO/MCO/CO management;
• Timely reporting on financial issues.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Good knowledge and expertise in financial planning and management;
• Good knowledge of complex financial rules and regulations, preferably UN/UN Women Financial Rules and regulations;
• Good conceptual/strategic skills and success in implementing financial re-engineering, management systems development, policy design, innovation and knowledge product development is an asset;
• Good knowledge and experience in the application of complex financial systems and modules (such as Atlas);
• Good knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
• Ability to provide advice and support;
• Good analytical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced (Masters) University Degree in Finance/Accounting, or a professional accounting qualification from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy;
• Professionally qualified accountants from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage;
• Successful completion of UN Women Accounting and Finance Test is required.

Experience:

• At least 2 years’ experience in an accounting-specific role with in a large international organization preferably in the UN system is required;
• Demonstrated financial experience using an ERP financial system;
• Demonstrated experience in supporting more than one office simultaneously is an asset;
• Demonstrated experience in providing financial and budget support to programmes/projects; Demonstrated experience at developing detailed financial reports for senior management;
• Demonstrated financial experience of working in a regional or multi-country context is an asset;
• Experience in the usage of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.);
• Demonstrated knowledge of IPSAS/IFRS;
• Demonstrated experience using an online web-based management System is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Candidates should research the P2 salary in the context of living in Istanbul in order to fully understand the remuneration that is on offer especially if a candidate with dependents applies for this post.