Assc Finance Officer

Before submitting an application, UNHCR staff members intending to apply to this Job Opening are requested to consult the Recruitment and Assignments Policy (RAP, UNHCR/HCP/2017/2 and the Recruitment and Assignments Administrative Instruction (RAAI), UNHCR/AI/2017/7 OF 15 August 2017.

Associate Finance Officer

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Associate Finance Officer positions provide technical support with the processing of financial transactions, and monitor compliance with UNHCR and UN Financial Regulations and Rules.

In operations that do not have a Project Control Officer and are not covered by a Regional Project Control Officer, the Associate Finance Officer must also perform oversight responsibilities with regard to the execution of projects.

The incumbent directly supervises general service staff.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Accountability

- UNHCR's financial rules and regulations, policies and procedures are adhered to by the office.
- UNHCR's local cash is safeguarded.
- Monthly accounts are correct and approved.
- Management is promptly informed of major variances in the execution of projects (budgets, finance, implementation or timeframe).

Responsibility

- Contribute to the assessment of budgetary needs for administrative budgets (ABOD); monitor and control ABOD expenditure.
- Analyze, evaluate and control disbursements/receipts, as well as expenditure variances against approved budgets.
- Review vouchers, including ABOD and project disbursements.
- Propose monthly cash requirements for the office, and ensure adequate and timely replenishments of funds.
- Contribute to the preparation and processing of monthly accounts.
- Provide financial status reports to supervisors.
- Analyze and evaluate all financial reports produced on a regular basis.
- Maintain effective business relationships with local banks.
- Ensure compliance with UNHCR and UN Financial Regulations and Rules, policies and procedures.
- Ensure that payments are effectuated by the monthly deadline.
- Ensure that monthly accounts are correct and approved, and ensure timely monthly bank reconciliations, including open items, review and clearance of unwanted requisitions and PO balances.
- Conduct regular checks of petty cash and cash accounts.
- Perform oversight responsibilities, when applicable, with regard to the execution of projects, including (1) monitoring all financial aspects of project management; (2) analyzing project expenditures levels and patterns in relation to the operations plan and signed agreements with partners and implementation rates to track project progress; and (3) monitoring that IPs meet UNHCR's administrative, financial and procurement requirements in the execution of the project.
- Perform project control functions, in the absence of a dedicated project control position.
- Participate in the physical verification of UNHCR's local property, plant and equipment (PPE) and inventories.


Authority

- Verify that all financial transactions are correct and in accordance with UNHCR rules and procedures.
- Ensure compliance with applicable financial rules, policies and procedures.
- Certify country-level financial expenditure reports submitted to the regional office or Headquarters.
- Approve vouchers, including ABOD and project disbursements.
- Have unlimited access to financial and operational records relating to projects, when needed to    perform oversight responsibilities.

ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

- Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in Accounting, Finance, or Public or Business Administration, Economics or related field, OR undergraduate degree in another field combined with a professional qualification in accounting or finance (CPA/CIA or equivalent) plus minimum 3 years of previous job experience in the field of accounting or finance. Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master's) plus 2 years or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) plus 1 year of previous relevant work experience may also be accepted.
- Excellent computer skills, in particular in MS Office applications.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.


DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES

- Professional qualification in accounting or finance (CPA/CIA or equivalent).
- Working experience of at least one year in an intergovernmental organization (United Nations or similar).
- Good knowledge of United Nations financial rules and procedures.
- Good understanding of accrual accounting (such as IPSAS or IFRS).
- Working experience with PeopleSoft/Oracle Financial modules.
- Knowledge of additional UN languages.


This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR Associate Finance Officer positions. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates. C001L2 - Accountability Level 2
C002L2 - Teamwork & Collaboration Level 2
C003L2 - Communication Level 2
C004L2 - Commitment to Continuous Learning Level 2
C005L2 - Client & Result Orientation Level 2
C006L2 - Organizational Awareness Level 2
M002L2 - Managing Performance Level 2
M006L2 - Managing Resources Level 2
M005L2 - Leadership Level 2
M003L2 - Judgement and Decision Making Level 2
X001L2 - Analytical Thinking Level 2
X004L2 - Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Level 2
X007L2 - Political Awareness Level 2 <p>The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.</p>
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See below for this postion's Operational Context
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For those people applying for High Risk Duty Stations, we strongly encourage them – before deciding to apply- to read the country specific security and welfare country profiles which can be found on the Intranet under Support Services - Duty of Care (https://intranet.unhcr.org/en/support-services/duty-of-care.html). Ensuring staff are better informed is part of the increased attention UNHCR is paying to Duty of Care.

 

Staff after having applied to High Risk Duty Stations will have access to country specific information webinars with Field Safety Section (FSS) and Staff Welfare Section (SWS) colleagues and provided with a tool to test their psychological preparedness for serving in High Risk Duty Stations. Applicants who applied for a position in a High Risk country will receive, after the deadline for applications has expired, a joint invitation from the Staff Welfare Section (SWS) and the Field Safety Section (FSS) to participate in these webinars. During the Webinars, latest updates on security and well-being will be provided, and FSS and SWS will address questions raised by participants. Applicants are highly encouraged to benefit, when applicable, from all measures as they provide most up-to-date security and well-being information helpful to assess staff’s readiness to serve in a High Risk Duty Station. A Staff Welfare Officer will also be available, if and when required, to discuss with interested applicants the results of the psychological preparedness tool as well as readiness for assignment in High Risk Duty Stations.

 

The incumbent should have a good understanding of UNHCR financial management and possess solid administrative skills. Apart from excellent functional competencies, the incumbent would also be expected to possess proven managerial and leadership skills.

The incumbent must also be conversant with MSRP and FOCUS and have an excellent knowledge of United Nations administrative, human resources and financial rules and procedures.

Ideally, the candidate has a professional qualification in accounting or finance (CPA/CIA or equivalent).
S/he must also have a good understanding of accrual accounting (such as IPSAS or IFRS).

Preferably, s/he should also have a good knowledge of UNHCR programmes and cash-based interventions. 

S/he must have an excellent working knowledge of French and English, as more and more reports are drafted in the English language. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hosts 529,061 refugees as of 31 December 2018 countrywide (including 216,986 Rwandan refugees, 172,011 CAR refugees, 43,010 Burundian refugees and 95,704 South Sudanese refugees). 
DRC also hosts more than 4 million IDPs mainly located as follows: 1.4 million in Kasai provinces, 1.1 million in North Kivu province, 545,273 in South Kivu province, 603,000 in Tanganyika province, 210,000 in Ituri province, 147,000 in Maniema province, 96,000 in Haut-Katanga province, 64,000 in Haut-Lomami province and 16,000 in Lualaba province. As lead Protection Cluster, UNHCR continues to play a key role supporting the DRC Government in implementing a durable solutions strategy in order to help end the circle of protracted displacement in the country.  
In April 2018, the United Nations system-wide Level 3 emergency declaration for the Kasai region and the provinces of South Kivu and Tanganyika was de-activated. At the same time, security and humanitarian conditions in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu have deteriorated sharply.  In Ituri, on-going violence has seen a rise in the number of internally displaced persons to almost 350,000. A further 92,000 have fled to Uganda, creating a refugee emergency for which an internal Level 2 emergency was declared. In North Kivu, 500,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of IDPs in the province to 1.45 million.
Both situations have witnessed, among others, forced recruitment, sexual and gender based violence and kidnapping. The recent outbreak of an Ebola epidemic has compounded matters. Along with other humanitarian actors, and working pursuant to its coordination roles for protection, CCCM and emergency shelter, UNHCR is distributing emergency relief items, meeting other essential needs through cash transfers and implementing shelter programmes for returning IDPs in both provinces. The Office is undertaking protection activities, strengthening the capacity of local communities and authorities at all stages of the displacement cycle, fostering peaceful co-existence and dialogue and promoting participation of youth and women in decision-making and promoting dialogue all with a view to addressing critical protection risks and advancing solutions.
In October 2018, 350,000-400,000 Congolese nationals have arrived in the Kasai region, forcibly expelled from Angola, where the majority were working in the unregulated mining sector.  The returns were part of ¿Operacao Transparencia¿ and involved significant human rights abuses in Angola, as well as engendering protection incidents on the Congolese side of the border.  Thousands of returnees have walked or otherwise organized their own return to villages and towns in the Kasais and Lualaba Province, as well as further afield ¿ in many cases overwhelming already fragile communities struggling to cope with the needs of returned IDPs and with interethnic tensions exacerbated by limited services and a fragile political environment.  The humanitarian community is collaborating on immediate responses in the border communities and on upscaling support to areas of return, and has asked for all actors to identify where they will engage. At the same time of addressing the dictates of responding to the ever-changing demands of the IDP emergencies, UNHCR is called to be present to deliver assistance under its mandate to refugee caseloads scattered in various locations throughout the vast DRC territory.
The Regional Office in Kinshasa supervises and provides support to 5 sub-offices and 13 field offices/units within the Country.  It also oversees operations in Gabon, Sao & Principe and the Republic of Congo which provides support to more than 55,000 people of concern.
Under the overall supervision of the Assistant Regional Representative (Administration) the Associate Finance Officer will report directly to the Senior Regional Finance Officer. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country in Africa, and as a result is quite diverse.  Living conditions therefore vary between UNHCR duty stations, with all usual amenities present in the capital Kinshasa, but only very basic conditions in remote duty stations in the provinces, where, for instance, there may be no guarantee of public power supply nor running water.  Accommodation is very expensive in Kinshasa. There are several Supermarkets in town but consumer items are generally very expensive (as everything is imported). For food, local markets offer a much cheaper alternative.  Kinshasa is considered family duty station effective 1 January 2015, despite the fact that most facilities and amenities are still basic.

The unit of currency is the Congolese Franc. The US dollar is the other preferred currency. It may be impossible to exchange traveller¿s checks away from the capital city. Credit cards are usually accepted in major hotels only in Kinshasa. In larger towns and cities (e.g. Kinshasa, Goma, Bukavu, Kisangani), it is recommended to open US Dollar bank accounts, while in other places, banks may be absent (including ATMs) and payments will be processed in cash.

In addition to French, there are four major spoken languages in DRC, namely Lingala, Kikongo, Tshiluba and Swahili. Kinshasa is a security level 2 duty station. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Please note that the closing date for vacancies in the Addendum 4 is Thursday 28 February 2019 (midnight Geneva time)