Finance Associate

OCHA is the part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together Humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies.  OCHA’s mission is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors in order to alleviate human suffering in disasters and emergencies.

The Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) was established in 2006 to allow the international and national humanitarian communities to address increasing humanitarian needs in Sudan through the transparent and accountable management of significant humanitarian funds.

The Humanitarian Financing Section (HFS) is one of four sections of OCHA Sudan and has overall responsibility for the management of the SHF and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). In 2020 OCHA will assume the role of Management Agent for the SHF from UNDP.

The HFS team works in four main areas:

(a) managing the day-to-day SHF allocation process in support of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), including to ensure transparency, inclusiveness and accountability with humanitarian partners in the selection and recommendation of funding priorities to the HC;

(b) providing secretariat services to the CHF Advisory Boad in support of the HC;

(c) donor relations and resources mobilization with SHF and bilateral donors to strengthen humanitarian financing across Sudan; and 

(d) supporting humanitarian partners in formulating CERF requests and liaison with OCHA CERF headquarters in New York.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Finance Officer, the Finance Associate works in close collaboration with the Operations and Programme staff in the CO for resolving finance-related issues and information exchange.

Summary of Key Functions:

• Administration and implementation of operational strategies
• Portfolio management in adherence with SHF procedures and protocol.
• Provide management support for SHF partner monitoring processes.
• Accountability for project advance monitoring and management
• Contracting support and document management and retention

1. Ensures administration and implementation of operational strategies, adapts processes and procedures focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Full compliance with UN/UNOCHA rules, regulations, and policies of financial activities, financial recording/reporting system and follow-up on audit recommendations; implementation of effective internal controls, proper functioning of a client-oriented financial resources management system.
•     CO Finance business processes mapping and elaboration of the content of internal Standard Operating Procedures in Finance in consultation with office management.
• Implementation of cost sharing and trust fund agreements, elaboration of conditions of contributions within the CO resource mobilization efforts.

2. Ensure proper portfolio management in adherence with SHF procedures and protocol.

• Monitor the submission of timely financial and narrative reports by partners in full compliance with OCHA rules, regulations, and policies.
• Provide clear guidance and support to partners regarding reporting, No Cost Extensions, and other SHF processes.
• Perform detailed review of partner reports against budget and project work plan, provide clear feedback and guidance.
• Check consistency of data and conduct preliminary quality assessment of reports.
• Perform comparative portfolio review of partner financial reports.

3. Provide management support for SHF partner monitoring processes:

• Review budgets in GMS and budget revisions as required.
• Timely monitoring and execution of corrective actions on portfolio transactions.

4. Accountability for project advance monitoring and management

• Maintain accurate tracking sheet for recording partners project advances, clearances, and the status of advances consistent with dashboard monitoring periods.
• Closely review partners advance requests against previous advances and delivery rate and work plan to ensure the appropriate advance request amount is submitted for approval.
• Monitor portfolio and project delivery against approved work plans.

5. Contracting support and document management and retention

• Review partner budgets and work plans for accuracy and consistency.
• Provide support in preparing partner contracts.
• Maintain database of all agreements, financial reports, audits and transaction documents.
• Provide information and documentation to facilitate audit exercises.
• Any other tasks as assigned by Supervisor

Core

Innovation

Ability to make new and useful ideas work: Adept with complex concepts and challenges convention purposefully.

Leadership

Ability to persuade others to follow: Proactively seeks and recognizes contributions of others.

People Management

Ability to improve performance and satisfaction: Appropriately involves team in different stages of work and decision-making.

Communication

Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform: Expresses information and views with adaptive reasoning and appreciation for complexity and variation.

Delivery

Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement: Takes responsibility for addressing critical situations and delivering core value.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNOCHA’s mission, vision and values.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Functional Competencies

Professionalism:

Ability of work under extreme pressure and multi task, on occasion in highly stressful environment and demonstrated ability to formulate conclusions/recommendations.

Client orientation

Reports to internal and external clients in a timely and appropriate fashion; Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs.

Planning & Organizing

Ability to coordinate the work of others, work to tight deadlines and handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.

Teamwork

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Education:

• Secondary education with specialized certification in Accounting and/or Finance, certified in Public Accountant.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, Economic, Accounting would be desirable, but it is not a requirement.

Experience:

• 7 years with Secondary education, or 4 years with Bachelor's degree of progressively responsible of project or programme finance management with proven experience with project budget preparation and reviews
• Proven experience with supporting financial audit and financial spot check or monitoring is an advantage.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and experience in handling of computer-based record management systems.
• Solid experience with the UN and INGOs working in Sudan is essential.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in both oral and written English and Arabic.

• UNOCHA is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.

• UNOCHA does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.