Senior Finance Assistant - Education for Health and Wellbeing (EHW)

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

Under the authority of the Regional Representative and Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa and the direct supervision of the Finance and Administration Officer, the incumbent provides specialized administrative and support services in a range of specialized areas and shall ensure application and compliance with the rules, regulations, policies and practices in place.

 

The Senior Finance Assistant shall perform the following tasks:

 

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIUNS OF THE POST

General Accountabilities

• Provide guidance and interpretation to the Education for Health and Wellbeing unit on administration, budget, financial and human resources matters;
• Provide advice on approaches and best practices, ensure that these are well disseminated, understood and implemented;
• Provide guidance and interpretation on administrative rules, regulations and procedures;
• Advise on operational and technical routine transactions;
• Recommend process and system related modifications and improvements to support successful administration and financial monitoring and control;
• Interpret provisions and provide guidance on complex and non-recurring issues.

Long Description

Financial Accountabilities

• Act as certifying officer up to an authorized level delegated by the Chief Financial Officer and ensure that the financial transactions are in compliance with the rules, regulations, policies and procedures;
• Ensure that the financial resources and expenditures of the assigned unit are fully and properly accounted for and that internal control systems are adequate and functioning; schedule payments and disbursement of funds;
• Ensure accurate and timely processing of assigned accounts, developing budget estimates and monitoring expenditures, participating and advising in the preparation of financial statements and budgets;
• Assist in the preparation and coordination of financial activities.
• Compile and consolidate data from various sources into financial statements; prepare worksheets;
• Monitor expenditures, review payments and reconcile accounts;
• Investigate anomalies and erroneous charges and take corrective action;
• Provide assistance and guidance to undertake coding and data entry task and to extract information, to run reports from IRIS/ SISTER or other online financial systems;
• Processing funds disbursements, funds Reservations, Invoices, workflow process monitoring and providing updates;
• Monitor and manage liquidity of the designated bank account for the O3+ project in Zambia and preparing bank reconciliation;
• Assist in the IPA engagements by reviewing the budgets and financial justifications before disbursements and reviewing financial returns.

Long Description

Budgetary Accountabilities

• Prepare budget reports and communicate on them;
• Assist and advise on planning and budgeting and recommend modifications;
• Prepare budget proposals and cost estimates and ensure that data is correct;
• Identify irregularities and undertake transactions to correct errors/omissions.

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial) Accountability (C) Communication (C) Innovation (C) Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement (C) Planning and organizing (C) Professionalism (C) Results focus (C) Teamwork (C) REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Completed secondary, technical and/or vocational education.

Work Experience

• Minimum 8 years of relevant professional experience in finance, administration, accounting or related areas.
• Experience in working with Government, international/national Non-Governmental Organizations and UN Agencies.

Skills and competencies

• Excellent planning, organizational and coordination skills.
• Very good analytical and problem-solving skills, good sense of judgement and capacity to support sound financial and budgetary practices.
• Ability to work efficiently under pressure and deliver under tight deadlines.
• Excellent IT skills (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Data Management, SAP etc.).

Languages

• Excellent knowledge (Oral and Written) of English.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• A first level degree in Finance, Accounting or Administration.
• A specialized training in Accounting, Finance or Economics, Business Administration.

Work Experience

• Relevant work experience within UNESCO and/or in an international organisation and/or the UN System .
• Experience with ERP systems (such as SAP).

 

Skills & Competencies

• Sense of confidentiality, tact and diplomacy.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and capacity to work in an intercultural environment.
• Knowledge of UNESCO’s rules, regulations and procedures as well as financial/administrative practices, and other similar systems (IRIS, DUO, SISTER, CRM).
• Understanding of UNESCO’s structure, Governing Bodies, Institutes, Commissions, etc.

Languages

• Knowledge of other UNESCO official language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish).

BENEFITS AND ENTITLEMENTS

UNESCO’s salaries consist of a basic salary and other benefits which may include if applicable: 30 days annual leave, family allowance, medical insurance, pension plan etc.

For full information on benefits and entitlements, please consult our Guide to Staff Benefits.

SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that all candidates must complete an on-line application and provide complete and accurate information. To apply, please visit the UNESCO careers website. No modifications can be made to the application submitted.

The evaluation of candidates is based on the criteria in the vacancy notice, and may include tests and/or assessments, as well as a competency-based interview. 

UNESCO uses communication technologies such as video or teleconference, e-mail correspondence, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates.

Please note that only selected candidates will be further contacted and candidates in the final selection step will be subject to reference checks based on the information provided.

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UNESCO is committed to achieve and sustain gender parity among its staff members in all categories and at all grades. Furthermore, UNESCO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities, as well as nationals from non-and under-represented Member States (last update here) are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. Worldwide mobility is required for staff members appointed to international posts.

UNESCO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process.