Background

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and the planet. UNDP has been working in Afghanistan for more than 50 years on climate change and resilience, gender, governance, health, livelihoods, and rule of law.

Under the broader framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in close coordination with other UN agencies, UNDP is supporting the Afghan people’s aspiration for peace, prosperity, and sustainability. UNDP is currently implementing its flagship crisis response programme, ABADEI (Area Based Approach to Development Emergency Initiatives), as part of the ongoing UN-led response to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and the breakdown of Afghanistan’s economy following the August 2021 shift in power.

In this context, Country Office (CO) Finance unit is entrusted with the following:

  • Ensuring implementation of operational and financial management strategies and procedures;
  • Ensuring effective and accurate financial resources management and oversight;
  • Managing an optimal cost-recovery mechanism;
  • Ensuring proper control of CO accounts;
  • Ensuring proper cash management, including liaison with GSSU on Disbursements, Payroll, Treasury, and Accounting.

Under the direct supervision of the CO Finance Specialist – Head of Finance unit, the Finance Analyst serves as a deputy of Head of Finance unit. He/she supports leading the CO Finance Unit, covering the entire functions within the CO Finance unit, including country office institutional budget (IB) management, cost recovery management (e.g., delivery enabling services, common office premises, fresh cash charges, agency services, etc.), managing financial performance, control of CO accounts including closure activities, liaison with GSSU on disbursement and payroll, and control of CO cash management in close coordination with HQ/Treasury.

The Finance Analyst analyses and interprets the financial rules and regulations and provides solutions to a wide spectrum of complex financial issues. He/she works in close collaboration with the operations, programme, and project teams in the CO, GSSU, Bangkok Regional Hub, UNDP HQ staff, and any other counterparts (e.g., banks) ensuring successful CO performance in Finance. The Finance Analyst promotes a collaborative, client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations.

S/he will approach work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude and display a strong client orientation. As such s/he will display flexibility in performing other emerging tasks and additional duties as required.

Duties and Responsibilities

ONLY CURRENT AFGHANISTAN NATIONALS AVAILABLE FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WILLING TO TRAVEL IN KABUL AND THROUGHOUT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN, ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION. ALL OTHER APPLICANTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

The Finance Analyst will:

  • Support the Head of Finance, ensuring implementation of operational and financial management strategies and procedures.
  • Manage the budget of management projects and an optimal cost-recovery system.
  • Ensure proper control of CO accounts.
  • Ensure proper CO cash management. 
  • Ensure facilitation of knowledge building and sharing in the CO.

1. Support the Head of Finance, ensuring implementation of operational and financial management strategies and procedures:

  • Full compliance of financial activities, financial recording/reporting system, and audit follow up with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and strategies; implementation of the effective internal control, proper design and functioning of the financial resources management system.
  • Support to continuous analysis and monitoring of the financial situation, including the presentation of the status of CO Institutional Budget (IB).
  • Routinely monitors financial exception reports for unusual activities, transactions, and investigates anomalies or unusual transactions. Informs supervisors and other UNDP staff at Headquarters of the results of the investigation when satisfactory answers are not obtained.
  • Following up with the relevant units and projects on outstanding audit recommendations in relation to CO finance function.
  • Serving as Deputy Head of the Finance, supporting Head of Finance for ad-hoc tasks as appropriate. 
  • Serving as approving manager functions, as delegated by the Resident Representative.

2. Manages the CO Institutional Budget (IB) and organizes an optimal cost-recovery system focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Preparation and monitoring of budgets of management projects and send the budget to KK in Atlas.
  • Monitoring IB financial situation and following up with HQs on timely release of ASL allocation.
  • Support to establish and implement cost recovery mechanisms in line with the CO financial sustainability plan as agreed with the Bureau. This includes: the management of delivery enabling services, common office premises, fresh cash charges, and agency services.
  • Monitoring the progress of the cost recovery status, including analyzing the impact on the management project. 
  • Periodic monitoring of various dashboards and exceptions, identifications of the remedial actions, in particular, for items relating to CO Finance functions.

3. Ensures proper control of CO accounts focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Ensuring that all financial transactions are identified, recorded, and verified in compliance with corporate policies and procedures, including continuous oversight of the submission of the payment requests to the GSSU.
  • Leading of the quarterly and annual certification of CO accounts exercise in line with corporate closure instruction, in close coordination with relevant stakeholders. 
  • Timely response to HQ requests to resolve financial data issues.
  • Ensuring effective communication and liaison with GSSU on disbursement, payroll, treasury, and accounting processes.

4. Ensures proper CO cash management focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Oversight of CO cash management processes, including liquidity management, recommendations of imprest level, risk assessment, bank relationship management, timely accounting and reconciliation of all transactions, security for cash assets on site.
  • Member of bank signatory panel.
  • Oversight of the timely preparation of cashflow forecast for use by UN cash arrangement and/or other management purposes, in close coordination with project/programme colleagues.

5. Ensures facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the CO and guidance to all stakeholders on financial matters focusing on achievement of the following results:

  • Support to lead CO Finance unit to ensure that the relevant tasks within this team are smoothly conducted, in close collaboration with programme, operations, and project teams in the CO, GSSU, Bangkok Regional Hub, and UNDP HQ. 
  • Ensure facilitation of knowledge building and sharing in the CO, including lessons learnt and best practices in Finance.
  • Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Perform other duties within your functional profile as assigned and deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the office.

Competencies

Core Competency

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 

Learn Continuously

LEVEL 1: Open-minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility

LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 

Act with Determination

LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner

LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Customer Satisfaction/Client Management

  • Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfill and understand the real customers’ needs.
  • Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy.
  • Look for ways to add value veyond clients’ immediate requests.
  • Ability to anticipate client’s upclming needs and concerns.

Risk management

  • Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks

Knowledge Generation

  • Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for content, or responsive to a stated need

Accounting (General)

  • Knowledge of accounting concepts, principles, frameworks, standards, regulations, policies and trends, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations.

Banking and Cash management 

  • Ability to collect, handle, and manage cash, which involves assessing market liquidity, cash flow, and investments

Financial planning and budgeting

  • Ability to create and manage processes to achive UNDP’s long and short-term financial goals, including through planning, budgeting, forecasting, analysing, and reporting. 

Financial reporting and analysis

  • Understands changes in regulatory, legal and ethical frameworks and standards for financial reporting in the public sector. 
  • Ability to extract, evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful and coherent manner to facilitate effective decision making and performance monitoring.
  • Understands the benefits of integrated reporting, including non-financial resources such as human, social and intellectual capital, and environmental and governance performance.

Required Skills and Experience

UNDP STRONGLY ENCOURAGES QUALIFIED WOMEN TO APPLY FOR AVAILABLE POSITIONS FOR WHICH THEY MEET THE STATED MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Application Requirement

All Applicants MUST complete and attach the UNDP Personal History-P-11 Form (found here) to their applications in the vacancy site. 

Submission of personal resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) will not be acceptable and candidates who fail to attach the above required P-11 form will not be considered.

Min. Education requirement:

  • Advanced (Masters) University Degree in Finance/Accounting, Business or Public Administration or professionally qualified accountants from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy. or
  • University (Bachelors) Degree in Finance/Accounting, Business, or Public Administration, OR or a professional accounting qualification from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy with two additional years of relevant work experience will be given due consideration.

Relevant Experience: 

  • Master’s Degree with two (2) years of experience of relevant experience in providing financial management and accounting advisory services, managing staff and operational systems.
  • Bachelors’ Degree with four (4) years of expereince of relevant experience in providing financial management and accounting advisory services, managing staff and operational systems.
  • Professional accounting qualification holder with 3 years of relevant experience in providing financial management and accounting advisory services, managing staff and operational systems.

Required Skills:

  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems and ERP financials, preferably PeopleSoft.
  • Knowledge of IPSAS and/or IFRS is required.

Desired Skills:

  • Experience in the context of UN/UNDP from a finance perspective is desired.  
  • Knowledge of UNDP policies and procedures is desired.

Language Requirements:

Proficiency in English is required – both written and oral.

Fluency in local language of duty station Dari and/or Pashto is required.

ONLY CURRENT AFGHANISTAN NATIONALS AVAILABLE FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WILLING TO TRAVEL IN KABUL AND THROUGHOUT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN, ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION. ALL OTHER APPLICANTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.