Finance Associate

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.

The Division of Management and Administration is responsible for the planning, allocation and management of financial, human and administrative resources including information communications and technology, the effective and efficient delivery of essential operations services in UN Women, continuous development and improvement in operations, policies, and methods to align with UN Women and stakeholders’ evolving business needs and advisory support to the Executive Director in the formulation and implementation of the UN Women overall mission, strategy and plans of actions.

The Finance Associate position forms part of the Financial Management Section of UN Women under the responsibility of the Deputy Director of Financial Management.  Under the guidance of Deputy Director of Financial Management and direct supervision of Finance Specialist –  Unit Head, the Finance Associate is responsible for  the preparation/discharge of allocated duties within assigned Unit of the Financial Management Section; The Finance Associate will always promote a client-oriented approach and abide by UN Women’s financial regulations and rules. The Finance Associate works in close collaboration with the staff of the Division of Management and Administration, Programme Division, Regional Office and Country Offices, as well other UN entities in headquarters and field offices for resolving complex finance-related issues and information delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Ensure administration of UN Women's financial resources:

• Prepare and review invoice payments created   based on proper supporting documents authorized by the budget owners and project managers;
• Verify supporting documents and COA after project managers validate invoices and before routing to an Approving Officer;
• Prepare various reports on incomplete/unpaid vouchers and initiate follow-up actions;
• Prepare and verify requests for general ledger journal entries (GLJEs), including supporting documents for general ledger adjustments
• Reconcile assigned General ledger balances on a regular timetable as set by section.
• Prepare other regular finance indicators or reports as requested;
• Approval of vendors in ERP where assigned under Delegation of Authority;
• Prepare various financial reports for management, including bi-monthly and monthly Aged Outstanding Advances to Partners;
• Verify and recommend for approval Accounts payable standard invoice application for liquidation of Partner Advances, and prepared correction journals as necessary;
• Monitor, reconcile and follow up with ROs and COs Advances to Implementing Partners which are not in accordance with the policy;
• Review all requests for Write-off or Unilateral liquidation of Aged Advances to Partners submitted to Finance Section
• Respond to requests to resolve financial data issues;
• Provide administrative and financial support to  ROs, COs and HQ Sections as required
• Review and carry a finance verification for travel invoices in ERP
• Run daily reports to monitor Dummy payment and UNDP payment and reconcile between both reports.
• Run weekly report to reconcile between discrepancies projects and GL accounts in Projects Portfolio Management (PPM) and GL
• Provide semi-annual and annual Partner Advances and Expenditure reports for partner audit selection.

Administer and provide financial inputs to revenue management:

• Record signed Donor Agreements in Contracts/Revenue module of ERP and correspond with RCs and COs with queries;
• Record deposits received in the un-applied tracking sheet, Donor Agreement Management System (DAMS) and apply funds to projects in the Accounts Receivable module
• Update the Financial Commitments in DAMS when deposits are received;
• Prepare covering letters for checks and ensuring they are passed to UNDP for banking;
• Provide support for revenue management and revenue reporting;

Administer and provide financial inputs to financial donor reporting and other management reports:

• Prepare financial reports for donors for UN Women offices timely and submit to Virtual Global Service Centre (VGSC) Finance Specialists;
• Monitor outstanding donor reports to donors and initiate follow-up actions with Country Offices and Sections. 
• Prepare other regular finance indicators or management reports as requested;
• Provide budget setup support to permit accurate reports in formats required by Donor (E.g. EU report).

Administer and implement financial procedures focusing on timely closure of projects:

• Perform and provide advice for financial project closure of projects for UN Women (UNW) offices;
• Monitor, reconcile and follow up with Country Offices and Sections on status of closed projects not yet financially closed;
• Prepare various reports on project closure status and initiate follow-up actions;
• Ensure proper control of the supporting documents for refunds to donors and general ledger journals;

Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Build and strengthen the capacity of UN Women offices in areas of financial management, including conducting trainings.
• Assist in the coordination of and provide input to training materials on financial management areas assigned or other related finance items.
• Actively participate in knowledge sharing and changes of duties with other staff in Finance team, as requested, to ensure that all duties have back-up staff assigned and trained;
• Ensure full compliance with amendments to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).  Inform other UN Women Finance Users to ensure IPSAS compliance and currency; 
• Ensure full compliance with all UN Women Financial Regulations and Rules, Operations manuals, Internal Control policies and procedures, Standard operating procedures, Finance manual, and Delegations of Authority to ensure consistency across UN Women and harmonization with other UN Agencies.  Provide recommendations to Unit Head for proposed amendments;
• Synthesize lessons learnt and best practices in financial processes and procedures;
• Provide input to Finance business processes mapping and elaboration of the content of Internal Control Framework, Operations Manual in consultation with management;
• Provide input to proposals and implementation of cost saving and reduction strategies in consultation with management;
• Participate as a member of the UN Women Financial Management Section in the internal and external audits of UN Women, including full understanding of audit recommendations and clearance timetable;
• Assist with the implementation of development projects and suggest areas for consideration for future development of systems, processes, and automation;
• Actively promote a client-oriented Financial Management Section.
• Perform other duties from time to time as requested by Supervisor or Deputy Director of Financial Management.

Key Performance Indicators

The key results have an impact on the overall efficiency in financial resources management and success in implementation of operational strategies.  Accurate analysis and presentation of financial information enhances UN Women's credibility in use of financial resources and proper financial process management. The information provided facilitates management decision making.

• Timely and accurate of reports and compilation of data
• Timely response to requests to resolve financial data issues
• Timely completes accurate financial transactions/activities and documentation
• Timely and accurate advice on and full compliance with UN Women financial rules and regulations and policies
• Quality inputs which result in better-run systems and processes
• Timely monitoring of systems so that errors can be quickly resolved
• Proper control of supporting documents

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: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

• Strong accounting skills
• Knowledge of financial rules and regulations, and accounting
• Strong IT skills and proficiency
• Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems
• Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions
• Results and client-oriented approach to work
• Strong communication and relationship management skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Completion of High School (Secondary Education) is required.
• University Degree in Accounting or Finance is an advantage.
• Completion of UN Women Accountancy and Finance Test required (to be conducted during the recruitment process).

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively relevant finance work experience is required.
• Experience in the usage of computers ,office software packages (MS Word, Excel, including vlookup, etc) and database packages is required.
• Experience in web-based ERP financial systems (i.e. Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft,  etc) is required.
• Experience with IPSAS and/or IFRS is desirable.
• Experience in developing complex financial reports required.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English.  
• Knowledge of any other UN language is an advantage. 

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc 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.

GS fixed-term appointment (FTA) and temporary appointment (TA) positions located in New York are open to candidates who are either US Permanent Residents, US Citizens or holders of a valid G4 visa at the time of their application and whose G4 visa has been acquired on account of their employment in the UN Systems based in New York.

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.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)