Administrative and Finance Assistant G5

Introduction

The Bringing Back Jobs Safely Under the COVID 19 Crisis in the Philippines: Rebooting Small and Informal Businesses Safely and Digitally project, which has been in implementation since 15 June 2021, is aimed at contributing to improving the safety and health of workers in MSMES in the non-metropolitan regions of the Philippines and mitigating the negative socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. It is financed by the Government of Japan, notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project will be implemented until 31 December 2023, with a budget of US$2.227 million and covers all Regions in the Philippines.

The COVID-19 crisis has brought unparalleled impacts on the people of the Philippines, particularly those in the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as the backbone of the economy and employment. The pandemic not only reduced existing jobs and income of them, but prompted many to resort to alternative livelihood, often as informal activities, to survive the prolonged community quarantine measures with various restrictions imposed on businesses.

While tremendous efforts have been made to address the extreme vulnerability of MSMEs and informal businesses under the pandemic, there are two areas deserving further support in the world of work – first, the occupational safety and health (OSH) including the prevention and mitigation of the COVID-19 risks (COVID OSH) and; second, the digitalization of business operations for those currently left behind the big wave of the digitalization of the economy prompted by the pandemic. The COVID-19 risks for MSMEs and the capacity gaps among them are deemed larger outside of Metro Manila, and more prominent among the smaller and informal ones.

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To achieve its goals, the project is working with the national network of training service providers to deliver the training on i) COVID OSH and ii) digitalization of business operations (e.g., digital entrepreneurship, ecommerce strategies and digital financial literacy). The ILO’s training programmes in respective areas have been translated into the specific local and sector context and transmitted through training-of-trainers (ToT) seminars, mostly online. To win the mind of the numerous MSMEs not directly benefiting from the training, the successful experiences will be compiled into case studies and disseminated in ways attractive to the MSMEs, especially for those outside the National Capital Region. To bridge the digital divide outside Metro Manila, the project is also supporting the pilot implementation of the three Innovation Hubs. Through these Hubs and the affiliated satellites such as the local internet cafes, the project will provide the internet connectivity, co-working spaces, back-office services, and linkage to the support programmes for the MSMEs.

To support agile learning to respond to the rapidly changing situation of the pandemic and to make the interventions sustained beyond the life of the project, an interdisciplinary knowledge management system is being established in coordination with the authorities and experts in the public health, labour, industry, and ICT sectors. For the ownership and sustainability of the project, the institutional capacity of key partner organizations is being strengthened.

Within the policy and procedural requirements established by the ILO and the Bringing Back Jobs Safely project, the Administrative and Finance Assistant will cover the component implementation of the project in the Philippines and ensure the objectives are met by providing administrative and financial support and contributing to delivering the expected outputs.

Reporting Lines

The Administrative and Finance Assistant will be based in the ILO Office in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The Administrative and Finance Assistant will work under the supervision of the Project Officer and will report to the National Project Coordinators of the project based in the Philippines. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with other project team members and technical backstopping officers.

The Administrative and Finance Assistant will receive guidance from the Director and the Senior Programme Officer of the ILO Country Office of the Philippines (CO-Manila) and administrative and financial guidance provided by the Senior Operations Officer of CO-Manila.

She/he is required to work in close collaboration with other ILO staff members, as required.

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• Consult with Finance Unit and project team on rules, regulations, and procedures, and inform project staff, partners, consultants, interns of new or revised procedures and practices.
• Provide administrative and financial backstopping and guidance for project staff and consultants, with respect to payments, entitlements, travel claims, and other requirements relating to accounts and finance.
• Prepare recurring reports as scheduled and special reports as required for donor reporting, for budget preparation, audits, or other reasons.
• Calculate and compile cost estimates and participate in budget analysis and projections as required by the supervisors.
• Draft correspondence, faxes, memoranda, and reports on administrative matters from oral instructions, previous correspondence, or other available information sources in accordance with standard office procedures.
• Responsible for all administrative tasks, including logistical support to the project personnel, travel arrangements, visas, hotel reservation, etc. and provide logistics arrangements for conferences, seminars, workshops, meetings, and webinars.
• Perform other relevant duties as assigned by the Project Officer, National Project Coordinator, and/or the Director of CO-Manila.

Required qualifications

Education

Completion of secondary school education with formal training in accounting and/or finance and administrative field.  Possession of a relevant University degree is desirable.

Description of Duties

The Administrative and Finance Assistant will be responsible for a range of specialized finance and administrative support services in an efficient, effective, and client-oriented manner. Work involves using the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to process transactions for financial clearance and payment processing. The incumbent performs at a fully operational level and resolves a variety of recurring and non-recurring operational issues, requiring the correct application of financial rules and regulations, policies, procedures, and guidelines.

• Maintain project financial records and monitoring systems to record and reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements and other data for daily transactions and reports.
• Process contracts for financial clearance and payment. Ensure the correctness and appropriateness of types of contracts used with each activity, and ensure all necessary supporting documents are attached.
• Prepare correspondence on own initiative to verify data, address and answer queries and follow-up as necessary with ILO staff, consultants, and counterparts. Draw the attention of the Project Officer/National Project Coordinator to matters requiring immediate attention.
• Review and request additional information on the financial reports of project implementing partners, ensuring compliance with ILO rules, before submitting to the Finance Unit.
• Classify and assign budget codes, verify and process claims for payment, and check payment vouchers, prices, and claims invoices.

Experience

Five years of progressively responsible financial and administrative work, and some training in an administrative field. Familiarity with UN administrative and financial procedures constitutes an advantage.

Languages

Excellent command of English and an official national language of the duty station.

Competencies

• Knowledge and understanding of complex body of financial and administrative rules, guidelines and procedures.
• Knowledge of in-house procedures for the preparation of documents and administrative forms, and for the creation and maintenance of filing systems.
• Good analytical skills. Ability to reason and make sound judgements.
• Ability to maintain financial records and prepare clerical accounting reports and statements. Must demonstrate responsible behavior and attention to detail.
• Ability to deal with confidential matters with discretion. Must display high standards of ethical conduct.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office and statistical software packages.
• High standards of integrity, professionalism, personal discipline, and impartiality.
• Excellent organizational skills.

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• Ability to work on owns initiative as well as a member of a team.
• Ability to work under political and time pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to deal with people with tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.