Overview

The National Professional Officer (Finance) role supports the Head of SSC Finance Unit with finance and accounting matters, supervising operational teams and ensuring financial transactions comply with organizational rules.

Tasks Summary

• Advises on and supports the Head of SSC Finance Unit with respect to all areas of finance and accounting.
• Supervises the activities of an operational team in the area of banking, accounts payable, assets, bank reconciliation, and any other team defined in the SSC Finance Unit.
• Participates in work planning within the SSC.
• Ensures that financial transactions comply with organizational rules, regulations, policies and procedures; acts as certifying officer.
• Leads the creation and maintenance of Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) in the area of banking, accounts payable assets and bank reconciliation.
• Monitors the performance management of the finance function within the SSC, ensuring timely completion within established Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and tracking of statistics.
• Coordinates the development of training and related training materials and promotes best practices and capacity development at headquarters and in Decentralized Offices.
• Coordinates process improvement initiatives and undertakes requirements gathering activities in the assigned area of work in collaboration with Decentralized Offices and the Finance Division.

Experience Requirements

• Three years of relevant experience in office management, administration, accounting and/or audit, budget or finance OR five years of relevant experience and completion of professional qualification in accountancy (CA, CPA, ACCA) or investment professional (CFA).
• Extent and relevance of experience in finance, business analysis, banking and/or accounting as well as payment processing and/or reconciliation or supplier banking records masterfile maintenance.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in analysing and evaluating financial reports and/or experience in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
• Knowledge of UN or standard operational rules and procedures, and knowledge of administrative management procedures of projects and programmes is considered an asset.
• Knowledge of FAO's corporate systems and database, or knowledge of other financial modules or applications relevant to finance operation is considered an asset.
• Experience in a shared services or business support centre is highly desirable.

Qualification Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in a field related to business or public administration OR a first level university degree in accounting, finance, business administration or a related field.