Overview

The Accounts Specialist leads the Finance Branch Statutory Reporting Unit, responsible for global finance and accounting, including providing guidance and oversight for financial management. The role ensures IPSAS compliance, coordinates annual accounts closure, prepares financial statements, and liaises with auditors.

Tasks Summary

• Serve as UNFPA’s lead technical resource on IPSAS matters and represent UNFPA in inter-agency accounting forums.
• Lead UNFPA efforts to adopt new or updated IPSAS standards and develop/update accounting policies, procedures, and guidance documents.
• Supervise accounting in specialized areas, including employee benefits, intangible assets, leases, and financial instruments.
• Support and supervise the annual closure of accounts and lead the preparation of IPSAS-compliant financial statements and other statutory reports.
• Act as the primary technical focal point for statutory reporting and IPSAS related external and internal audit matters.
• Serve as functional subject matter expert and delegated business owner for SRU-related financial accounting and reporting solutions, including the General Ledger module.
• Identify capacity development needs in SRU areas and organize/facilitate training sessions and webinars.
• Ensure the work of the SRU staff is properly planned, coordinated, and supervised.

Experience Requirements

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in accounting or financial auditing.
• A minimum of 4 years of supervisory and coordination experience.
• Experience in both directly preparing and supervising the preparation of financial statements with global and complex datasets.
• Demonstrated experience in applying IFRS or IPSAS.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing accounting and/or financial policies and procedures and standard operating procedures.
• Demonstrated experience in the use of data reporting and analytics tools.
• Experience supporting financial systems implementations, including development of business requirements, data conversion and migration, testing and user training, an advantage.
• In-depth understanding of financial management and operations processes in the United Nations an advantage.
• Experience working with the Oracle ERP system is a significant advantage.

Qualification Requirements

• Advanced university degree in Finance, Accounting or related fields.
• An internationally recognized professional accountancy qualification, combined with a bachelor’s degree in the above-mentioned fields, will be deemed equivalent to an advanced degree for this position.