Overview
The Project Finance Officer will provide leadership and oversight of financial management across UNDP India’s Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) projects, ensuring compliance with UNDP, donor, and government requirements while strengthening systems for planning, reporting, and risk management.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the implementation of financial strategies for HSS in line with UNDP rules, donor agreements, and project objectives.
- Ensure compliance, strong internal controls, and the effective functioning of all financial management systems.
- Recommend and implement cost management strategies.
- Implement forecasting models and financial tracking mechanisms.
- Provide continuous analysis and monitoring of financial situations and potential risks.
- Routinely monitor exception reports for unusual activities, transactions, and investigate anomalies.
- Oversee preparation and timely submission of Statements of Expenditure (SoEs), Utilization Certificates (UCs), and donor reports.
- Manage multi-donor budgets, ensuring correct processing in systems, alignment with approved workplans, and transparent allocation of resources.
- Monitor expenditure against budgets, identify gaps, and provide high-level financial analysis.
- Manage financial resources through planning, guiding, controlling of the resources in accordance with UNDP POPP guidelines.
- Strengthen and streamline processes for cross-charging, payments, certification, and documentation.
- Ensure the project is audit-ready through systematic documentation, proactive monitoring, and timely implementation of audit recommendations.
- Ensure financial activities, recording/reporting system and audit follow-up comply with UNDP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP) and strategies.
- Provide support in closure of audit gaps and implement effective internal controls.
- Identify and address financial risks, gaps, and systemic bottlenecks by introducing improved tracking tools, dashboards, and SOPs.
- Ensure full compliance with UNDP financial regulations, donor agreements, and government financing frameworks.
- Provide financial quality assurance across SoEs, UCs, cross-charging, and payment documentation.
- Manage complex multi-donor fund flows to ensure efficient, transparent utilization of resources and timely settlement of claims.
- Provide direction, mentoring, and performance management for the finance team.
- Build financial capacity at regional and state levels, strengthening collaboration with programme, operations, and procurement colleagues.
- Promote best practices in financial management, contributing to knowledge sharing for both donor- and government-financed health projects.
Required Experience
- Minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience providing financial management advisory services, managing personnel and operational systems.
- Demonstrated experience working with financial regulations, policies, and systems in international organizations, including: Financial resource planning (FRP) and budgeting processes, including forecasting, pipeline management, and variance analysis.
- Experienced in using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems (Oracle PeopleSoft/Quantum/Atlas, SAP Umoja, or equivalent) for financial transaction processing, reconciliation, and reporting.
- Donor financial policies, reporting, with emphasis on compliance with cost classification standards, budget utilization, certified reporting requirements, and audit preparedness.
- Experience in financial analysis and interpretation of complex accounting and financial information, such as organization financial statements.
- Experience in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)and/or International Financial Research Analyst (IFRS).
- Experience in use of computers and office software including web-based management systems and ERP financial modules including the accounts closure process.
Qualifications
- A professional accounting qualification from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy, and/or Advanced (Master’s) University Degree in Finance and /or Accounting is required.
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
- Candidates with no professional accountancy qualifications, but with degrees that major in accountancy and/or finance, must complete the Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP) if recruited.
- Candidates with an MBA or master’s in finance with no accountancy qualification but with relevant experience must successfully undertake the UNDP Advanced Accountancy and Finance Test (AAFT) to be eligible for shortlisting.
