Overview
The Finance Senior Officer supports efficient financial management, accurate financial information provision, and effective delivery of financial services within the finance unit. The role collaborates with programme, operations, and project teams, as well as internal and external stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
- Contribute to the planning of financial resources for portfolios, continuous analysis, and monitoring of financial progress, as well as presentation of forecasts.
- Ensure full compliance with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations, IPSAS, Organisation Directives, Administrative Instructions, and guidance notes.
- Maintain oversight of projects, programs, and portfolios to ensure compliance with internal control procedures and fiduciary standards.
- Perform analysis and elaboration of proposals for cost-saving and reduction strategies.
- Support programs in designing and formulating workplans, targets, and performance metrics.
- Contribute in the engagement process of entering project data into ERP, ensuring alignment with pricing policy, finalization of funding agreements, etc.
- Coordinate with projects and programs in the preparation and consolidation of cash-flow forecasts.
- Review the end-to-end inventory accounting, including stock valuation, general ledger reconciliations, variance analysis, and financial reporting.
- Review the end-to-end accounting lifecycle for all grant portfolios, including processing advances, executing liquidations, reporting, and financial monitoring.
- Advise in the preparation of budgets and submissions, conduct regular analysis, and report on budget and delivery progress.
- Review and analyze budget proposals in accordance with established procedures, ERP (oneUNOPS) protocols, and client budgetary guidelines.
- Review financial statements and reports, addressing queries and observations from project teams, funding sources, clients, and donors.
- Contribute to the preparation of interim Project financial reports and management reports.
- Participate in identifying administrative budgetary requirements and provide guidance for budget preparation.
- Monitor budgetary allocations, maintain contact with projects, clients, and donors to enhance budget management.
- Monitor financial targets for projects and portfolios, including management budget expenditures.
- Coordinate with project staff to verify, correct, add, and enhance the quality of financial activities.
- Conduct expenditure reconciliation and prepare various financial and statistical reports.
- Discuss concerns with projects and programs as needed to ensure timely corrective actions.
- Collaborate with finance, support services and program teams in planning and coordination of audit activities.
- Monitor and provide advice to projects and programs on financial status.
- Review and confirm the appropriateness of operational transactions processed.
- Review payment requests for completeness before processing.
- Ensure payment requests are properly obligated, control supporting documentation, prepare vouchers, and enter transactions and financial data into the ERP (oneUNOPS).
- Monitor financial exception reports for unusual activities, transactions, and investigate anomalies.
- Support Global shared services centre(GSSC) in banking and payment related activities.
- Take timely corrective actions on unposted vouchers, including resolving budget check errors and match exceptions.
- Assist in analyzing trends and forecasting income from projects and other sources.
- Support in monitoring Accounts Receivables and follow up with clients' contributions.
- Conduct periodic petty cash counts, review requests for petty cash establishment.
- Review requests for operational advances and prepayments.
- Ensure timely submission of compliance reports such as advances and petty cash to FG,HQ.
- Monitor VAT accounts and liaise with project managers to ensure reimbursements and clearances.
- Maintain files, including electronic filing, for all financial records and documentation.
- Organize and conduct training sessions for project teams on policies, procedures and systems.
- Identify local finance training needs and develop tailored presentations.
- Provide training support services to project teams in setting up projects, handling budget revisions, troubleshooting, and understanding financial transactions.
- Communicate with colleagues, projects, and clients in areas requiring verification, corrections, additional information, etc.
- Synthesize lessons learned and best practices in Finance.
- Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
Required Experience
A minimum of Two years of relevant experience at the national or international level in accounting, budgeting, financial reporting and audit is required. Good knowledge of budget management, accounting and reporting for global or regional multi-donor, mult-partner and multi-country programs is required; Proven experience in supporting project audits and European Commission (EC) verifications as well supporting implementation of recommendations is required.
Qualifications
An Advanced University degree (Master’s Degree of equivalent) preferably in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or related field is required; A first-level university degree (Bachelor`s degree or equivalent) with an additional 2 years of experience in finance, reporting, budget, accounting, auditing may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree; Professional certification in accounting (CA, CPA, ACCA, ACA, CIMA, etc.), or audit (CIA) or equivalent is required .
