Finance Associate – Kabul with travel to Provinces

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. It is essential that Afghan women and girls can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the crisis in Afghanistan. UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic, and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has four key programme priorities: (1) Gender in Humanitarian Action, (2) Ending Violence Against Women, (3) Women’s Economic Empowerment, and (4) Women, Peace, and Security.

Reporting to Finance Specialist, the Finance Associate is responsible for the execution of a wide range of financial services and administrative processes in the Country Office (CO), ensuring timeliness, efficiency and transparent use of financial resources and delivery of services in accordance with organizational financial rules, regulations, policies, procedures and approved allocations. The Finance Associate promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations, standard practices and guidelines.

The Finance Associate works in close collaboration with the Operations Team in the Country Office as well as with the Operations and Programme teams in UN Women Regional Office (RO) and HQ for solving complex finance-related issues and information delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Provide finance and accounting services and support to the Programme and Operations teams

• Prepare PO vouchers and non-PO vouchers for making payments for projects by ensuring correctness, completeness, timeliness, and full compliance with UN Women policies, guidelines, rules and regulations;
• Review PO vouchers and non-PO vouchers prepared by Finance team members and Programme colleagues to ensure correctness and completeness, and full compliance with UN Women policies, guidelines, rules and regulations before submitting them for approval by Committing Officer in the ERP system (Quantum);
• Lead, guide, and supervise Finance Assistants in providing timely and quality payments and accounting services to programme teams;
• Monitor and oversee team performance to ensure timeliness of payments and other finance and accounting services by doing regular review of pending incoming requests, and take actions as appropriate;

• Regularly review pending unprocessed vouchers, undertake and ensure corrective actions on unposted vouchers caused by budget errors, match exceptions, delayed approval and other causes;
• Review and make payments of advances to implementing partners. Review, sample check, and record liquidations of advance based on financial reports (FACE) received from partners. Ensure proper verification and certification of the financial reports carried out under project managers’ accountability, and in compliance with UN Women policies and guidelines;
• Prepare corrections and adjustment entries from proper supporting documents authorized by the budget owners and project managers;
• Ensure partners’ rating is done and verification of FACE supporting documents are carried out according to the partners’ rating as required by the UN Women Cash Advance and other Cash Transfer to Partners Policy;
• Undertake and ensure proper allocation of office rent and other office recurring expenses among all relevant projects;
• Ensure timely processing of VAT exemption documents for eligible vendors’ invoices as applicable;
• Provide inputs and take necessary actions to facilitate timely financial project closure;
• Support financial donor reporting by providing timely information and taking necessary actions as required by UN Women Virtual Global Service Centre (VGSC) for financial donor reporting;
• Assist with preparation for Audit of Projects and Partners by third party audit firm particularly in preparation of FACE-to-Quantum reconciliation. Assist in review and response on audit issues, follow-up and/or take actions on audit recommendations to ensure implementation of corrective actions;
• Representing Operations/Finance team in undertaking risk-based capacity assessment on potential partners when required;
• Review accounts receivables for UN Women projects and follow-up with project managers and finance section at RO and/or headquarters on contributions, deposits creation in the ERP system and their application to accounts receivables pending items;
• Review and record service fee and cost recovery charged on work done for UN Women by other UN agencies;

       2. Manage month-end and year-end account closure

• Take proper actions, follow up, and monitor all the financial items in month-end and year-end closure instructions and checklist through timely and effective coordination with all programme and operations units;
• Oversee and ensure proper handling and control of petty cash fund held by custodians at main office and sub-offices. Ensure monthly petty cash expense report, monthly reconciliation, physical cash count, and replenishment are done timely according to the petty cash policy;
• Manage Staff Advance/Receivables and other balance sheet accounts and related account reconciliations. Ensure timely advance clearance and follow up on outstanding items;
• Monitor advance to implementing partners, ensure and and follow up for timely liquidations, with special attention on aged items;
• Monitor month-end and year-end accruals to ensure completeness and accuracy thru coordination with programme colleagues;

• Monitor each month over-expenditure of budgets and follow up for corrective actions with Budget Owner;
• Review transactions in the ERP system (Quantum), to ensure correct recording of expenditures and other transactions, Ensure payroll and other financial transactions are properly posted, and take corrective actions as required;

• Coordinate and collect information for reporting of year-end office inventory to HQ;
• Handling of adhoc requests and inquiries from HQ;

       3. Implement financial strategies, and adapt processes and procedures in full compliance of UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems

• Perform duties in full compliance with UN Women financial regulations and rules, policies and standard operating procedures, and internal controls including compliance with the approval authorities as in the Delegation of Authorities (DOA) and Internal Control Framework (ICF) table;
• Keep abreast of and ensure full compliance with amendments to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS);
• Review and verify financial transactions, activities, and documentation prepared by Finance Assistants; taking corrective actions as needed and reporting any unusual activities;
• Monitor financial exceptions reports for unusual activities or transaction, investigate anomalies and report to the supervisor conclusions and/or present recommendations for actions/decisions;
• Provide advice and recommend solutions to a wide range of financial issues;
• Monitor the proper functioning of the financial resources management system for office and programmatic budgets and resources;
• Implement and monitor cost saving and reduction strategies;
• Respond to instructions from the Deputy Director of Financial Management or Finance Section in relation to financial transactions.  Undertake timely corrective actions as requested by HQ and RO Finance Section to resolve financial data issues or provide information;
• Participate as a member of the Country office team in the internal and external audits of the Country Office;
• Follow-up on audit recommendations to monitor implementation of corrective actions;
• Actively promote a client-oriented finance service to the Country office;

      4. Prepare and administer CO budgets in full compliance of UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems

• Formulate budget for management fund of the CO, create project in the ERP system, monitor fund allocation, monitor expenditures, and prepare budget revisions according to the needs of CO management, and in compliance with UN Women Cost Recovery Policy;
• Assist Project Managers in monitoring of budget versus expenditures and in timely utilization of budget and fund balances;
• Monitor the setup of budgets in the ERP system by projects to ensure they are in accordance with budgets as agreed with donors and are input into the ERP system (Quantum) at the detailed Activity/Task ID level;
• Track the appropriate and timely use of financial resources and monitor unutilized fund; monitor regularly transactions posted to projects ensuring actual expenditure has been recorded against correct chart of accounts (COA), budget category and activity, take timely corrective actions as required;
• Provide assistance in Annual Work Plan entry in Results Management System (RMS) as required;

       5. Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing

• Conduct training for UN Women staff to ensure compliance with UN Women financial regulations and rules, policies and standard operating procedures and controls;
• Conduct training for implementing partners/responsible parties to ensure full compliance with UN Women financial reporting requirement (FACE) and UN Women verification of partners’ supporting documents of expenditures reported on FACE, and other finance-related requirements as indicated in the signed partner agreement, as well as preparation for project audit when required;
• Conduct training for professional service providers who are contracted by Afghanistan CO to conduct verification of partner’s supporting documents for financial reports (FACE) and risk-based capacity assessments of potential partners;
• Collect and compile lessons learned and best practices in financial management and services. Disseminate to clients and stakeholders as appropriate to build capacity and knowledge;
• Contribute to financial business operational practices and management new initiatives and innovations;
• Supervise and guide staff and personnel under responsibility, as applicable, provide technical guidance and monitor performance to ensure delivery of results according to plans and standards of accountability and performance;
• Undertake all trainings in relation to financial management provided, including webinars from RO and HQ.  Actively promote and facilitate participation in the trainings for Finance team members and relevant Programme colleagues in the CO;

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Excellent knowledge of financial rules and regulations and accounting principles;
• Excellent knowledge and application skills of IT tools and understanding of management systems;
• Excellent knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
• Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems;
• Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required;
• Specialized national or international certification in accounting and finance is an asset.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting is an asset;
• Successful completion of UN Women Accounting and Finance Test is required. The test will be conducted during the recruitment process;

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in finance;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems;
• Experience in the use of ERP system is an asset;

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Dari/Pashto is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset;

Application:

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality, and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)