Administrative & Finance Specialist (P3) FT, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea #126760

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Support

With over 850 indigenous languages, and one of the most ethnically diverse populations, widespread poverty and gender inequality make it hard for many children to realize their rights.  In Papua New Guinea (PNG), UNICEF’s works effectively both ‘upstream’ (with governments) and ‘downstream’ (at the grassroots level) to carry out its mission through a programme of cooperation jointly developed with the government guides our work in the country.

 How can you make a difference?

The Administrative & Finance Specialist reports to the Deputy Representative Operations for general direction and guidance. The specialist is responsible for providing support to the Deputy Representative Operations in managing, monitoring and overseeing the full range of Administrative and Financial services in support of program and operational activities (i.e. financial planning, disbursements of funds and payments, treasury and accounting, financial analysis and reporting of resources), ensuring compliance of all Administrative and financial operations with organizational plans, policies, procedures, guidelines, standards of performance, ethics, and integrity.

The Administrative and Finance Specialist, will be responsible to lead and manage a diverse team of Admin and Finance units including National Professional Officers as well as support staff. When supervising support staff, he/she will be responsible for planning and guiding work in progress and for reviewing work completed by subordinate staff to verify accuracy and compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), UNICEF Administrative and Financial Regulation and Rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, standards of accountability, and ethics. Furthermore, the Administrative and Finance Specialist will be a champion and role-model among the team members to foster a culture of learning, teamwork and collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvements.   

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to financial planning, management & Budget management

2. Control of accounts

3. Treasury and cash management

4. Knowledge and capacity building

5. DCT Management and HACT

6. Administrative support & Property management

7. Contract arrangement and control

8. Partnership, coordination and collaboration

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advance university degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Administration or equivalent or any other comparable recognized professional qualification.
• A valid professional certification (CA; CPA; etc.) from an internationally recognized, accredited chartered accountancy institution is considered an asset.
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in Administrative and financial management or audits in an international organization and/or large corporation is required.

• Proven capacity and experience in leading and managing team from diverse background is required.

• Experience in a UN system agency or organization some of which served in a developing country is considered as an asset
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Excel required.
• Experience in database packages, web-based management systems and ERP systems (preferably SAP financial modules) is considered as an asset.
• Experience with IPSAS and/or IFRS is considered as an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others and (8) Nurtures, leads and manages people.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. 

Remarks:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.