Budget Assistant

Org. Setting and Reporting

• This position is located in the Budget Section (BS), Financial Resources Management Service (FRMS), Division for Management (DM), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in Vienna. The Budget Assistant will report to the supervisor of a sub-unit.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Budget Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

• May act as Certifying Officer on behalf of and in the absence of programme managers.
• Provide support with respect to the review, analyses and preparation of the programme plan.
• Prepare supporting documents (narrative and supporting tables) with respect to finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements.
• Assist managers in the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions.
• Undertake research and provide support to higher level Budget Officers with respect to budget reviews of relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies.
• Review and approve allotments, released budgets, redeployments or budget returns.
• Monitor expenditures and compare with approved budget; prepare adjustments as necessary.
• Review fund commitments to ensure (a) correct objects of expenditure have been charged, (b) availability of funds, and (c) close the final balances, if not required.
• Assist in preparation of budget performance submissions and finalization of budget performance reports, analyzing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Review cost plans for cost recovery activities, approve related allotments, process position funding and staffing requests related to such activities.
• Assist programmes on service delivery related requirements, serve as local process expert on service delivery and maintain related service and activity type catalogues. Regularly review and update the standard service catalogue.
• Prepare files for billing of services provided as required
• Assist in the financial backstopping of trust funds, including monitoring the status of voluntary contributions, generating expenditure reports from Umoja and monitoring reporting requirements by donors
• Monitor integrity of financial data in Umoja.
• Verify accuracy of input data, ensuring consistency of data in previous allotments to new allotments issued.
• Co-ordinate with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.
• May assist Senior Budget Assistant in charge of Post Management with Position Funding, upkeep of Certifying Officers Lists, and Organisational Management in Umoja.

Education

• High school diploma or equivalent is required.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven years of work experience in budget, finance or other related area is required.
• The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to five for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher.
• Strong computer skills, including experience in financial management applications is required. Proficiency in spreadsheet and word processing applications is required.
• Experience in Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems is required. Experience with Umoja (SAP), and in particular fund management, grants and projects related modules, as well as business intelligence is desirable. Experience in working with service cost recovery is desirable.
• Experience in working on technical cooperation projects is desirable. Experience with the United Nations system or similar international organization financial rules and regulations is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/239158?language=en