Finance Associate

Hosted by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) is the only United Nations unit exclusively dedicated to the design and administration of multi-stakeholder pooled financing instruments. Since 2003, it has supported over 200 UN-implemented pooled funds, providing an integrated platform of inter-agency pooled fund services to help UN organizations and partners make fast and efficient progress towards collective outcomes, like the 2030 Agenda. The MPTF Office’s current portfolio is over $18 billion in total, with more than $1 billion per year in contributions and includes more than 150 active pooled financing mechanisms.

The MPTF Office’s trustee and fund design and administration service is a standard-setter in the UN System – professionalized, highly transparent and firewalled from all UN implementing entities. The MPTF Office has put in place a number of tools and systems to support its transparent and accessible fund administration services such as its digital platform the MPTF Office Gateway. As a shared UN service provider, the MPTF Office operates in a distinct and dedicated business unit. It provides an integrated service platform that, in addition to core trust fund design and administration functions, provides complimentary services to users like data analytics, research administration, and knowledge management. 

The Finance Associate forms part of the Finance Team, which supports MPTFO’s fund initiation and administration services and management of MPTFO’s internal finance functions. Under the supervision of the Finance Specialist, and the overall guidance and direction of the Chief, Finance and Risk Management, the Finance Associate responsibilities will include the following main functions listed below.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.
 

• Support strategy development and implement cost recovery policies for advisory services 
• Prepare financial information and analysis in support of MPTFO corporate reporting, 
• Prepare reconciliations and resolve issues
• Collect information in support of analysis and recording of Administrative Agent direct costs for non-standard donor agreements.
• Contribute to MP Record MPTF Office managed fund secretariat project revenue. Prepare financial analysis and reports for the MPTF Office and fund secretariat projects.
• Coordinate with Operations team on the review and process PO and non-PO supplier invoices (including the corporate credit card payments) and bring to the attention of the Approving Officer any discrepancies 
• Review and process travel requests as per the UNDP POPP guidelines and in coordination with Operations team
• Contribute to MTFO business process design, including tools for implementation to generate on-going and maintain current efficiency and productivity gains across the portfolio
• Maintain data integrity of the Office share-point site for areas assigned to the finance team. 
• Complete assigned UNDP related year-end closure processes.
• Support Chief of Risk and Finance Management on internal and external audit queries, as required
• Complete other tasks as assigned 

Fund administration 

• For funds under an assigned portfolio (or in support of the team)
• Implement all activities in accordance with UNDP’s Financial Regulations and Rules, MPTFO’s Operations manual and the office Internal Control Framework 
• Accurately record donor earmarking and Steering Committee allocations 
• Conduct a financial review of Fund Transfers (including reconciliations) or refunds to donors and maintain office KPI on timeliness of transfers; Prepare financial transactions in Atlas and transfer notifications 
• Provide advice and support to a variety of internal and external stakeholders to resolve finance fund related issues
• Complete review of General Ledger data to ensure data integrity and accuracy, including closure workpapers
• Liaise with Participating Organisations (POs), UNDP Treasury to identify and record PO refunds/interest for POs/funds assigned
• Maintain centralized finance contacts for assigned POs in the contact database

Fund Reporting

• Prepare and validate accurate annual Statement of Sources and Uses of Funds for authorization and certification
• Prepare and validate accurate annual standard financial reports and tables for inclusion in portfolio narrative reporting
• Prepare and validate accurate Funding frameworks and other ad-hoc financial reporting on request 

Supports Knowledge Management, training and capacity development 

• Assists with building capacity and knowledge by supporting the development of tools and resources which demonstrate best practices for financial closure.
• Contribute to MDTF1 business process design including tools for implementation to generate on-going and maintain current efficiency and productivity gains across the portfolio.

Support to Fund Portfolio team

• Conduct final financial closure review for projects/Funds as per the Operations Manual
• Liaise with POs to advise and facilitate correction of over expenditure and / or project closure issues where resolution requires fund specific knowledge.
• Prepare project closure analysis reports identifying project, identify possible solutions for project closure at agency level.
• Prepare fund financial closure analysis reports.
• Act as backup for EU Finance Associate, including support with preparing EU certification, manual financial reports and support to finance team in relation to EU verification mission.
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: None

Achieve Results:

• Level 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively:

• Level 1:  Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 

Learn Continuously

• Level 1:  Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility 

• Level 1:  Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 

Act with Determination        

• Level 1:  Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner

• Level 1:  Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

• Level 1:  Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Operations: Finance – Financial reporting and analysis   

• Understands changes in regulatory, legal and ethical frameworks and standards for financial reporting in the public sector. Ability to extract, evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful and coherent manner to facilitate effective decision making and performance monitoring. Understands the benefits of integrated reporting, including non-financial resources such as human, social and intellectual capital, and environmental and governance performance

Operations: Finance – Financial risk management             

• Ensures financial resilience through proactive assessment of risk, implementation of controls and taking mitigating action. Understands risk and reward in relation to collaborative and commercial projects. Ensures a culture of positive risk management”

Legal – Legal analysis skills           

• The ability to digest a large amount of information and facts in order to frame and understand an issue, apply the legal framework to the particular set of facts and present a coherent and comprehensive analysis of the situation presented in order to deliver practical and meaningful advice. This skill includes the ability to provide an objective assessment of the case, the organization’s best arguments for proceeding and a recommended course of action. It also includes the capacity to think creatively and flexibly, within the applicable legal framework.

Business Management – Monitoring       

• Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results

Business Management – Risk Management         

• Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risk

Business direction and Strategy – Negotiation and Influence

• Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates win-win situations

Business Development – Knowledge Generation              

• Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for content, or responsive to a stated need.