Finance & Budget Officer NO2, Athens, Greece, #125475, Fixed Term (One year)

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, a future

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF Greece Country Office was established in 2020. This confers the full mandate of UNICEF to Greece, which is to provide assistance to member states to fulfil their obligations to children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which Greece ratified in 1993. As such, the UNICEF Greece Country Office is expanding its support to all state institutions that have a role in ensuring all two million children in the country can fully enjoy their rights. To date, UNICEF is engaging with counterparts including the ministries of Labor and Social Affairs, Education, Migration, Justice, Interior, Development and Investments, on issues including foster care and deinstitutionalization, inclusive education, youth skills and employability, as well as exploring options to ensure the availability of increased financing for children in the years ahead.

The Operations section acts as a strategic partner in the areas of HR, Finance, Supply, ICT and Administration and aims for a successful transition of the Greece Country Office by adopting lean and agile business practices and achieving financial sustainability while contributing to the effective delivery of programmes and development of partnerships to maximize results for children.

The Finance & Budget Officer reports to the Operations Manager for general direction and guidance. The Finance & Budget Officer is responsible for providing support to the Operations Manager in managing, monitoring and overseeing the full range of financial services in support of programme and operational activities including Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT), financial planning, treasury and accounting, financial analysis, reporting on grant-specific budgets in line with programme, UNICEF and donor requirements. S/he ensures compliance of all financial operations with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), UNICEF Financial Regulation and Rules, organizational plans, policies, procedures, guidelines, standards of performance, ethics, and integrity.

Under the general guidance of the Operations Manager, the Finance & Budget Officer analyses programme and budget proposals for completeness, correctness and conformity with the programme and budget guidelines; advises programme managers and partners on the processes, from planning to implementation and reporting, and provides guidance for effective and efficient management of financial resources during the implementation of the budget, control of accounts and treasury/cash.

The Finance & Budget Officer, when supervising support staff, 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 Financial Regulation and Rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, standards of accountability, and ethics.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to management on financial planning

• Provide support to the financial planning process by preparing/analyzing financial data/estimates and documentation verifying relevancy, accuracy and completeness to support results-based budget planning across the office. Provide technical and operational support throughout the financial planning and implementation process.

• Provide technical support to the programme counterparts/committees, e.g. review budgets and financial plans of implementing partners;
• Ensure timely allocation of new grants to respective programmes in line with approved budget breakdown and donor conditions.
• Review budget expenditures and financial reports according to agreed budgets, and in coordination and collaboration with Programmes verify compliance with guidelines, grants eligibility and procedures. Keep stakeholders informed for timely action.
• Monitor grants expiry dates with the objective of timely informing budget owners that all funds are fully utilized prior to grant expiry dates.
• Monitor the utilization of resources (OR/RR/IB) and produces regular updates for the Country Office Management.
• Support the capacity development of programme staff to improve the description of expenditures that appear in financial reports.
• Enable an institutional memory within the office through the development and maintenance of record keeping of OR allocations forms and emails related to RR allocation; ensure the filing of and access to all the financial and budget-related files on proposals, donor reports and all other financial documents.
• Provide technical and operational support on the application, interpretation and implementation of financial policies, procedures and guidelines to staff and stakeholders. Resolve routine financial operational issues.
• Prepare and/or monitor financial analysis/exception reports to assess unusual activities and transactions, investigate anomalies and performance trends, and keep supervisor informed for timely action.
• Review financial and reputational risks in the transactions carried out by the office and raise flags when action is needed by management.
• Formulate pragmatic recommendations and secures the agreement of management to mitigate the identified risks. Monitors and assess adequacy of actions taken to ensure the risks are managed.

• Prepare work plans for supervisee/s, provide timely technical guidance, monitor work in progress and review work completed to approve transactions and/or certify/verify accuracy of work and compliance with IPSAS and UNICEF Regulations and Rules, policies, procedures, and guidelines.

2. Control of accounts and treasury/cash management

• Review the accurate and timely processing submission of financial transactions ensuring compliance with budgetary limits, IPSAS and organizational regulations, rules, policies. Take timely action on outstanding accounts to resolve pending issues.
• Oversee bank, petty and cash on hand accounts transactions in compliance with UNICEF/UN financial regulations, policies, procedures and local banking practices. Keep abreast of procedures and regulations regarding maintenance of bank accounts and exchange and interests rates.
• Monitor and forecast periodic cash requirements. Provide current information on cash position/forecast to management and make recommendations or take action to ensure sufficient availability of resources for programmes and operations activities.
• Monitor and analyze financial transactions, accounting reports and reconciliation of accounts to ensure accurate and current financial information for applicable compliance (e.g. IPSAS, donor reporting, internal policies) and management oversight, planning and/or action.
• Prepare or contribute to mandated management/statutory office financial and accounting reports to UNICEF Board/Bodies/Donors, verifying the reliability of data and compliance with organizational guidelines.
• Collaborate with oversight bodies (e.g. UNBOA, OIAI, Evaluation Office, JIU, donors, etc.) to provide answers to requests; and engage with the appropriate colleagues to resolve financial observations and recommendations raised in a sustainable and efficient manner.
• Oversee and complete applicable accounts closure activities (monthly, quarterly and yearly) on a timely basis and per closure instructions.
• Examine DCT transactions (transfer, adjustments, reprogramming and liquidation) supporting documents to ensure FACE form has been properly entered into the system and the expenditure is broadly reasonable and in accordance with policy.

3. HACT Financial Assurance activities

• Facilitate the execution of HACT financial assurance activities (Micro assessments, Spot Checks, Audits) undertaken by external service providers or internal staff through scheduling, arranging briefings and related administrative needs to ensure appropriate and comprehensive information for effective and efficient completion of assignments.
• Oversee and update risk ratings of implementing partners to align with the relevant assessment.
• Review assessments assurance reports to identify areas of weaknesses related to the implementation of HACT and keep supervisor/partners informed of findings for timely action and/or intervention and escalation of issues when required.
• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through engaging in capacity building around HACT financial management and sharing related information and knowledge
• Participate in appropriate inter-agency meetings/events to facilitate and promote sharing of information, knowledge, experiences and best practice and enhance coordination of activities in line with the ONE UN best practices.
• Interact regularly with other country offices and the Regional Office on HACT financial assurance related activities.

4. Knowledge and capacity building

• Promote a culture of the highest ethical standards and behavior in the management of UNICEF’s resources.
• Support initiatives for management improvement by capturing, institutionalizing and sharing best practices and lessons learned.  Recommend improvements in processes and procedures to enhance productivity and performance including implementation of cost-saving and VfM strategies.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of capacity development strategy/initiatives for CO staff in the area of financial management/budget management.
• Contribute to design and implementation of capacity development strategy/initiatives for implementing partners Identify, synthesize and share lessons learned from HACT and its implementation for integration into broader knowledge development planning and management efforts.

Detailed tasks and functions can be viewed on the attached generic job profile: VA – GJP – Finance and Budget Officer NOB Fixed Term Post 125475.pdf

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

• A University Degree in accounting, financial management, auditing or another related financial field is required. Certificate in CIPFA/ACCA/CMA or equivalent is highly desirable.
• A minimum of 2 years of professional managerial experience in financial management is required. Experience from audit firm is preferred.

• Experience with IPSAS and/or IFRS is required.

• Knowledge of internal control and risk management frameworks is considered an asset.

• Excellent understanding of business analysis, budget, financial management, and managerial accounting.

• Experience in consolidation and analysis of data and creation of Dashboards is required.

• Experience in database packages and SAP system financial module, is considered as an asset.

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially MS Excel is required. Knowledge of Power BI, DAX or other BI tools and ETLs will be an asset.

• Experience in a UN system agency or international organization, is considered as an asset.

• Fluency in English and Greek is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, 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…

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

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. For this position, eligible and suitable male candidates are encouraged to apply.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  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 canceled. Government employees who 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.

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.

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