Job categories Finance
Vacancy code VA/2024/B5101/28466
Department/office AR, AFCO, Afghanistan
Duty station Kabul, Afghanistan
Contract type Local ICA Specialist
Contract level LICA Specialist-9
Duration Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance
Application period 02-Jul-2024 to 09-Jul-2024
Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement.
Functional Responsibilities
Summary of Key Functions:
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Implementation of project financial management
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Budget planning and management
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Project cash and treasury management
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Project financial reporting
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Team Management
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Knowledge building and knowledge sharing
1. Implementation of project financial management
Ensures the implementation of project financial management , focusing on the achievement of the following results:
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Provide guidance on requirements for handling project transactions concerning UNOPS’ financial practices and rules.
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Assist with enhancing the fiduciary monitoring of Afghanistan’s Community Resilience and Livelihoods project.
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Develop a recommendation report to enhance the specific project’s current monitoring mechanism.
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Providing financial analysis and reports to the Finance Advisor for decision making. Full compliance of project financial activities, financial recording/reporting system and audit follow up with UN/UNOPS rules, regulations, policies and strategies and IPSAS standards.
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Proper management and accounting of project contributions management and accounting for contributions to ensure that funds due to the project are properly identified, consistently and uniformly classified, recorded on a timely basis and received with sufficient supporting documentation.
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Proper planning, expenditure tracking and control on the utilization of the CRLP financial resources.
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Monitoring of project financial exception reports for unusual activities, transactions, and investigates anomalies or unusual transactions. Provision of information to supervisors and other UNOPS staff at HQ on the results of the investigation when satisfactory answers are not obtained.
2. Budget preparation and management Manages the project budgets focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Financial resources management through planning, guiding, controlling of the resources in accordance with UNOPS rules and regulations.
- Preparation and monitoring of the project’s budget.
- Elaboration of proper mechanisms to eliminate deficiencies in budget management.
- Preparation of budget variance reports.
- Elaboration of the internal control framework which ensures that payment requests (RfP) are processed are e-matched and completed, financial transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Enterprise system (ERP); travel claims and other entitlements are duly processed and timely receipting of goods and services in the ERP system.
3. Project Cash and Treasury Management Ensures effective project cash management systems focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Timely review of the monthly and quarterly cash flow requirement for the project to ensure sufficient funds on hand for disbursements.
- Weekly review of the Project cash balances in the Enterprise system to ensure adequate cash to meet the project’s payment and fund commitment needs. Primary contact with the project’s local bank management on routine operational matters.
- Timely and accurate approval of bank reconciliation of the project’s operational account, including documented review of exceptions.
- Timely preparation of monthly cash-flow forecasts for use by UNOPS Treasury to fund the local bank accounts.
- Timely reconciliation of FPs escrow accounts and the UNOPS operational pass through account.
4. Accounts and payments Ensures and is accountable for the following:
- Analysis and elaboration of proposals for the internal expenditures’ control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in ERP; travel claims and other entitlements are duly processed.
- Quality control of the account by performing ongoing review, analysis and reconciliation of accounts. Investigation of discrepancies and initiation of timely corrective actions on unposted vouchers, including the vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions, unapproved vouchers. Timely response to HQ requests to resolve project financial data issues.
- Control of the Accounts Receivables for UNOPS projects and follow up with partners on contributions, maintenance of the General Ledger.
- Assist Finance Specialist in preparing Interim Unaudited Financial Reports (IUFRs), in the prescribed format.
- Prepare and submit the Contribution’s Tranche requests, in prescribed format.
- Monitoring of financial exception reports for unusual activities, transactions and investigation of anomalies or unusual transactions;
- Ensuring proper maintenance of the Accounts Receivables for UNOPS projects and follow-up with partners on contributions, deposits creation in ERP and their application to AR pending items.
5. Team Management - Facilitate the engagement and provision of high quality results and services of the team supervised through effective recruitment, work planning, performance management, coaching, and promotion of learning and development.
- Provide oversight, ensuring compliance by team members with existing policies and best practices.
6. Knowledge building and knowledge sharing - Organize, facilitate and/or deliver training and learning initiatives for project personnel on finance related topics.
- Lead, approve and conduct initiatives on capacity development and knowledge building for project finance personnel, including network development, plans, learning plans and activities, finance practice information and best practice benchmarking.
- Oversee team’s contributions to finance knowledge networks and communities of practice including collaborative synthesis of lessons learnt and dissemination of best practices in human resources management.
- Guide team’s collection of feedback, ideas, and internal knowledge about processes and best practices and utilize productively.
Impact of Results The effective and successful achievement of results by the Finance Senior Analyst directly impact on the availability of UNOPS’ financial resources to effectively develop and implement the organization’s programmes and projects. It enhances the organization’s financial and programme performance, demonstrating UNOPS’ effective stewardship of donor and partner funds. These promote the credibility of the organization as an effective service provider in project services and management.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
a. Education
- Advanced university degree preferably in in Finance, Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, or relevant field;
- A bachelor’s degree with 4 additional years of relevant experience would be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University degree.
b. Work Experience - Minimum 2 years of progressively responsible professional experience in the financial management and accounting with responsibility for project accounting and preparation of financial statements in a computerized environment;
- experience with international organizations or UN in successfully managing infrastructure projects, in providing financial management advisory services and/or managing staff and operational systems;
- Good knowledge of UN financial regulations and rules; with special emphasis on application of IPSAS to financial reporting;
- Working knowledge of any reputable Enterprise Resource Planning Financial application is an asset;
- Solid computer skills, including proficiency in google suite.
c. Languages - Full knowledge of the working language is essential (English)