Under the direct supervision of the Finance Manager, the Finance Associate will ...
Under the direct supervision of the Finance Manager, the Finance Associate will provide financial and administrative support to the timely processing, recording, monitoring, and maintaining of financial transactions and accounts relating to payments and receipts in accordance with UNOPS’ financial rules, regulations, policies, and processes.
Summary of Key Functions:
- Implementation of operational strategies
- Budgetary and project costing support
- Payments and treasury operations
- Financial reporting, accounting and control
- Knowledge building and knowledge sharing
Ensures implementation of operational strategies, adapts processes and procedures focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Full compliance with rules and regulations of financial processes, financial records and reports and audit follow up; implementation of the effective internal control framework.
- Support to maintain financial oversight in compliance with policies, guidelines and internal control procedures for all financial and the related transactions.
- Elaboration of the content of internal Standard Operating Procedures in Finance in consultation with the support services and projects teams.
- Provision of inputs for implementation of cost-saving and reduction strategies in consultation with the finance, support services and project teams.
- Assists in the planning and coordinating projects and office internal audit activities including implementation of recommendation and submission for closure.
- Supports the monitoring and advice on projects financial status (including pending and approved budgets; contributions balances and contributions already expended).
- Routine monitoring of financial exception reports for unusual activities, transactions, and investigation of anomalies or unusual transactions.
Ensures efficient budgetary and project costing support, focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Information gathering for budget preparation and participates in the identification of project and administrative budgetary requirements.
- Supports the preparation of budgets, regular analysis and reporting on budget and delivery; monitoring of expenditures against budget allotments and reporting on variances;
- Assists the projects to ensure budgets are prepared in accordance with established procedures, ERP protocols and partner budgetary guidelines.
- Coordinate with portfolio teams the preparation and consolidation of cash-flow forecast ensuring inputs are extracted from updated cash-flow plans and projects activity plans.
- Maintenance of budget databases by verifying and entering approved budgets.
- Assist on continuous monitoring of budgetary allocations and contact with projects and partners to strengthen budget management and take corrective actions when required.
- Support the monitoring of financial targets for the projects and portfolios including monitoring of administrative budget as well as planning and adjustment of expenditures.
- Support on project closure activities focusing on financial aspects including liaising with finance HQ to clear balance sheet accounts and issue final financial statements.
- Track cost recovery of locally managed direct costs for personnel and non-personnel and where required to prepare journal entries on quarterly basis to book costs to projects.
- Keeps contact with projects and finance HQ to verify, correct, add and improve quality of financial activities of a particular project or portfolio including financial reports and audits;
- Reconciliation of expenditures and preparation of various financial and statistical reports;
- Discussion of concerns with the projects teams when required, so that timely corrective actions are taken on budget and financial reporting aspects;
Provides support in accounting, payments, treasury operations and administrative support, focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Review and confirm appropriateness of operational transactions processed through interpretation and determination of applicable UNOPS policies and Financial rules and regulations.
- Review of payment requests for completeness prior to processing, ensuring that documentation needed are complete and that all required procedures are fulfilled to enable the payment approval by relevant finance delegation of authority.
- Ensures payment requests are properly obligated; control of supporting documentation; preparation of vouchers; pay cycle and entry of transactions and financial data in the ERP.
- Support in banking activities in compliance with local financial and banking regulations. Frequent contact with the local bank to obtain day-to-day information;
- Support in the monitoring of bank accounts and balances to ensure existence of sufficient funds and prepare requests for replenishment and recording receipt of funds in the ERP.
- Assist in the preparation of bank reconciliation where requested by finance HQ.
- Undertake corrective actions on unposted vouchers, including budget check errors, match exceptions, unapproved vouchers. Timely response to HQ to resolve financial data issues;
- Support monitoring of Accounts Receivables and follow up with projects and partners.
- Performs periodical petty cash counts. Reviews requests for petty cash establishment prior to submission for approval. Reviews requests and expenditure reports for replenishment;
- Review requests for operational advances and pre-payments by ensuring complete documentations are included for approval. Reviews requests and expenditures reports for settlement / clearance or replenishment;
- Ensures timely submission of compliance reports such as advances, petty cash to HQ
- Ensure maintenance of file including electronic filing system for all financial records and documentation
Ensures effective financial reporting and control, focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Support to coordinate with project managers tracking the preparation and submission of financial reports and statements to partners inline with signed project agreements.
- Reviewing financial statements and financial reports issued by HQ and respond to queries and observations from the project teams, funding source, clients and donors;
- Reviewing financial management reports for submission to external project Audit and Finance Committees, Boards and Partners for certification by the Finance Manager.
- Assist to prepare interim financial statements and financial management reports for approval to partners in compliance with established reporting requirements.
- Preparation of recurring, ad-hoc or special financial reports as required.
- Prepare analysis and reports, investigate and prepare adjustment as required.
- Assist to coordinate with finance, support services and project teams in the quarterly and end year books closure including submission of reports and documentations to finance HQ.
- Communication with projects and partners on areas requiring verification, corrections, additional information, etc. to improve quality of financial activities and reports.
Ensures facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing, focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Support to organize, facilitate and/or deliver training and learning initiatives for personnel on finance-related topics such as setting projects, budget revisions, troubleshooting and financial processes on day to day financial transactions, reporting and other related tasks.
- Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
- Contribute feedback, ideas, and internal knowledge about processes and best practices and utilize productively.
- Synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices in financial management and oversight.