Finance Associate

This vacancy is designed to specifically recruit professionals who are nationals of Sri Lanka.



UNOPS Sri Lanka Office 

UNOPS has supported Sri Lanka’s development since 1998, expanding operations in 2005 to support the post-tsunami response and reconstruction process. Within the organization's mandate in project management, infrastructure and procurement, UNOPS Sri Lanka implements socio-economic development projects that benefit vulnerable people and develop national capacities. Achievements in Sri Lanka include the development of sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure, procurement services and capacity building and project management in education, fisheries, roads, health, water supply systems and integrated solid waste management sectors. UNOPS works closely with government counterparts and communities to ensure increased ownership, sustainability and accountability of Projects. Key projects in Sri Lanka include the Technical Project Management support for the Maternal and Newborn Health Care Strengthening Project in Matara District, Sri Lanka funded by KOICA.UNOPS Sri Lanka also facilitated over $22 million worth of procurement of COVID-19 protection equipment and services in partnership with the World Bank, the Government of Japan, and the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund.

Job Specific Information 

The Finance Associate will assist the Senior Finance Officer in monitoring and reporting on the financial aspects of the UNOPS and MoH portions of the grant as a whole. Working with the PIU to ensure that finances are streamlined and monitored in a systematic manner for ease of tracking and reporting. 

Under the direct supervision of the HIQI Senior Finance Officer and the Project Manager, the Finance Associate provides day-to-day tracking and monitoring of budget lines, ensuring that compliance has been followed, and maintains oversight of the project’s financial activities.

Project Information: The Health Information Quality Improvement (HIQI) Project 

The HIQI project is implemented under the Ministry of Health Sri Lanka. The project is funded by the Global Fund by the direction of the Government of Germany who transferred a foreign debt owed by Sri Lanka to Germany into a grant under a debt2health scheme. The total grant amount is US$25 million; UNOPS implementation value is approximately US$6,800,000. The project as a whole is in its third year of implementation under the MoH; UNOPS has been requested to assist with bringing the project back on track. The HIQI project will undertake the digital transformation of the MoH by procuring and installing hardware at the Health Information Unit at the Ministry and across 30 pilot hospitals in Sri Lanka. The project will conduct networking, interconnectivity and interoperability activities as well. The project has multiple components and entities managed at the MoH by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU). The Senior Finance Officer will work closely with the Project Implementation Unit at MoH and the UNOPS project team in the finance management and reporting aspects of the HIQI Project as a whole. The digitization scope begins centrally at the MoH and will interlink and expand to 30-50 government hospitals. The project will involve stakeholders from the public and private IT sector in Sri Lanka and internationally and will closely involve the HIU, the lead in this process, along with identified government hospitals earmarked for digitization.   

The Global Fund 

The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) is a partnership of Governments, civil society, technical agencies, the private sector and people affected by the three diseases; that pools the World’s resources to invest strategically in programmes to end the HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria as epidemics. As an international organization, the GF mobilizes and invests more than USD 4 billion annually to support disease control programmes in more than 100 priority low and middle income countries.

The Global Fund uses a system of performance-based funding, whereby each grant disbursement may be reduced, suspended, or canceled due to poor grant performance. Funds are released to beneficiary countries upon review of results and once the Global Fund is satisfied with both the programmatic and financial performance.  

The Global Fund is a valued Partner to the Government of Sri Lanka. Since 2002, Sri Lanka has benefitted from GF support in excess of USD 110 million as a contribution to national programmes for the control of the three diseases. The GF resources have been invested in disease control advocacy, prevention and management interventions. 

The Global Fund Operating Context in Sri Lanka 

The in-country structures involved in the implementation of Global Fund grants comprise: 

1) Sri Lanka Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) – is a country- level public-private partnership and whose role is, among others, to coordinate the development of Concept Note(s) to the Global Fund for relevant Programme(s) based on priority needs at the national level; nominate Principal Recipients and oversee the implementation of Programme Activities 

2) Principal Recipient (PR)/Grantee – The Ministry of Health (MOH)) is the in-country institution that is legally responsible for programme administration, results and financial accountability in accordance with the Grant Agreement. MOH has signed the Grant Agreements with the Global Fund for the following grants LKA-T-MOH, LKA-S-MOH, LKA-H-MOH. The key functions of the PR comprise Grant management and implementation, partnership coordination, technical coordination, procurement and supply chain management oversight, financial management, and monitoring and reporting. 

3) Sub-Recipients (SR) – This is a recipient who receives Grant Funds directly or indirectly from the PR and undertakes to implement certain Programme Activities. For the current Grants executed by The National Treasury, the SRs are The Family Planning Association (FPA) of Sri Lanka . 

4) Local Fund Agent (LFA) – A Local Fund Agent provides assurance to the Global Fund in countries where Global Fund grants are implemented. The LFA is engaged by the Global Fund to provide oversight, verification and/or reporting services to the Global Fund concerning Program implementation in Sri Lanka. The current LFA is Deloitte Advisory Services (Pvt) Ltd.

Summary of Key Functions:

1. Administration of budgets and cost-recovery system

2. Accounting. Payments, Payroll  

3. Office cash management

4. Knowledge building and Knowledge sharing

• Completion of secondary school is required. 
• A Bachelor's or first University Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Public Administration, or a related discipline is desirable but not required.
• A relevant certification in financial management, such as CPA, CIMA, or ACCA, is a distinct advantage.

• A minimum of 6 years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, business administration, or a related field is required.
• Proficiency with Google Suite or MS Office, as well as experience in financial management using electronic systems, is preferred.
• Experience within the UN or government entity is an advantage.

Contract type:  ICA (Individual Contractor Agreement)
Contract level: Local ICA Support 6
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

This vacancy is designed to specifically recruit professionals who are nationals of Sri Lanka.


For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx 

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses ( they take around 4 hours to complete)  in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.