Finance Assistant (Open to Indian Nationals Only)

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women’s Office, based in New Delhi, India, works to accelerate the advancement of gender equality and the empowerment of women through the strengthening of strategic partnerships, technical and policy advisory services and advocacy with governmental, inter-governmental and civil society partners. In addition, UN Women CO is charged with leading and coordinating the UN system’s work on gender equality, including through ensuring accountability for results.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Operations Manager, the Finance Assistant is responsible for helping ensure the provision and the execution of finance and accounting services, and the effective and transparent utilization of financial resources. The incumbent promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations.

The Finance Assistant works in close collaboration with the Programme and Operations teams in the India CO, Regional Offices  and also UN Women HQ for resolving together financial-related issues, and to ensure consistent service delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

• Provision of payment services and bookkeeping of accounting transactions;
• Support to Cash Advance to Implementing Partners (IPs);
• Support to month-end and year-end closures;
• Provision of other finance-related services and supports;
• Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing, and guidance to all stakeholders on financial matters.

Provision of payments and bookkeeping of accounting transactions:

• Timely and accurate processing of payments with full compliance with UN Women rules & regulations.
• Daily and weekly review and monitoring of outstanding payment requests and outstanding vouchers in order to ensure payments are made timely within required timeline.
• Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and posted in Quantum; travel claims, and other entitlements are duly processed.
• Handling and resolving budget check issue/errors in payment and accounting processes thru investigation of root causes and coordination for corrective actions to be taken by relevant project/programme colleagues.
• Timely corrections and adjustments thru GLJE & APJV for accounting entries relating to works under responsibilities, when required.
• Review payment requests from Country Offices prior to obtain approval.
• Proper control of the supporting documents for payments and financial reports to projects; preparation of all types of vouchers.
• Calculation and allocation to projects on office rent and other recurring office expenses, based on office space arrangement and no. of headcount.
• Recording of Cost recovery charged from UNDP
• Management of cash receipts. Money received are timely recorded and deposited to UNDP Bank.
• Maintenance of the proper filing system for finance records and documents.

Support to Cash Advance to Implementing Partners (IPs):

• Proper and timely processing payment of RP/IP Advances to NGOs, Government Partners and UN Agencies, in accordance with UN Women policy and internal control framework.
• Provision of guidance to programme colleagues and IP partners on the preparation of Financial Report (FACE) in accordance with UN Women procedures.
• Review of financial report (FACE) received from partner, and its supporting documents. Ensure verification of FACE supporting documents duly done by programme team in accordance with respective partner risk rating. Ensure correctness and validity of expenditures reported on FACE thru sample check of FACE supporting documents.
• Provision of support to programme team in verification of FACE supporting documents when required, e.g. jointly perform the verification with programme colleagues.
• Recording liquidation of RP/IP advance as expenditures based on FACE verified and approved by UN Women in accordance with UN Women policies and procedures.
• Keeping proper tracking of outstanding advances and aged items; prompt follow up of Financial Reports (FACE) not yet submitted.
• Maintaining auditable records of all expenditure reviewed against source documents by Implementing Partner and project.
• Proper filing of the supporting documents of financial report (FACE) with relevant payment vouchers and APJVs
• Provision of information and data as requested by auditors including preparation of FACE-to-QUANTUM reconciliation for project selected for audit.

Support to month-end and year-end closures:

• Reconciliation of balance sheet accounts including petty cash, staff advance, staff receivable, Petrol advance and other accounts under responsibility.
• Timely follow-up and clearance of outstanding items in balance sheet accounts, including passing APJV to clear residual balance caused by foreign exchange rate difference.
• Coordination with petty cash custodians in project offices for timely completion of monthly petty cash reconciliation and replenishment.
• Sample surprise check of petty cash held by project offices.
• Supporting month-end and year-end closure through report preparation and submission including e.g. petty cash reconciliation, clearance of staff advance, travel claim monitoring, review and monitoring of receipt accrual and payment voucher status.

Provision of other finance-related services and supports:

• Review and Approval of suppliers in Quantum for the Country Office and other Country Offices in the Asia & the Pacific region, when needed.
• Serving as petty cash custodian & focal point for the Country Office
• Review of telephone expenses and obtain certification of personal usage from staff. Ensure personal usage are paid timely and money received are timely deposited and properly recorded.
• Monitoring of travel advance, claims and settlements through preparation and maintenance of travel claim monitoring sheet. Record submission of F10 claims against advances. Overpaid DSA being followed up and paid timely by individual staff.
• Review of GLJEs and their supporting documents prepared by other Country offices to ensure accuracy and completeness.  
• Serving as an Alternate ARGUS focal point/ IDAM for Quantum access.
• Maintaining record of invoices that are eligible for VAT exemption and work closely with Administrative Associate for submission of documents to UNDP for obtaining VAT exemption certificates.  

Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing, and guidance to all stakeholders on financial related matters:

• Handling adhoc inquiries on payments, FACE preparation and verification, and other financial processes and transactions under responsibility.
• Orienting New Petty Cash Custodians on “Petty Cash Management”.
• Supporting training to staff in UN Women and Implementing Partners on procedures and practices related to financial processes and services under responsibility.
• Contributing to lessons learned and best practices in Finance area, in support of the knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Impact of Results:

The key results have an impact on effective operational management and implementation of programmes. Accurate analysis and presentation of information enhances UN Women’s position as a strong development partner. The information provided facilitates decision making of the management.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Functional Competencies:

• Thorough knowledge of financial rules and regulations and accounting principles.
• Excellent knowledge and application skills of IT tools and management systems.
• Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems.
• Good analytical skills and results orientation.
• Client oriented approach to work.
• Skills to manage relationships and communicate.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Completion of secondary education is required. University degree (or equivalent) in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or related field is an asset.

Experience:

• 5 years of progressively responsible experience in accounting, finance or programme support
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages.
• Experience in the use of web-based ERP financial system (i.e. SAP, QUANTUM, PeopleSoft, Oracle, etc.) is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Hindi is required
• Knowledge of the other UN working knowledge is an asset.

Interested applicants should apply to this vacancy announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Application Information:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from 
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
• UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

Inclusion Statement:

• At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.
• If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.
• UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (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.)

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.