Finance Assistant, G5 at United Nations Regional Service Centre Entebbe

Job Description

Responsibilities
• Within delegated authority, the Finance Assistant is responsible for the following functions:
• Assists with the processing of non-travel related commercial vendors’ invoices and payments to vendors providing goods or services to all RSCE Client Missions (processing invoices resulting from commitments such as purchase orders, fund commitments, direct expenditures, medical clinic invoices and replenishment of petty cash.
Assist in the development of the Service Line’s annual budget development program, particularly with respect to the establishment of major resourcing priorities, and prepare cost estimates and budget proposals, in line with the Service Line’s resourcing requirements.
• Review, analyze and revise data with respect to the finalization of the budget proposals as well as Result Based Budgeting inputs.
• Prepares staff members’ entitlements including claims, danger pay, daily subsistence allowance, mission subsistence allowance for Government Provided Personnel, Civilian
• Police and Staff Officers, volunteer living allowance and any other allowances for payments in conformity and adherence to applicable United Nations policies e.g., staff rules, financial regulations and rules, ST/AI issuances or practices, IPSAS policy framework etc.
Assists in the review of completeness of documentation supporting invoices and payment requests; Process vendors payments in Umoja after verification of accuracy and consistency with Purchase Order and Goods Receipt/Service Certification; Advise Vendors, Procurement,
• SAU, R&I, etc. of any missing documentation or anomalies that may delay payment within one business day; Make close follow up to obtain missing documentation; Maintain record of pending issues, update case files weekly; Respond to queries from Vendors, Procurement, SAU, R&I, etc. ; Measure performance against established KPI’s; vendor open items monthly.
• Assists in the verification of transfers to other house banks, imprest payment and preparation of statement, as well as preparation of remittance requests to UNHQ and projection of offcycle payments to UNMISS; Answering queries from staff members, vendors, missions, other house banks; Keeping accurate records for the purpose of auditing, and performance reports.
• Process Assignment Grants, Relocation Grants, and DSA payments. Approve and create profile in Progen for payroll.
• Prepare advance payment request; Initiate BP requests; Process daily allowances for TCCs /
• PCCs (Troop Contributing Countries and Police Contributing Countries); Process MSA; Process final and withheld payments (as well as recoveries); Payment of DHL invoices;
• Release payroll, and payments for entitlements.
• Perform other duties as and when required by the Supervisor.

Competencies
• Professionalism – Ability to identify issues, formulate opinions, draw conclusions and recommendations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
• Client Orientation – Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
• Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; Uses time efficiently.

Education
• High School Diploma or equivalent is required.
• Job Specific Qualifications
• An additional qualification or certification in finance, accounting, or audit is desirable.
• Work Experience
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in financial management, administrative services or related area is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to three (3) for candidates who possess a first level degree or higher.
• Experience in administration of a broad range of Allowances and Payments using Systems
• Applications and Products (SAP) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software e.g. Umoja or similar is required.
• Experience in application of UN or other similar international organization Financial Rules and Regulations in an operational environment is desirable.
• Experience in a shared service center or similar setup is desirable.

Languages
• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the advertised post, fluency in English, oral and written is required; Knowledge of French is desirable.
• Assessment
• Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice
• This position is temporarily available until 30 June 2024. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.
• While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.
• This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15.
• Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.
• Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as “retirement.” Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.
• This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations
• Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.
• The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff.
• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
• Staff Members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures