Finance Associate

The Finance Associate supports financial resource management by monitoring assets, processing invoices, ensuring proper allocation of expenses, and assisting with financial reporting and reconciliation in accordance with IOM rules and regulations. The role involves close coordination with finance and administrative staff and supports project financial management and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Assist in managing financial resources by monitoring and controlling assets, reserves, funds, supplies, etc. in accordance with IOM rules and regulations.
• Extract and input data from various sources in financial or accounting systems. Review and process invoices and review requests for payments submitted in WAVE Oracle System.
• Perform quality assurance of the charges to project line items and ensure the proper usage of GL accounts and project budget lines (or WBL). Ensure that expenses are correctly allocated to projects consistent with IOM's projectization criteria.
• Reviews all types of vendor payments starting from purchases to payment requests verifying that they are duly authorized, and all the supporting documents are attached therewith.
• Provide assistance to all staff services such as travel, expense claims, document retrieval, WAVE invoice, etc.
• Ensure proper and systematic completion of all posted payments and other accounting documents according to the established standards. Process the accounting and financial transactions in the IOM accounting system (WAVE), in accordance with IOM financial rules and practices. Ensure that entries are supported with approved documentations.
• Assist with invoice reconciliation for all purchases of the office, including air tickets, baggage charges, and credit card transactions. Ensure that all credit card charges are supported with duly signed credit card authorization forms and record the same to the relevant GL account and project budgets lines.
• Assist in providing guidance to staff related to accounting and treasury payments.
• Assist in the financial management of locally implemented projects, including accounting, budget monitoring, and preparation of financial reports to ensure accurate tracking of project expenditures and compliance with internal policies. Provide ongoing support to Project Managers on the periodic review of budgets, proposing necessary adjustments to prevent cost overruns, and ensuring timely and efficient use of funds throughout the project lifecycle.
• Assist in the preparation of financial reports in compliance with donor agreements, ensuring accuracy and completeness, and coordinate with headquarters and administrative centres for review and formal endorsement.
• In coordination with the Senior Finance Associate and the National Resource Management Officer, SRMO, project developers and managers, review, verify, and update the financial and budgetary information of newly created project proposals and project revisions in PRIMA.
• Assist in performing financial analyses and reconciliation of and account balances and providing response to Regional Accounting Support in Panama.
• Monitor and perform follow up of any outstanding vendor accounts on a regular basis, especially those that are more than sixty days old.
• Review treasury transactions, generate bank reports and coordinate to bank approvers for payment authorization.
• Perform regular bank reconciliation, monitor outstanding checks and coordinate to bank account representative to stop and cancel long overdue checks.
• Assist in check issuance and maintenance of the office check registry.
• Perform period-end activities including monthly and yearly accounts closure. Assist in review and clearance of suspense, transit and clearing accounts.
• Assist the implementing the IOM Financial Management Rules and Procedures (FMRP) by applying the required internal control mechanisms and recommend/implement improvements in internal controls and accounting practices based on FMRP, International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), and best business practices.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finances, or related field with three years of relevant professional experience; or, High School diploma with five years of relevant experience
• Accredited Universities are those listed in the UNESCO World Higher Education Database.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, E-mail, Outlook.
• Attention to detail, ability to organize paperwork in a methodical way.
• Discrete, details and clients-oriented, patient and willingness to learn new things.
• Ability to work with national and international institutions.
• Ability to prepare clear and concise report.
• Demonstrated ability to and exercise sound judgment.
• Sound knowledge IOM's administrative, budgetary, financial, and business rules and practices
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills.
• Fluent in English (oral and written)
• Working knowledge in other languages is desirable.

Skills

• Financial Resource Management
• Invoice Processing
• Expense Allocation
• Financial Reporting
• Financial Reconciliation
• Budgetary Rules Knowledge
• Administrative Procedures
• MS Word
• MS Excel
• MS PowerPoint
• Microsoft Outlook
• Report Preparation
• Client Relations
• Negotiation Skills
• Sound Judgment
• Coordination with Finance Staff

Languages

English