Finance Associate

The Finance Associate is responsible for executing a wide range of financial services and administrative processes in the UN Women South Africa Country Office, ensuring compliance with organizational financial rules and promoting a client-oriented approach. The role involves budget preparation, financial monitoring, audit participation, and providing finance support to programme and operations teams.

Responsibilities

• Implement financial strategies and adapt processes and procedures in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems.
• Perform duties in full compliance with UN Women financial regulations and rules, policies and standard operating procedures, including internal controls.
• Keep abreast of and ensure full compliance with amendments to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
• Review and verify financial transactions, activities, and documentation; take corrective actions as needed and report any unusual activities.
• Monitor financial exceptions reports for unusual activities or transactions, investigate anomalies and report to the supervisor conclusions and/or present recommendations for actions/decisions.
• Collect, verify and present information and data for use in the planning of financial resources and the formulation of the Country Office programme of work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements and execution modalities.
• Provide assistance in Annual Work Plan entry in Results Management System (RMS) as required.
• Provide advice and recommend solutions to a wide range of financial issues.
• Monitor the proper functioning of the financial resources management system for office and programmatic budgets and resources.
• Implement and monitor cost saving and reduction strategies.
• Review with Budget owners and Project Managers the Project Delivery Status Reports and investigate any overspend.
• Respond to instructions from the Deputy Director of Financial Management or Finance Section in relation to financial transactions and undertake timely corrective actions.
• Participate as a member of the Country office team in the internal and external audits of the Country Offices.
• Follow-up on audit recommendations to monitor implementation of corrective actions.
• Actively promote a client-oriented finance service to the Country offices.
• Prepare and administer the CO budgets in full compliance of UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems.
• Formulate the budget, control allotments, monitor expenditures, and prepare revisions according to the needs of the CO.
• Track the appropriate and timely use of financial resources.
• Prepare cost recovery documents or bills for the services provided by UN Women to other programmes or organizations.
• Create projects in Quantum, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds.
• Ensure the maintenance of the control mechanism for development projects through monitoring budgets preparation and modifications and budgetary status.
• Maintain internal expenditure control system.
• Undertake corrective actions on un-posted vouchers, including vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions and unapproved vouchers.
• Prepare VAT reimbursements with adequate documentation support, as necessary.
• Input data in Quantum and monitor status and keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely action and/or decisions.
• Manage petty cash fund.
• Assist Project Managers with budget re-phrasal as required.
• Provide finance support to the Programme and Operations teams.
• Review accounts receivables for UN Women projects and follow-up with project managers and finance section at country office and/or headquarters on contributions, deposits creation in Quantum and their application to AR pending items.
• Prepare PO and non-PO vouchers for development projects.
• Prepare General Ledger journal entries from proper supporting documents authorized by the budget owners and project managers.
• Review transactions in Quantum, ensure payroll, travel claims, MPOs, and other entitlements are processed.
• Monitor the setup of budgets in Quantum to ensure they are in accordance with budgets agreed with donors and are input into Quantum at the detailed Activity ID level.
• Monitor each month’s over-expenditure of budgets and follow up with Budget Owner.
• Monitor regularly transactions posted to projects ensuring actual expenditure has been recorded against correct budget category and activity, take timely corrective actions as required.
• Maintain proper follow up of advances to implementing partners, review their financial reports together with project managers.
• Monitor the financial status and implement control mechanisms for management/development projects.
• Monitor and proper follow up of all the financial items in Month-end and Year-end closure instructions status and take correction actions as required.
• Keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely actions/decisions and review status reports for quality control.
• Provide information input to financial reports for Country Office, HQ Finance and stakeholders.
• Finalize mandated financial reports to donors and other clients and stakeholders.
• Associate revenue and expenditure in commitment control for non-core projects.
• Provide input and take necessary actions to facilitate timely financial project closure.
• Support financial donor reporting by providing timely information and taking necessary actions as required by UN Women Virtual Global Service Centre for financial donor reporting.
• Assist with preparation for Audit of Projects and Partners by third party audit firm and follow-up on audit recommendations to ensure implementation of corrective actions.
• Provide administrative support to Resource Mobilization including compiling and processing information from donors, CO, and programme team.
• Prepare drafts for cost sharing agreements including conditions of contributions within resource mobilization efforts and follow up on contributions within the CO resource mobilization efforts.
• Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing by conducting training and/or helping organize training events and activities.
• Collect and compile lessons learned and best practices in financial management and services and disseminate to clients and stakeholders as appropriate to build capacity and knowledge.
• Contribute to financial business operational practices and management innovations.
• Supervise and guide staff and personnel under responsibility, provide technical guidance and monitor performance to ensure delivery of results according to plans and standards of accountability and performance.
• Undertake all trainings in relation to financial management provided, including webinars from headquarters.
• Perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Requirements

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Specialized national or international certification in accounting and finance is an asset.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting is an asset.
• Successful completion of UN Women Accounting and Finance Test is required as part of the selection process.
• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in finance.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, and experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Skills

• Accounting
• Financial Reporting
• Budget Preparation
• Financial Monitoring
• Audit Participation
• Finance Support
• Office Applications
• Spreadsheet Management
• Database Management
• Web-based Management Systems
• ERP Systems
• Oracle Cloud
• UN Women Accounting and Finance Test

Languages

English