Finance and Budget Officer

The Finance and Budget Officer will provide financial and budgetary advice and management support to the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA). The role includes oversight of financial transactions, budget preparation and administration, and ensuring compliance with UN financial rules and regulations.

Responsibilities

• Provides advice to Chief of Mission Support and management in finance/budget matters and resource management, including planning, Results-Based Budgeting (RBB), resource requirement; expenditure control and performance management, oversight and evaluation; and accurate legislative mandate translation into programme budget.
• Approves all proposed obligations and expenditure for services, facilities, supplies and equipment expenses as well as those pertaining to personnel in accordance with appropriate UN financial rules/regulations, relevant appropriations and staffing tables and corresponding approved allotment.
• Provides advice and guidance to UNOCA management regarding UN financial rules, policies and procedures and authoritative interpretation of allocating internal/external costs.
• Coordinates and responds to OIOS and Audit observations relating to UNOCA.
• Contributes to the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Reviews and verifies the closing of monthly accounts and preparation of financial statements for submission to Headquarters.
• Verifies the data reported in the financial statements.
• Scrutinizes source documents for completeness, accuracy and validity of charges.
• Reviews and approves various vouchers and accounting transactions to ensure adherence to relevant staff rules, financial regulations and rules, guidelines or practices.
• Maintains internal control procedures to ensure vouchers are processed and correctly posted in Umoja.
• Investigates erroneous charges and takes appropriate corrective accounting actions.
• Reviews and verifies bank reconciliations on a monthly basis.
• Examines details of income, expenditure, assets and liability from accounting system in order to analyze and verify accuracy and validity of IPSAS-compliant statements.
• Examines the validity of requests for increases in petty cash levels; approve disbursement vouchers to replenish petty cash accounts.
• Approves the recording of obligations in Umoja.
• Serves as Approving Officer for the Finance Section.
• Monitors/reviews methods used to remit payments and supervises investigation of non-receipt of payments.
• Responsible for monitoring the transmittal of payments worldwide.
• Reviews incoming payment instructions with regard to banking details and sources of funds.
• Prepares payments for final disbursement.
• Monitors the dispatch of payment instructions and cheques to banks.
• Verifies receipts and deposit slips for all incoming funds.
• Assists staff members regarding queries on payment and deposit-related issues.
• Responsible for cash management, including preparing cash flow forecasts.
• Investigates complaints of non-receipt.
• Monitors cheque stock and cash receipt vouchers and requests for new stock as required.
• Provides support to managers with respect to the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions using the RBB framework.
• Reviews and analyze data with respect to the finalization of UNOCA cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements, including programmatic aspects.
• Reviews, analyses and provides input into finalization of programme budget/financial implications to the Security Council statements in light of additional mandates.
• Provides substantive support to relevant intergovernmental and expert bodies in their budget review; assists in securing approval from the General Assembly.
• Issues allotments, including redeployment of funds when necessary, ensuring appropriate expenditures.
• Monitors budget implementation and determines/recommends reallocation of funds when necessary.
• Monitors expenditures to ensure that they remain within authorized levels.
• Reviews all requisitions generated in UMOJA/SAP for goods and services to ensure correct objects of expenditure have been charged, ensuring availability of funds.
• Administers and monitors extra-budgetary resources, including review of agreements and cost plans, ensuring compliance with regulations and rules and established policies and procedures.
• Provides substantive support to intergovernmental and legislative bodies.
• Prepares budget performance reports, analyzing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Organizes and leads training sessions on budget preparation and administration for UNOCA with program managers; and on UMOJA funds management and payment processing for mission support/self-accounting units.
• Oversees the overall UNOCA IPSAS and Umoja implementation process.
• Keeps up to date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to programme and/or peacekeeping budgets, ensuring compliance with intergovernmental recommendations and decisions as well as with United Nations policies and procedures.
• Monitors and supervises the work of subordinate staff as required.
• Performs other related duties, as assigned.

Requirements

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or Doctorate degree, or equivalent) in Business Administration, Finance or related or related fields is required.
• A first-level degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the specified fields of studies with two additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Minimum of five (7) years of progressively responsible professional experience in finance, budget, administration, public administration, business administration, or related area is required.
• Experience in leading a Finance Section in Peacekeeping/SPM or international non-governmental organization, or the private sector is required.
• Relevant experience in budgetary and financial administration working in a United Nations common system field operation (inclusive of peacekeeping, political missions and UN agencies, funds, and programmes) - or similar international organization or non-governmental organization environment is required.
• English is required at UN Level II for reading, writing, listening and speaking.
• French is desirable at UN Level II for reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Skills

• Finance Management
• Budget Preparation
• Budget Administration
• Financial Transactions Oversight
• UN Financial Rules
• Finance Section Leadership
• Public Administration
• Business Administration
• Peacekeeping Finance
• International Organization Finance
• Financial Reporting
• Financial Analysis
• Financial Planning
• Financial Control
• UN Common System Experience

Languages

English, French