Senior Finance and Budget Assistant (Multiple)

The Senior Finance and Budget Assistant supports budgeting, accounting, payroll and benefits administration, and general financial management functions within the United Nations Office at Nairobi. The role involves preparation and monitoring of budgets, processing financial documents, payroll auditing, and team leadership responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Preparation of cost estimates and budget proposals for regular budget and extra-budgetary resources under UNON Administration.
• Monitor budget implementation and performance and recommend reallocation of funds as necessary.
• Ensure requisitions for goods and services align with authorized budgets, organizational priorities and UN financial rules and regulations.
• Review requests for creation and extension of positions and recruitment.
• Assist in execution of cost recovery and support collection of receivables.
• Perform certifying functions of financial transactions as per delegation.
• Process financial documents in line with financial rules, regulations and IPSAS requirements.
• Lead preparation of Annual and Interim IPSAS Financial Statements ensuring accuracy and completeness.
• Act as Local Process Expert for IPSAS reporting and donor financial reporting processes.
• Review and analyze accounting data and financial statements and prepare reports.
• Perform reconciliations of complex data per client requirements.
• Scrutinize supporting documents for completeness, accuracy and validity.
• Verify accuracy of postings and process corrections.
• Analyze and monitor Open Item Managed accounts in ERP system and initiate corrective action.
• Perform approval functions of financial transactions as per delegation.
• Provide inputs and recommendations on financial performance, risks and resource utilization.
• Provide functional guidance on Umoja processes including troubleshooting and corrective actions.
• Perform payroll comparison and data validation; prepare payroll data for monthly uploads.
• Audit accounting transactions such as payroll, education grants, final payments, income tax returns to ensure correctness and adherence to rules.
• Provide information to Pension Fund participants and prepare year-end pension schedules.
• Monitor insurance transactions including for participants on non-Headquarter payroll.
• Serve as Lead Payroll Processor approving off cycle requests and running monthly payroll.
• Perform supervisory functions as team leader and First Reporting Officer.
• Prepare and analyze reports to identify anomalies and recommend corrective actions.
• Perform data extraction and prepare reports for management review.
• Respond to queries and draft correspondence related to budgetary and financial matters.
• Ensure accurate and complete accounting, reporting and internal control systems.
• Maintain relevant records and audit trails.
• Provide day to day management, supervision, training and guidance to General Services staff.
• Inspire team to translate unit vision into results and serve as role model.
• Assist in planning unit and team work plans and monitor performance.
• Assist with data collection, analysis, presentations and knowledge management.
• Assist with visualizations and updating information materials such as SOPs and web pages.
• Lead presentations and technical articles to clients where applicable.
• Serve as knowledge retention and quality assurance focal point for the team.
• Perform other related duties as required by Section or Unit Chief.

Requirements

• Completion of secondary education/ high school diploma is required.
• A recognized accountancy qualification (e.g. Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA)) is desirable.
• Supplemental courses/ training in finance, administration, project management or related field is required.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of working experience in payroll, finance, budget or related area is required.
• The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to eight (8) years for candidates who possess a first-level University degree.
• Experience with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and finance system such as Oracle or SAP is desirable.
• Experience with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) is desirable.
• Experience with integrated business processes, data analytics and reporting is desirable.
• One (1) year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.
• English is required at UN Level II proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Skills

• Payroll Management
• Budget Preparation
• Financial Reporting
• Accounting
• Payroll Audit Support
• Benefits Administration
• Enterprise Resource Planning
• Oracle
• SAP
• International Public Sector Accounting Standards
• Data Analytics
• Integrated Business Processes
• Project Management
• Finance System Management
• Financial Document Processing

Languages

English