Finance Associate

The Finance Associate supports the preparation of UNDP's financial statements and reports, ensuring compliance with international accounting standards and internal controls. The role involves financial data analysis, audit support, and maintaining financial integrity within the organization.

Responsibilities

• Provides substantive support and leads aspects in the preparation of statutory and corporate financial reports, including financial statements, donor reports, executive board reports, and other financial reporting outputs.
• Leads the planning and execution of data collection and preparation of financial statements and notes, applying sound professional judgment in the interpretation and application of IPSAS standards.
• Prepares donor financial reports on revenue, expenditures, and related information, and proactively follows up with relevant UNDP units to resolve financial or programme-related issues and respond to donor queries.
• Prepares financial highlights, interim financial reports, and audit-related information, and performs analytical work and data analysis to support financial reporting and global process owners.
• Performs detailed analytical reviews of financial data and reports to identify, investigate, and resolve anomalies, ensuring accuracy and consistency of reported information.
• Ensures data integrity within the UNDP financial systems while assisting with the preparation and review of the general ledger and other related financial modules.
• Regularly monitors the financial dashboards and other financial reports to identify data errors, analyze Month on Month/Quarter on Quarter/Year on Year movement and collaborate with the respective Bureaux or business units or for follow-up and clearance to instill a strong internal control environment.
• Performs GL reconciliations and performs monthly/quarterly analysis of balance sheet accounts, ensuring significant issues are identified, resolved or escalated as needed.
• Maintains core accounting information (account, fund and donor), financial statement mapping, IPSAS trees and accounting templates and other master data as needed.
• Supports regular financial closure processes including module closure per schedule, data analytics relating to the financial statements, among others.
• Monitors compliance with financial procedures.
• Follows-up, reviews and monitors bureaus/Country Office submissions and account analyses and other financial information and summarized and prepares plan for resolving issues systematically.
• Liaises and communicates with GSSC teams, country offices, Regional Bureaus, HQ units and/or client Agencies (as appropriate) on corrective actions.
• Performs oversight support of assigned financial processes and accounts, reviewing the work of other units, as appropriate.
• Performs finance business processes mapping and elaboration of the content of policies and prepares/updates Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in Finance in consultation with FPMR management, proposing changes as required to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Assists in the development of system tools, reports, dashboards, and testing and user guides and training materials.
• Provides substantive accounting and transaction support across the finance function, contributing to accurate financial recording, reconciliations, and reporting in accordance with IPSAS and established policies and procedures.
• Manages accounting, billing, and reconciliation activities for assigned financial areas, including balance sheet and income statement accounts (e.g. MIP billing, investment accounting, GMS accounting), ensuring accuracy and timely resolution of issues.
• Prepares, validates, and reconciles financial data and supporting schedules for financial reporting, audit, actuarial, and management purposes, applying sound professional judgment within established frameworks.
• Proactively coordinates with shared services, country offices, policy units, and external service providers to investigate and resolve accounting queries and transaction issues, escalating complex matters as appropriate.
• Leads assigned internal and external audit activities by preparing documentation, data, and explanations, and responding to audit requests in a timely and accurate manner.
• Supports follow-up on audit observations by tracking actions, supporting remediation activities, and maintaining appropriate audit trails.
• Performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Requirements

• Completion of Secondary Education is required with specialized certification in accounting and/or Finance is required.
• University degree in Finance or Accounting is desirable.
• A professional accounting qualification (Fully Qualified) from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy is required.
• At least 7 years with a Secondary Education or 4 years with a Bachelor’s Degree, of experience in a financial management position(s) with large international organizations, required.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, with ability to work in and across teams.
• Experience with ERP systems and Excel, preferably Oracle Cloud ERP, is required.
• Collaborative team player with flexibility to work across global time zones.
• Experience in the preparation of Financial Statements is desirable.
• Audit experience in a public auditing firm will be an added advantage.
• Proven track record of a sound understanding of international accounting standards, preferably Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) utilized by international organizations will be an added advantage.
• Analytical capabilities with distinct knowledge of current analytical applications and tools is desirable.
• Fluency in English.

Skills

• Accounting Certification
• Professional Accountancy Qualification
• Finance Management
• ERP Systems
• Oracle Cloud Fusion ERP
• Excel
• Financial Statement Preparation
• Audit Experience
• International Accounting Standards
• Public Sector Accounting
• Financial Data Analysis
• Internal Controls
• Analytical Applications
• Financial Reporting

Languages

English