Finance Specialist

The Finance Specialist supports the Finance Advisor in maintaining a robust control environment, ensuring financial integrity and excellence in client-facing performance. The role manages project and office financial operations, ensuring compliance with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations, IPSAS standards, and donor requirements, while strengthening financial management capacity across projects and teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop Finance/Budget annual work plan, setting priorities and planning work in line with corporate goals and business planning process for NYO projects.
• Monitor and analyze the operating environment to ensure agility, risk management and quick readjustment of operations.
• Reduce reputational risk by ensuring NYO's financial reporting requirements are met.
• Lead internal and external audit exercises and accountability for financial audit recommendations.
• Contribute to corporate strategy requirements and recommendations made by Finance Group.
• Drive finance function initiatives to ensure added value and optimal support across NYO.
• Contribute specialist financial knowledge to long-term strategy of NYO's business efficiencies.
• Ensure financial records are maintained and available for client review.
• Lead revision of LSS models and manage financial conversations with clients regarding cost recovery.
• Support monthly administration budget monitoring and communicate deviations.
• Lead financial closure activities ensuring all activities conclude within agreed financial limits.
• Ensure timely initiation of project financial closure activities.
• Verify Final Financial Reports for accurate and timely closure of client projects, request corrections as needed, and ensure compliance with UNOPS rules and partner-reporting requirements.
• Support project audit/verification activities.
• Review and release internal project budgets and budget revisions.
• Verify supporting documentation for advance financing requests and mitigate financial risks.
• Track project budgets and conduct variance analyses to identify risks.
• Ensure recovery of advance financing and escalate unrecoverable cases.
• Process refunds/transfer of surplus project cash balances based on approved Final Financial Reports.
• Liaise with Finance Group colleagues for exceptional financial closure processes.
• Provide support through tools and reports on project financial closure and reporting performance.
• Serve as a "third line of defense" regarding payroll payments compliance.
• Support establishment and implementation of expenditure control framework.
• Propose solutions to resolve financial reporting and closure issues.
• Advise management on financial accountability mechanisms including full-cost recovery and spending limit oversight.
• Prepare, review and analyze financial reports for management and donors ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Support preparation of client financial statements and interim financial reports.
• Develop and maintain financial dashboards and reporting tools.
• Act as main point of contact for clients’ financial queries.
• Coordinate with clients to ensure data collection and reporting follow agreed formats and timelines.
• Contribute to annual financial closure process ensuring account reconciliation and compliance.
• Serve as Officer-in-Charge when Finance Advisor is unavailable.
• Participate in strategic meetings providing financial guidance.
• Ensure financial strategies align with project priorities and donor expectations.
• Foster knowledge building by sharing best practices and contributing to financial SOP development.
• Assist in training colleagues on project finance management.
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or other disciplines with 7 years of relevant experience OR a master's degree (or equivalent) in any of the above disciplines with 5 years of relevant experience is required.
• Professional certification (e.g. CPA, ACCA, CA, CIMA) is desired.
• Knowledge of IPSAS or other international accounting standards is desired.
• Relevant experience working in project financial management, budgeting, cash management and financial reporting, or related areas.
• Demonstrable proficiency in the use of collaboration and productivity tools (e.g. MS Office, G-Suite, etc) and web-based management systems.
• Familiarity with digital technologies and their application in process optimization and automation is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with UNOPS or other UN policies, processes, tools and systems is an asset.
• Experience in people management is highly desirable.
• Applicants with Non-UN experience are encouraged to apply.
• Fluent English is required.
• Fluent French is desirable.
• Fluent Spanish is desirable.

Skills

• Project Financial Management
• Budgeting
• Cash management
• Financial Reporting
• IPSAS
• International Accounting Standards
• CPA
• ACCA
• CA
• CIMA Certification
• Microsoft Office Suite
• G-Suite
• Web-based Management Systems
• Process Optimization
• Automation
• UNOPS Financial Rules
• Financial Compliance
• People Management

Languages

English, French, Spanish