Finance Senior Officer

Together, we build the future

UNOPS – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development. We are proud of our people. The UNOPS family brings together approximately 160 nationalities, represented by over 5,000 UNOPS personnel as well as some 7,800 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners. Spread across 80 countries, our workforce is rich in diversity and culture – with inclusion at its core. We understand the importance of balancing professional and personal demands and offer several flexible working options.

Job Specific Context

This recruitment process aims to create a ready-to-use pool of qualified candidates for future potential needs.

Role Purpose

The Finance Senior Officer will support in the analysis and interpretation of UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations, Organisation Directives, Administrative Instructions, and guidance notes and provide solutions to a wide spectrum of financial issues. He/she assists in ensuring the effective and transparent utilisation of financial resources, the integrity of financial services, and promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UNOPS policies.

Functions / Key Results Expected

Implementation of operational strategies and support to portfolio management.

• Contribute to the planning of financial resources for portfolios, continuous analysis, and monitoring of financial progress, as well as presentation of forecasts for the client and management of projects.
• Ensure full compliance with the provisions of UNOPS FRRs, IPSAS, Organisation Directives, Administrative Instructions, and guidance notes in all financial transactions, recording, reporting, etc.
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Budget preparation, financial reporting, monitoring and control.

• Advises in the preparation of budgets and submissions, conducts regular analysis, and reports on budget and delivery progress; monitors expenditures against budget and reports on variances.
• Review and analyze the budget proposals in accordance with established procedures, ERP (oneUNOPS) protocols, and client budgetary guidelines to meet reporting requirements.
• Review financial statements and reports, addressing queries and observations from project teams, funding sources, clients, and donors.
• Contribute to the preparation of interim Project financial reports and management reports for approval by the Head of Finance, ensuring compliance with established reporting requirements for funding sources, donors, and clients.
• Participates in identifying administrative budgetary requirements and provides guidance for budget preparation, formats, and submission procedures to facilitate consolidation at the portfolio level.

Accounting, payments, treasury and administrative support.

• Review and confirm the appropriateness of operational transactions processed by interpreting and determining applicable UNOPS policies and Financial rules and regulations.
• Review payment requests for completeness before processing, ensuring that all required documentation is complete and that all necessary procedures are fulfilled to enable payment.
• Ensure payment requests are properly obligated, control supporting documentation, prepare vouchers, and enter transactions and financial data into the ERP (oneUNOPS).
• Monitor financial exception reports for unusual activities, transactions, and investigate anomalies or unusual transactions.

Capacity building and knowledge sharing.

• Organize and conduct training sessions for project teams on policies, procedures and systems.
• Observe emerging issues to identify local finance training needs and develop tailored presentations for regular finance sessions.
• Provide training support services to project teams in setting up projects, handling budget revisions, troubleshooting, and understanding financial transactions, reporting, and related tasks.

Skills

Budget Analysis, Financial Accounting, Financial Analysis, Financial Reporting, Grant Monitoring, International Accounting Standards, Inventory Accounting

Education Requirements

Required

• An Advanced University degree (Master's Degree of equivalent) preferably in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or related field is required;
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor's degree or equivalent) with an additional 2 years of experience in finance, reporting, budget, accounting, auditing may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• Professional certification in accounting (CA, CPA, ACCA, ACA, CIMA, etc.), or audit (CIA) or equivalent is required.

Experience Requirements

Required

• A minimum of two years of relevant experience at the national or international level in accounting, budgeting, financial reporting and audit is required.
• Good knowledge of budget management, accounting and reporting for global or regional multi-donor, multi-partner and multi-country programs is required;
• Proven experience in supporting project audits and European Commission (EC) verifications as well supporting implementation of recommendations is required.

Desired

• Experience with UN/UNOPS financial rules, regulations and procedures in accounting, budget, reporting etc is considered an asset.
• A thorough knowledge of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is considered an asset.
• Good knowledge on the use of ERPs and financial applications is an asset;
• Solid computer skills in word and spreadsheets processing is a strong asset.

Language Requirements

Additional Information

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.

Terms and Conditions

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.