Vacancies at United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON)

Responsibilities

• Manages a complete financial operation, encompassing a wide variety of funding sources, a large volume of transactions, and extensive dispersed activities.
• Ensures accurate and complete accounting for assets and expenditure, timely recognition of revenues, timely recognition of Assets Under Construction, capitalization of tangible/intangible assets and timely reporting of budget implementation progress of capital expenditure projects being undertaken by the organization.
• Approves/Confirms that proposed obligations or expenditure for services, facilities supplies and equipment expenses, as well as those pertaining to personnel, are in accordance with the Financial Regulations and Rules of the UN, relevant appropriations and staffing tables and corresponding approved allotments.
• Analyses accounts, reviews/prepares regular financial reports. Proposes/implements solutions with respect to problem transactions and irregularities.
• Ensures that accurate and complete accounting, reporting and internal control systems are functioning and that all relevant records are maintained.
• Prepares and consolidates financial statements for entities supported by UNON under other volumes and volume 1 entities in line with International Public Sector Accounting Standards for inclusion in the UN Financial Statements for audit by the UN Board of Auditors.
• Acts as UNON Accounts Section focal point for responses to external audit observations and insure implementation of audit recommendations.
• Produces major/complex financial reports for management.
• Provides substantive support to the development and implementation of new accounting systems.
• Takes initiative to improve accounting processes and approaches.
• Provides data for the preparation of year-end performance reports.
• Guides, trains and supervises general service and professional staff in the function.
• Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM:

• Knowledge of financial and budgetary principles and practices, budget development and financial administration of resources;
• Ability to develop budgetary policies, procedures and new programmes;
• Ability to formulate new strategies and technical approaches to budgetary matters;
• The ability to analyze and interpret data in support of decision-making and convey resulting information to management;
• Shows pride in work and in achievements; Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter;
• Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns;
• Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges;
• Remains calm in stressful situations.
• Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.

COMMUNICATION:

• Speaks and writes clearly and effectively;
• Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately;
• Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication;
• Tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience;
• Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

TEAMWORK:

• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals;
• Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; Is willing to learn from others;
• Places team agenda before personal agenda;
• Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even if such decisions may not entirely reflect own position;
• Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

MANAGING PERFORMANCE:

• Delegates the appropriate responsibility, and decision-making authority;
• Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member;
• Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills;
• Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines;
• Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff;
• Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative;
• Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff;
• Appraises performance fairly.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in business administration, finance, accounting or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Successful completion of both degree and non-degree programs in data analytics, business analytics or data science programs is desirable.

Job - Specific Qualification

• Certification as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA) or equivalent is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience of progressively responsible experience in finance, budget or related area is required.
• Working experience in a supervisor capacity with proof of performance management is required.
• Experience with complex accounting reconciliation is required.
• Experience in working with the United Nations or similar international organization is required.
• Experience in administration of financial regulations and rules is required.
• Working experience with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and financial statement preparation is desirable.
• Experience in preparing of Financial Statements and / or donor reports is desirable.
• Two (2) years or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable.

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Responsibilities

BUDGETING:

• Assist in the collection of data for preparation of cost estimates and budget proposals in terms of staff and non-staff requirements for regular budget and extra-budgetary resources under UNON Administration.
• Assist with the data extract for and preparation of various reports to management.
• Assist in monitoring budget implementation and performance.
• Assist with ensuring that requisitions for goods and services are in line with authorized budgets, the priorities of the organization and the UN financial rules and regulations.
• Co-ordinates with other finance and budget staff on related issues during preparation of budget reports.

ACCOUNTING:

• Process financial documents such as accounts payable, payroll and account receivable, in line with the financial rules and regulations.
• Audits various accounting transactions, e.g., vendor payments, payroll, education grants, taxes, etc. to ensure correctness of disbursement and adherence to relevant staff rules, financial regulations and rules, ST/AI issuances or practices.
• Assist in the review and analysis of various accounting data.
• Scrutinize supporting documents for completeness, accuracy and validity of requests in line with applicable policies, procedure, rules and regulations before submission to Supervisor.
• Process accounting adjustments and corrections in line with requests submitted by Clients and approved by the Supervisor.
• Assist in the analysis of open item managed accounts (OIM) in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and initiate corrective action.
• Perform reconciliation of general and subledger accounts and clears suspense accounts.

GENERAL:

• Receive and distribute various documents received in the unit/section.
• Respond to queries and draft correspondence to clients and other stakeholders in a timely and effective manner.
• Assist in ensuring that accurate and complete accounting and internal control systems are functioning and that all relevant records are maintained.
• Assist with data extraction and analysis and preparation of regular and ad hoc reports.
• Perform duties as backup for other team members when required.
• Supervise junior member of staff and interns.
• Assists with the collection and analysis of data as well as preparation of data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.
• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as web pages or brochures.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Competencies

PROFESSIONALISM:

• Knowledge of, and ability to apply financial rules, regulations and procedures in the UN environment. Knowledge, skills and ability to extract, interpret, analyze and format data across the full range of finance and budget functions. Shows pride in work and achievements.
• Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns.
• Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges.
• Remains calm in stressful situations.
• Commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of work.

CLIENT ORIENTATION:

• Considers all those to whom services are provided as “clients’ and seeks to see things from their point of view. Identifies clients’ needs and matches appropriate solutions.
• Keeps client informed of progress or setbacks.

TEAMWORK:

• Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise.
• Is willing to learn from others.
• Places team agenda before personal agenda.
• Supports and acts in accordance with the final group decision, even if such decisions may not entirely reflect own position.
• Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Education

• A high school diploma or completion of secondary school is required. Additional qualification in finance, administration or project management is desirable.

Work Experience

• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively work experience in finance, budget or related area is required.
• The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to three (3) years for candidates who possess a first-level University degree.
• Working experience with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and finance system such as Oracle or SAP and experience with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) is desirable.
• Experience with data analysis and reconciliation in excel or similar tools is desirable. Working experience with Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable or Treasury functions is desirable. Experience on client support such as communication with clients and handling of iNeed tickets or equivalent is desirable.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel is desirable.
• Experience in reconciling financial data from two or more sources is desirable.