Finance Specialist

Background

The Office of Financial Resources Management (OFRM), Bureau for Management Services (BMS), supports the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the promotion of its sustainable human development agenda. It achieves this by developing and making fully operational a dynamic and harmonized integrated resource management framework based on comprehensive analysis that enhances UNDP’s financial and administrative performance, as well as facilitates UN reform and coherence. To these ends, the framework addresses strategically critical financial resource planning and management issues, including results based budgeting; the integration of the Programming Arrangements and the Institutional Budget within the context of the integrated budget from 2014 onwards; enhanced cost classification and cost recovery; capital budgeting; adherence to IPSAS; foreign exchange and investment activities; corporate reporting of organizational assets; performance management tools and initiatives; and support to UN harmonization.

Effective and efficient integrated resources management is enabled through a continuous and robust process comprising:

• Formulation and implementation of corporate financial and administrative strategies, policies and procedures;
• Formulation, alignment, documentation and implementation of UNDP’s funding frameworks, assuring their integrity, viability and alignment with the Strategic Plan;
• Provision of policy guidance, advisory services and operational support to strengthen client capacities and help them achieve results, seeking to build consensus within UNDP and with key stakeholders on critical budgetary related matters requiring Executive Board legislation;
• Administration of the organization’s internal control framework, overseeing and monitoring financial management of all global UNDP offices, including through formulation/implementation of resource planning, management and oversight tools and reports;
• Promoting clear accountability for financial transactions and producing financial statements, including financial reporting to donors and the UNDP Executive Board.
• Providing corporate reporting guidance to ensure that fixed assets are adequately recorded in all locations.

Accounts and Client Service Division provides accounting, resource management and financial services. The Corporate Financial Reporting (CFR) promotes clear accountability for financial transactions and produces corporate financial statements. The Client Service Team (CST) provides advisory services and operational support to strengthen client capacities The GSSC provides transactions services to UNDP offices and other ad-hoc services to OFRM.

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Manager, Corporate Financial Reporting (CFR), the Finance Specialist provides revenue and treasury accounting services; coordinates and assists with the preparation of the UNDP Financial Statements and other Statutory Reports; provides guidance and direction to the UNDP financial community including GSSC on accounting policies and procedures; manages Inter-fund Accounts; over sees Trust fund accounting and is the UNDP focal point for USAID credits of credit.

The Finance Specialist also undertakes a variety of financial analysis to respond to UNDP senior management’s requirements for financial information.

Duties and Responsibilities

Finance lead, Treasury, Investments and Revenue

• Develop accounting policy and related procedures - reviews business practice, researches accounting literature and applies technical standards.
• Advises GSSC on complex or non-recurring business issues ( including SLAs) and transactions
• Functional lead on select business process design and execution within corporate tools, including update of POPP and SOPs
• Monitors practices and provides advisory services to Global Process owners and Senior Management.
• Oversees USAIS letter of credit process for Global process owner.

Statutory and Corporate reporting

• Assists with the preparation of the statutory/corporate periodic reports including Financial Statements, Trust Funds statements, Executive reports, Financial Statements for other Agencies and other corporate reports required for decision making.
• Ensures that the data presented is accurate and appropriately supported
• Coordinates data collection and preparation of non-financial sections of the reports
• Performs monthly/quarterly analysis of accounts, ensuring significant issues are identified and escalated when necessary
• Undertakes financial analysis for Global Process owners and senior management
• Oversees the preparation of all audit working papers and responds to queries/requests from the Board of Audit on the financial statements.

Serve as the primary technical accounting and IPSAS focal point for UNDP. Keep up to date and comment on proposed revisions and additions to the IPSAS standards, frameworks, draft papers and other deliverables. Review and analyze all new standards; develop gap analysis, policy positions, detailed work plans, and identify system and reporting changes for each new standard based on application to the UNDP organisational model and with consideration of UN system perspectives on application. Coordinate activities with key organisational stakeholders such as business process owners. Provide technical advice and guidance to UNDP divisions and staff as required.

Manage other corporate accounting services:

• Management Service Agreement accounting.
• Oversees and advises on interest and foreign exchange revaluation accounting.
• Accounting for partner agencies arrangements
• Bank reconciliation review
• Other similar services

Oversees Trust Fund Accounting Services:

• Analyze trust funds and prepare trust fund statements for donors as required,
• Maintain corporate trust fund information, process Trust Fund closure and prepare Trust fund reports for EB
• Provide advisory accounting services to Trust Fund Managers and Senior Management.

Competencies

Innovation

• Ability to make new and useful ideas work

Leadership

• Ability to persuade others to follow

People Management

• Ability to improve performance and satisfaction

Communication

• Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform

Delivery

• Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement

Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis

• Strong understanding of accounting principles and ability to evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful manner

Resource Management

• Ability to articulate how resource availability affects organization’s business and analyzes and facilitates application of improvements.

Leverage Technology to Develop Broad Business Perspective

• Recognizes business opportunities to use technology to develop and present strategic information.

Relationship Building

• Ability to maintain strong and productive business relationship with management, staff and clients

Leadership and Self-Management

• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexity and has ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, prioritize issues and handle potentially stressful situation.

Knowledge Management

• Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge

Innovative design in training manual

• Ability to design, construct and transform information to train others

Audit

• Have relevant audit experience.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Professional accounting qualification certificate from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy.

Experience:

• Minimum seven years of practical experience in providing financial management advisory services at national and/or international settings
• A sound and detailed understanding of the UN environment, and the Finance and Accounting policies of UNDP
• Familiar with the complexity of client relationships among international organisations national governments and civil society
• Hands-on experience with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), preferably with ATLAS (PeopleSoft) is desirable.
• Experience of IPSAS and/or IFRS is required for external candidates.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English. Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage, particularly Spanish or French.

Disclaimer

Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders)

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Workforce diversity

UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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Candidates must be resident in Malaysia, or have the right to work in Malaysia.

For further information, and to apply, please visit our website via the “Apply” button below.