Finance Specialist

Organizational Context

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) supports the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems to improve production, nutrition, the environment, and livelihoods globally. The Shared Services Centre (SSC) is responsible for administering effective process management and procedures, ensuring quality assurance for transactional processes, and enhancing service delivery. The SSC is committed to continuously improving customer satisfaction and driving service excellence through process standardization, automation, and self-service capabilities.

Job Purpose

The Finance Specialist will be responsible for the delivery of essential financial services to FAO's Decentralized Offices. This role involves managing and processing a variety of financial transactions, ensuring accuracy and compliance with established procedures. The incumbent will act as a key liaison, providing support and guidance on financial matters to both internal teams and external offices. The position requires meticulous attention to detail in transaction processing, error investigation, and the implementation of process improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in financial operations.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary point of contact for invoice booking and payment inquiries from CSF and Decentralized Offices. Execute routine financial administration and transaction processing, including data calculation, input, and verification, promptly communicating any discrepancies. Monitor team workload and task progress, providing regular updates to supervisors. Verify data accuracy by researching and reporting irregularities or processing issues. Assist in reviewing transactions, investigating errors, and performing corrective accounting actions. Extract transaction details from the accounting system to support analysis and validation. Act as a focal person for continuous improvement initiatives, participating in the analysis, testing, and implementation of financial process automations. Ensure the efficient processing of invoices, payments, returns, and payment rejections. Support senior colleagues in resolving payment issues with FAO’s corporate banks. Draft and prepare correspondence to address queries and provide procedural guidance to managers and staff. Create and maintain standard operating procedures within the area of responsibility. Provide communication and advice to other finance support personnel as needed. Perform other duties as required.

Work Experience

A minimum of four years of relevant professional experience in finance, accounting, cash management, or asset management related support work is required. This experience should demonstrate a strong understanding of financial processes and transaction handling.

Skills

Proficiency in Results Focus, Teamwork, Communication, Building Effective Relationships, and Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement. Demonstrated knowledge of financial rules, regulations, accounting policies, and practices. Understanding of transaction processing and approval procedures. Familiarity with ERP corporate financial systems, such as Oracle ERP or similar. Knowledge of communication and documentation standards. Working knowledge of MS Office applications. Knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish) is an asset.

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