Finance and Budget Assistant

Organizational Context

This position is within the One Executive Office (One EO) at UN Headquarters, under the Department of Operational Support's Division of Administration. One EO, part of the UN80 reform, consolidates administrative functions, providing comprehensive HR, financial, travel, and general support to New York-based Secretariat entities. The role is specifically in Client Desk 1, supporting DOS, OICT, ERPSD, and DMSPC, reporting to the Chief of Desk.

Job Purpose

The Finance and Budget Assistant provides comprehensive financial and budgetary support within the One Executive Office (One EO) Common Administrative Platform, under the Department of Operational Support. The primary purpose is to ensure strict compliance with financial regulations, rules, and established policies by meticulously scrutinizing source documents, accurately managing accounting records, and diligently monitoring budgetary resources. This role involves reviewing various financial transactions, analyzing complex accounting data, and proactively resolving discrepancies to maintain financial integrity and support client entities effectively. The assistant contributes significantly to the efficient delivery of administrative and operational services, ensuring precise financial administration and adherence to United Nations policies and procedures. This position is crucial for the effective functioning of One EO's financial operations, facilitating seamless financial management and providing essential support to various Secretariat departments, thereby enabling them to fulfill their mandates.

Responsibilities

The Finance and Budget Assistant performs a range of critical duties to ensure robust financial administration. Key responsibilities include Financial Oversight and Compliance, where the incumbent acts as a Certifying Officer, scrutinizes source documents for completeness and validity, and monitors resources and cost plans to ensure strict adherence to regulations, rules, and established policies. In Budget Management, the role involves providing input into accounting records, preparing necessary transactions for budget releases and redeployments, and collaborating with substantive offices on cost plan finalization. The assistant also undertakes research to support higher-level officers in budget reviews. Transaction Processing and Review duties include examining requisitions for goods and services, verifying correct expenditure charging and fund availability, and reviewing various transactions like payroll and travel requests for accuracy and compliance with staff rules and financial regulations. For Financial Analysis and Data Integrity, the assistant analyzes complex accounting transactions, monitors financial databases to ensure expenditures remain within authorized levels, verifies input data against ERP systems, and investigates erroneous charges, preparing corrective actions. Additionally, Documentation and Communication involves maintaining up-to-date documents and guidelines, ensuring compliance with UN policies, and drafting correspondence for financial and budget inquiries. The position may also entail providing guidance, training, and daily supervision to other general service staff.

Work Experience

A minimum of seven years of experience in finance, budget, accounting, or administrative services is required. This must include experience in budgetary resource administration, financial management and transacting in ERP systems (e.g., SAP Umoja), certifying acquisition of goods/services and travel, servicing multiple clients, reviewing/reconciling expenditures, and using Business Intelligence (BI) reports and analytics software (e.g., Umoja Analytics).

Skills

Professionalism: Knowledge of UN financial rules/regulations, ability to extract/interpret/analyze finance and budget data, problem-solving for data discrepancies and operational issues, commitment to gender equality. Planning & Organizing: Goal setting, priority management, resource allocation, risk foresight, efficient time utilization. Client Orientation: Client-focused service, building productive partnerships, identifying client needs, proactive monitoring, and timely communication of progress.

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