FINANCE AND BUDGET ASSISTANT (MULTIPLE POSITIONS)

Organizational Context

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON) serves as the UN headquarters in Africa, supporting global programme implementation for UNEP, RCS, and UN-HABITAT, alongside other UN offices in Kenya. It provides essential administrative, conference, and information services. These Finance and Budget Assistant positions are situated within UNON's Budget and Financial Management Services (BFMS), Division of Administrative Services (DAS), and the Division of Operational Support (OnePayroll).

Job Purpose

The Finance and Budget Assistant plays a crucial role in supporting UNON's financial operations. This position involves managing and processing a wide range of financial and budget-related transactions, ensuring accuracy and compliance with UN financial regulations. Key responsibilities include assisting in budget preparation, monitoring expenditures, reconciling accounts, processing payroll, and providing financial analysis. The role requires independent handling of complex transactions, investigation of discrepancies, and providing guidance to clients and junior staff. By maintaining the integrity of financial databases and ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting, the Finance and Budget Assistant contributes significantly to the efficient functioning of the office and the effective implementation of UN programs.

Responsibilities

The Finance and Budget Assistant is responsible for a variety of duties within budget and finance functions. In budget management, this includes supporting medium-term plan revisions, preparing cost estimates and budget proposals, monitoring expenditures against approved budgets, reviewing requisitions, and assisting in budget performance reporting. In finance, responsibilities encompass preparing, processing, and reviewing accounting transactions, investigating and correcting erroneous transactions, processing accounting adjustments, and conducting in-depth analysis and reconciliation of general ledger accounts. The role also involves performing payroll analysis, auditing payroll payments, and serving as an approving officer for disbursements. Additionally, the assistant will resolve client inquiries, maintain compliance with UN policies, draft correspondence, and provide guidance and training to junior staff.

Work Experience

A minimum of seven years of experience in finance, budget, or accounting is required, with a reduction to five years for candidates holding a first-level university degree. Experience with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is mandatory. Desirable experience includes three years in payroll activities or administering staff benefits, knowledge of UN financial regulations, and familiarity with GAAP, IFRS, IPSAS, or financial statement analysis.

Skills

Professionalism in applying UN financial rules and regulations; ability to extract, interpret, and analyze financial data; problem-solving skills; initiative and analytical judgment; accountability; client orientation; ability to manage and process complex financial transactions; payroll analysis; auditing; data reconciliation; and providing guidance and training.

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