Accounting Assistant (Two Positions)
Organizational Context
The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) provides retirement, death, and disability benefits to over 90,000 beneficiaries and 130,000 participants across 25 member organizations. With offices in New York, Geneva, Nairobi, and Bangkok, UNJSPF-Pension Administration employs approximately 282 staff. This role is situated within the Accounts Section in New York, which is responsible for monitoring contributions, managing overpayments, performing bank reconciliations, and financial reporting.
Job Purpose
The Accounting Assistant will perform a wide range of office support and administrative functions within the Accounts Section of the UNJSPF in New York. This role involves responding to communications with member organizations, participants, and beneficiaries, and producing complex documents and reports. Key responsibilities include monitoring and processing pension contribution remittances using the Integrated Pension Administration System (IPAS), assisting with reporting, and generating various IPAS reports. The position also supports the recording, analysis, and reconciliation of accounting transactions and bank accounts in multiple currencies, requiring meticulous attention to detail in managing and consolidating financial data. The incumbent will also proofread and edit texts, maintain files and databases, and assist with data collection, analysis, and presentation.
Responsibilities
The Accounting Assistant will perform diverse office support and administrative duties. This includes drafting correspondence and communications for UNJSPF member organizations, participants, and beneficiaries. The role involves monitoring, examining, and processing pension contribution remittances and reporting using the Integrated Pension Administration System (IPAS), including calculating, inputting, and verifying contributions, and addressing discrepancies. The assistant will generate reports from IPAS, and assist in recording, analyzing, and reconciling accounting transactions and bank accounts across various currencies. Responsibilities also include managing and consolidating large documents and financial tables with precision, proofreading and editing texts for accuracy and adherence to standards, and maintaining distribution lists and status reports. Furthermore, the role requires maintaining physical and electronic files and databases, assisting with data collection, analysis, and presentation for information sharing and decision-making, and supporting the creation of informational materials.
Work Experience
A minimum of three years of progressive experience in accounting, finance, or a related field is required. This minimum is reduced to one year for candidates with a first-level university degree or higher. Experience within the UN System or a similar international organization is desirable, as is one year or more of experience in data analytics.
Skills
Professionalism, Teamwork, Accountability, knowledge of financial rules and regulations, accounting policies and practices, record maintenance, data interpretation and analysis, problem-solving using MS Excel, communication, attention to detail, and data management.