Finance and Budget Assistant
Organizational Context
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) within the UN Secretariat aims to mobilize and coordinate effective humanitarian action. This Finance and Budget Assistant position is based in New York, within the Country Funds Section, Pooled Funds Branch. The role reports to the Finance and Budget Officer and supports the overall response efforts by managing financial and budget-related tasks.
Job Purpose
The Finance and Budget Assistant plays a crucial role in supporting the financial operations of the OCHA's Country Funds Section. This involves preparing essential budget documents, managing financial commitments through pre-encumbrances and obligations, and processing payment invoices. The incumbent will also prepare financial authorization cables, record expenditures, and assist in reviewing financial reports and audit findings. A key aspect of the role is maintaining project details in monitoring systems, supporting statement of accounts certification, and contributing to budget analysis and resource requirement elaboration. The position ensures accurate financial data management and compliance with UN financial regulations, facilitating effective humanitarian response.
Responsibilities
Key responsibilities include preparing budget authority documents, allotment advices, pre-encumbrances, and miscellaneous obligations for project financial commitments. The role involves preparing payment invoices and background documents for financial authorization cables to UNDP. The Finance and Budget Assistant will record expenditures, manage allocations and advances, and assist in reviewing interim and final financial reports and audit reports. Maintaining project details in monitoring systems, assisting with statement of accounts certification, and supporting medium-term plan analysis are also core duties. The position prepares supporting documents for cost estimates and budget proposals, assists managers with resource requirements, and conducts research for budget reviews. Monitoring expenditures against budgets, preparing adjustments, and assisting with budget performance reports are essential. The role also involves verifying data accuracy, coordinating with finance staff, preparing fund redeployment requests, and liaising with various partners on financial matters. Maintaining electronic files and potentially supervising junior staff are also part of the responsibilities.
Work Experience
A minimum of seven years of experience in finance, budget, accounting, or related administrative services is required. This requirement is reduced to five years for candidates holding a first-level university degree. Practical experience with Trust Funds, grants management, and preparing donor-related financial statements is essential. Experience with Umoja or other ERP systems and grant management systems is also required. Experience within the UN Common System or similar international organizations in managing extra-budgetary funding in a humanitarian context is desirable.
Skills
Professionalism, Planning and Organizing, Accountability, financial rules and regulations, data extraction and analysis, database management, problem-solving, attention to detail, time management, and effective communication.