Finance Associate
Organizational Context
The Finance Associate is supervised by a senior finance colleague, adhering to UNHCR manuals and policies. The role involves processing financial transactions and maintaining contact with internal staff and bank officials. The incumbent may supervise support staff, ensuring all duties align with UNHCR's regulatory framework and core values.
Job Purpose
The Finance Associate is responsible for assisting with the processing of financial transactions and maintaining financial records and monitoring systems. This includes recording and reconciling expenditures, balances, payments, and other financial data for daily operations and reporting. The role involves entering data from various documents, verifying accuracy, and performing necessary calculations. The incumbent prepares regular and special financial reports for budget preparation and audits. They also advise and assist staff, experts, and consultants on financial matters such as allowances, salary advances, and travel claims, calculating and authorizing payments. A key aspect is liaising with local bank officials to stay updated on exchange rates, procedures, and bank account management. The position also involves preparing cost estimates and participating in budget analysis and projections, ensuring all financial transactions comply with UNHCR rules and procedures.
Responsibilities
Maintain financial records and monitoring systems to record and reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements, and other data for day-to-day transactions and reports. Select and enter data from a wide variety of documents, verifying accuracy by checking sources, making necessary calculations, and assuring inclusion of all relevant data. Prepare recurring reports as scheduled and special reports as required for budget preparation, audits, or other reasons. Advise and assist staff members, experts, and consultants on all aspects of allowances, salary advances, travel claims, and other financial matters, calculating and authorizing payments due for claims and services. Maintain liaison with officials of local banks to obtain day-to-day information on exchange and interest rates, changes in procedures and regulations, and matters pertaining to the maintenance of office bank accounts. Prepare detailed cost estimates and participate in budget analysis and projections as required. Initiate correspondence to verify data, answer queries, and obtain additional information on accounts and financial transactions, as required. Verify that financial transactions are correct and in accordance with UNHCR rules and procedures. Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision-making in risk is based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues, and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleagues. Perform other related duties as required.
Work Experience
3 years of relevant experience with a High School Diploma, or 2 years of relevant work experience with a Bachelor's degree or equivalent. Essential: High IT affinity (MS Office, PeopleSoft). Desirable: Knowledge of Cloud ERP, UN/UNHCR financial rules and procedures, and completion of relevant UNHCR learning programs.
Skills
MS Office applications People Soft Cloud ERP UN/UNHCR Financial rules and procedures Financial record maintenance Financial monitoring systems Data entry and verification Financial reporting Budget analysis Cost estimation Risk management ERP Financial Management