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WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply.
WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity and disability.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Job Title: Finance Officer (NOA)
Type of contract: Fixed Term
Unit: Operations
Duty Station: Thimphu, Bhutan
Duration: 12 months (extendable)

Vacancy Number: 832814
Date of Publication: Wednesday 8 May 2024
Deadline of Application: Thursday 23 May 2024
This vacancy announcement is for Nationals from Bhutan ONLY

Start annual net income: (BTN) 1179508

JOB PURPOSE

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been in Bhutan since 1974. After almost 50 years of support to Bhutan, WFP in its country strategic plan (2024–2028) will strengthen and support government efforts to deliver equitable and inclusive economic growth and support human capital development. All WFP activities operate with and through WFP’s partnerships with the Government. A prominent feature of the country strategic plan will be expanding WFP’s capacity strengthening of government institutions and engagement of private sector partners while adopting a sharper gender focus.

Under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2024 – 2028), WFP supports the Government’s draft 13th Five-year Plan (2024-2029) in setting up national rapid post-disaster needs assessment capacity; supporting the national school nutrition and feeding programme; and strengthening national capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters.

WFP is supporting the scale-up of the national school feeding and nutrition programme with nutrition and supply chain cost optimization, linking farmers to schools, and school infrastructure development. WFP is applying a system approach to agriculture value chain development from demand creation for local food, to support in production, marketing and mitigating post-harvest losses. WFP also supports policy and inter-agency coordination, including assistance on enhanced cost efficiency and knowledge management. For disaster risk management, WFP supports the Government in setting up national platforms to guide coordination, actions, and investments in disaster preparedness and response.

WFP seeks a Finance Officer for its Country Office in Thimphu to support the stewardship of WFP’s resources, monitoring budgets, forecasting, reporting on key data and providing basic administrative and human resource functions that enable effective management of funds. The role also supports the delivery of budget and resource analysis and programming activities, working closely with the WFP technical managers to apply best practice approaches that support the efficient, effective and compliant utilisation of funds.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Finance

• Maintain awareness of corporate finance and resource management strategies and major ongoing programmatic initiatives, participating where appropriate using finance and resource management expertise.
• Contribute towards the development of country specific plans and processes, aligned with Regional and wider WFP strategy, policies and processes to meet the food assistance needs of beneficiaries within the Country.
• Report on key data for financial status and outcomes of projects in accordance with corporate governance requirements, ensuring accuracy, deadlines, and accounting processes are complied with.
• Perform bank reconciliations, disbursements, clearance of receivables, overall cash management and monthly financial closures on a regular basis in accordance with corporate requirements.
• Collate data and contribute to preparation of accurate and timely reporting, providing management with financial, staffing and resource usage information to enable them to make informed decisions.
• Track and collate data to support others to improve policies, systems and procedures in order to minimize financial risks, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations, and ensure services are aligned with business objectives.
• Contribute to the delivery of financial controls and insight into WFP performance, supporting periodic risk and internal control assessments to identify areas which may present potential audit, compliance or financial risks.
• Support the management and oversee of fund utilization, and advance financing, loan and borrowing/repayment and fund allocation arrangements in the country; provide comprehensive financial analysis on fund and grant balances, alert country office team to approaching deadlines of funds, identifying surpluses and deficits, and suggest corrective measures, to support maximum fund utilization.
• Represent unit/CO at internal meetings, external meetings and events with other UN agencies, banks and other financial institutions, or other partners and entities as required.
• Guide and supervise more junior staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with more complex analysis and queries.

Budget and Programming

• Monitor budgets and carry out forecasting for new and ongoing projects according to established corporate procedures and requirements.
• Contribute towards the budget plan processes include collaboration with all key stakeholders at all levels, developing detailed country budget plans compliance with wider budget and
• programming policies and procedures and WFP standards, monitor project performance against budget, providing financial analysis and provide advice to optimize the resources.
• Plan, monitor and manage the resource pipeline to maximize operational effectiveness, implementing and adhering to standards and processes, and providing recommendation on resource allocations based on severity of pipeline shortfalls using corporate pipeline tools monthly.
• Collate and analyze data and contribute to preparation of accurate and timely reports, to enable informed decision-making and to share with external stakeholders.
• Contribute to the improvement of internal processes, enhancement of corporate systems and design of tools, to facilitate the overall planning, expenditure forecasting, and budget management and monitoring of resource utilization.
• Represent the unit at internal meetings/committees/working groups as required, to contribute to discussion of key issues from a budget and resource programming perspective.
• Support the capacity building of WFP staff in budgeting, fund management and operational planning through answering queries and contributing to updating training materials, manuals, and guidelines.

Other as required

• Where necessary, deliver core administrative services, working with contractors and following standard processes to provide cost-effective, quality and timely services to WFP.
• Where necessary, undertake basic human resource functions related to staff benefits, recruitment of local staff, and training.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• Advanced University degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting, or related fields, or First University degree in the same subject(s) with additional years of related work experience plus membership in an international recognized professional accountancy body such as Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Institute of Certified Public Accounts (ICPA) or equivalent.

Experience: At least 1 year of professional experience post master’s degree.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English and Dzongkha

All WFP Employees are expected to demonstrate the competencies and standards of behavior aligned with our core values and defined in the WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK, namely:

• Leading by example with integrity,
• Driving results and delivering on commitments,
• Fostering inclusive and collaborative teamwork,
• Applying strategic thinking,
• Building and maintaining sustainable partnerships.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.

Request for Disability related Reasonable Accommodations:

WFP is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our recruitment process is inclusively crafted to welcome candidates of all backgrounds, celebrating diversity and ensuring a respectful environment for all. We aim for an accessible and fair recruitment journey. Should you need any reasonable accommodations or have accessibility concerns, please reach out to us confidentially at global.inclusion@wfp.org. Our DEI team is here to ensure your full participation in our recruitment process.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

WFP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand oversees operations in 17 country offices including the Pacific, reaching 30 million people with assistance. The portfolio of our work ranges from humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, to school meals in Cambodia and Laos, supporting government, social protection schemes in India and Pakistan, climate change adaptation in Nepal and Sri Lanka, nutrition for mothers in Bangladesh and Timor-Leste, to emergency preparedness in Indonesia and the Pacific.

WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce. WFP has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority or discrimination. All selected candidates will, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.