The Position:

The Finance Associate position is located within the Global Monitoring and Advisory Team (GMAT), Finance Branch of the Division for Management Services. 

The Finance Branch is responsible for global finance and accounting including providing guidance and oversight for financial management to country, regional and headquarters offices. The Branch advances and owns key financial policies and processes, statutory and donor reporting, treasury services, and ensuring the ERP and related systems are configured to implement, manage, and report on key financial processes. The incumbent will report to the Finance Specialist, under the overall supervision of the Head of GMAT. 

The Global Monitoring and Advisory Team is responsible for providing guidance and support to UNFPA field offices (FOs) in the areas of financial management and accounting. This function includes monitoring financial performance on an exception basis, and providing guidance and training to maintain and improve global financial management practices, especially in the areas of management of cash disbursements through third parties, petty cash and advances to implementing partners for programming. As part of these functions, GMAT also oversees the accurate recording of general ledger information for these areas and ensures financial data quality.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies. 

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact and sustained results and ensure effective external relations, communications, and partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The Finance Associate provides support, guidance and oversight to UNFPA field offices and Headquarter Units in the areas of financial management and accounting. The Finance Associate adopts a client-oriented approach and contributes to implementation of the Finance Branch workplan.

You would be responsible for: 

1. Partnerships, Knowledge management, Communication and Training

• Actively participate in Finance Branch and team meetings.
• Maintain active and positive relationships with key partners for GMAT, including field based staff, and other headquarters units. 
• Provide financial training and facilitate knowledge transfers with the global community based on financial/operations procedures or guidance notes, which may be delivered remotely or in the field.
• Contribute to the global financial management community facilitated by the Finance Branch.
• Actively contribute to knowledge transfers within the branch. 

2. Business continuity activities

• Support the review of reports received from implementing partners engaged by Headquarters units and International NGOs in the field, to ensure reporting requirements have been met. 
• Provide guidance, support, and timely responses to queries from UNFPA Business Units through the Global Service Desk.

3. Support and guidance to offices on financial management 

• Monitor dashboards for assigned financial accounts to determine when financial management challenges and successes need to be communicated with offices.
• Monitor funds for closure, ensure requirements have been met and/ or engage budget owners for action, and close in the ERP.
• Prepare financial information from the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to assist internal and external audits of field offices; and support field offices in the implementation of procedural based audit recommendations.
• Analyze asset transactions and requests to write off assets prior to submission for approval.
• Review data integrity and completeness tools as the second line of defense and support offices in their resolution.

4. Accounting, Statutory Reporting, Period end and year end closure activities

• Review accounting adjustments proposed by field offices through General Ledger Journal Entries (GLJEs) and submit for approval.
• Monitor and analyze balances in the project cash advance accounts used for advances issued to custodians and payment service providers.
• Identify and support the resolution of exceptions and data entry errors.
• Review aging analyses for assigned balance sheet accounts for areas to follow up and review accounting transactions, under balance sheet or expense accounts, to ensure they are correctly coded. 
• Support periodic and year end accounts closure activities, such as review and processing of year-end accounts certifications, clean-up of pending transactions and balances, recording of year-end accruals, etc. 

5. Business process and systems efficiency 

• Contribute ideas towards (i) improving policies and procedures under Finance Branch purview; (ii) designing implementation and monitoring tools or improving existing processes that enhance process efficiency and accounting quality. 
• Participate in testing of new IT tools and reports, or business processes, documenting feedback.
• Provide guidance to staff in field and headquarter locations on the best application of various reporting tools for financial management and/or accounting 

6. Other

• Carry out any other duties as may be required by your supervisor and/or UNFPA leadership. 

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

• Completion of secondary level education with supplemental training in accounting is required. 
• First level University degree and/or a part- qualified accounting qualification from a recognized body is desirable.  

Knowledge and Experience: 

• Six (6) years of relevant finance and/or accounting related experience is required, such as financial management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, or general ledger maintenance. 
• Strong attention to detail and data analysis skills; ability to use large datasets for meaningful analysis identifying key trends, data integrity gaps, and performance issues.
• Good writing, communication and presentation skills.
• Proficiency in the use of spreadsheets, word processing and computerized accounting systems.
• Previous experience with the UN system organizations is desirable.
• Previous experience with a major ERP system, preferably Oracle cloud, is required.

Languages: 

Fluency in English is required; proficiency in French and/or Spanish is a distinct advantage.

Required Competencies: 

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity, 
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system, 
• Embracing cultural diversity, 
• Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
• Communicating for impact

Functional Competencies:

• Sound understanding of financial management, accounting, and reporting activities and controls, including the financial management and control functions of ERP systems
• Excellent data analysis skills
• Strong attention to detail 
• Good writing, communication and presentation skills
• Strong client service orientation

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.