Finance Associate - NPSA 6

UN Women · Zanzibar

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Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

In the United Republic of Tanzania, UN Women works with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, United Nations agencies, development partners and civil society to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. In collaboration with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and with the support of the Delegation of the European Union, UN Women is implementing the project “Ending Violence against Women and Girls and Advancing Women’s Leadership in Public and Private Sectors in Zanzibar and Mainland”.

The project supports the United Republic of Tanzania to deliver on its commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE), including the roll-out of the National Plan of Action to End Violence against Women and Children (NPA-VAWC 2025 -2030), the Gender related National Development Plans commitments. Delivery in Zanzibar is carried out jointly with ministries, departments and agencies of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, local government authorities and civil society partners across Unguja and Pemba.

Under the overall guidance of the Operations Manager of the UN Women Tanzania Country Office and the day-to-day supervision of the Program Specialist, Ending Violence against Women and Girls (EVAWG) / Head of the Zanzibar Office, the Finance Associate is responsible for the execution of a wide range of financial services and administrative processes for the Zanzibar Office, ensuring timeliness, efficiency and the transparent use of financial resources and delivery of services in accordance with organizational financial rules, regulations, policies, procedures and approved allocations. The Finance Associate promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations, standard practices and guidelines.

The Finance Associate works in close collaboration with the Program and Operations Teams of the Tanzania Country Office, with implementing partners and responsible parties in Unguja and Pemba, and with the Operations and Program teams in the UN Women Regional Office and Headquarters for resolving complex finance-related issues and for information delivery.

Key Functions and Accountabilities

1.  Implement financial strategies in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems:

• Perform duties in full compliance with UN Women financial regulations and rules, policies and standard operating procedures, including internal controls;
• Review and verify financial transactions, activities and documentation; take corrective action as needed and report any unusual activities;
• Perform an oversight function on financial transactions processed for the Zanzibar Office and the EVAWG portfolio, ensuring that supporting documents, Chart of Accounts (COA) combinations and all required accounting fields are complete and accurate before transactions are submitted for approval;
• Coordinate with program and project colleagues, the Country Office finance team, the Regional Office and the UN Women Global Service Centre on the resolution of accounting transaction issues;
• Review corporate finance and compliance dashboards and reports to monitor the status of financial indicators for the Zanzibar Office and the EVAWG portfolio, and flag deviations and bottlenecks to the Operations Manager for corrective action;
• Monitor financial exception reports for unusual activities or transactions, investigate anomalies, and report conclusions and/or present recommendations for action or decision to the supervisor;
• Draft reports on financial status, procedures, exchange rates, costs and expenditures;
• Follow up on audit recommendations to monitor the implementation of corrective actions;
• Collect, verify and present information and data for use in the planning of financial resources and in the formulation of work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements and execution modalities for the Zanzibar Office and the EVAWG portfolio;
• Provide assistance in Annual Work Plan entry in the Results Management System (RMS) as required;
• Provide advice and recommend solutions to a wide range of financial issues;
• Monitor the proper functioning of the financial resources management system for office and programmatic budgets and resources;
• Implement cost saving and reduction strategies.

2.  Prepare and administer budgets in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems:

• Formulate budgets, control allotments, monitor expenditures and prepare revisions according to the needs of the Zanzibar Office and the EVAWG portfolio;
• Track the appropriate and timely use of financial resources;
• Prepare cost-recovery documents or bills for services provided by UN Women to other program or organizations;
• Coordinate with the Operations team on the collection of data on services provided to UN Women projects and to other UN agencies; ensure the timely generation of bills and follow up with projects and agencies on the settlement of bills and the correct recording of recovered costs;
• Support the application of direct project costing arrangements, including inputs to workload studies and the use of the universal price list, in line with Country Office guidance;
• Create projects in Quantum, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status, and determine unutilized funds;
• Implement and maintain control mechanisms for development projects through the monitoring of budget preparation, modifications and budgetary status;
• Maintain the internal expenditure control system;
• Undertake corrective action on un-posted vouchers, including vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions and unapproved vouchers; respond to Regional Office and Headquarters requests to resolve financial data issues;
• Prepare VAT reimbursement claims with adequate supporting documentation and follow up with the relevant revenue authorities;
• Input data in Quantum and monitor status; keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely action and/or decisions;
• Manage the petty cash fund and cash imprest level.

3.  Provide finance support to the Program and Operations teams:

• Review accounts receivable for UN Women projects and follow up with project managers and the finance section at the Regional Office and/or Headquarters on contributions, the creation of deposits in Quantum and their application to accounts receivable pending items;
• Prepare PO and non-PO vouchers for development projects;
• Record and post transactions in Quantum; process payroll, travel claims, MPOs and other entitlements;
• Monitor the setup of budgets in Quantum to ensure they are in accordance with budgets agreed with donors and are input at the detailed Activity ID level;
• Monitor over-expenditure of budgets each month and follow up with budget owners;
• Monitor transactions posted to projects, ensuring actual expenditure is recorded against the correct budget category and activity; take timely corrective action as required;
• Review implementing partner Funding Authorization and Certificate of Expenditure (FACE) forms, financial reports and supporting documentation in line with the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT); monitor advances and their timely liquidation; support micro-assessments, spot checks and other assurance activities together with program colleagues;
• Monitor aged accounts receivable and payable, open items, outstanding advances and unliquidated obligations; coordinate with budget owners, project colleagues and the Global Service Centre to clear them within corporate thresholds;
• Monitor the financial status and, under the guidance of the Operations Manager, implement control mechanisms for management and development projects;
• Monitor and follow up on all financial items in month-end and year-end closure instructions and, under the guidance of the Operations Manager, take corrective action as required; ensure that key financial closure milestones are achieved with quality and within corporate deadlines;
• Review restricted general ledger accounts on a regular basis, in particular expense, asset and liability accounts, rectify errors and mis-posted entries, and follow up on issues arising from corporate finance dashboards with project finance colleagues;
• Keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely action and decisions, and review status reports for quality control;
• Provide information inputs to financial reports for the Regional Office, Headquarters Finance and stakeholders;
• Associate revenue and expenditure in commitment control for non-core projects;
• Provide inputs and take the necessary actions to facilitate timely financial project closure;
• Support financial donor reporting, including for the European Union-funded EVAW program, by providing timely information and taking the necessary actions as required by the UN Women Virtual Global Service Centre;
• Provide financial arrangements for meetings, trainings, campaigns and field activities in Unguja and Pemba, including the processing of daily subsistence allowance (DSA), participant payments and travel claims.

4.  Provide administrative support to resource mobilization:

• Compile and process information from donors, the Country Office and the program team as inputs to various databases and documents;
• Prepare drafts of cost-sharing and other agreements, including conditions of contributions, within resource mobilization efforts, adhering to standard agreements where possible; follow up on contributions within the Country Office resource mobilization efforts.

5.  Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing:

• Conduct training and/or help organize training events and activities, including orientation of implementing partners on financial reporting, documentation and HACT requirements, as well as participate in trainings;
• Collect and compile lessons learned and best practices in financial management and services; disseminate to clients and stakeholders as appropriate to build capacity and knowledge;
• Contribute to UN Women knowledge networks and finance communities of practice, sharing solutions and good practice with colleagues in the Country Office and the region;
• Contribute to financial business operational practices and management innovations.

6.  The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Full compliance of financial processes, transactions and records with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and the internal control framework;
• Timely and accurate recording and posting of transactions in Quantum; un-posted vouchers, budget check errors and match exceptions resolved within agreed timelines;
• Timely processing of payments to vendors, implementing partners, consultants, personnel and participants;
• Accurate budget monitoring and timely alerts to budget owners on over- and under-expenditure; delivery targets achieved;
• Aged items, open advances and unliquidated obligations cleared within corporate thresholds;
• Cost-recovery bills raised and issued on time, settled by clients, and recovered costs correctly recorded;
• Timely and accurate month-end and year-end closure actions; closure milestones met with quality and restricted general ledger accounts free of unresolved errors;
• Audit and spot-check recommendations implemented within agreed timelines;

• Client satisfaction with the quality, accuracy and timeliness of financial services and advice.

  Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

• None. The incumbent may provide guidance and on-the-job training to Finance and Program Assistants, UN Volunteers and interns supporting the Zanzibar Office.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Strong knowledge of financial rules and regulations and of accounting principles;
• Strong knowledge and application skills of IT tools and understanding of management systems;
• Strong knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages;
• Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering and to the implementation of new systems;
• Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions;
• Good knowledge of implementing partner financial management and assurance procedures, 
• Ability to interpret corporate finance and compliance dashboards and reports and to translate findings into corrective action;
• Strong client orientation and the ability to work accurately under tight deadlines;
• Integrity and discretion in handling confidential financial information.

    Recruitment Qualifications

           Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Specialized national or international certification in accounting and finance is an asset.
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s) in Finance or Accounting is an asset.
• A professional accountancy qualification (e.g. CPA(T), ACCA, CIMA) or registration with the National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA) is an asset.
• Successful completion of the UN Women Accounting and Finance Test is required as part of the selection process.

• CIPS certificate will be an asset

  Experience

• At least six (6) years of progressively responsible experience in finance is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, and experience in handling web-based management systems, is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP system, preferably Oracle Cloud (Quantum) and PRISIM, is desirable;
• Experience in finance within the UN system, an international organization or an international non-governmental organization is desirable;
• Experience in the financial management of donor-funded projects, including the review of implementing partner financial reports under HACT, is desirable;
• Experience in transaction oversight and quality assurance, cost recovery, and month-end and year-end financial closure in a UN or similar corporate ERP environment is desirable;
• Knowledge of the Zanzibar operating environment, including local tax (VAT) and banking procedures, is an asset.

                Languages

• Fluency in English and Kiswahili is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.

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