UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a Chance

How can you make a difference?

The ability of the Finance Officer to effectively manage and execute financial transactions and services directly impacts on meeting organizational/staff needs and program delivery of goals and objectives. This in turn contributes to maintaining/enhancing the credibility of UNICEF as an effective and responsible manager of funds entrusted to the organization and to furthering UNICEF’s image as a competent organization for delivering cost effective and sustainable program results.

Summary of key functions

Support to financial planning and management
▪ Provide operational and technical assistance in the financial planning process for CPMP by preparing/analyzing financial data/estimates and documentations verifying relevancy, accuracy, and completeness to support budget planning. Provide financial operations support throughout the financial planning and implementation process.
▪ Assist with the preparation budgets and plans for Global Fund grants in accordance with UNICEF and Global Fund budgeting guidelines
▪ Assist in review of partner budget agreements before they are signed, ensuring congruence of agreements and the Global Fund budget partner allocations
▪ Allocate funds to Zonal Offices and partners in accordance with their Master budget allocations with the approval of program managers & the Finance Specialist and regularly monitor on the utilization of allocated funds
▪ Assess budget expenditures to verify compliance to allotment, codes, guidelines, and procedures. Prepare regular analysis, modification, and reports on the budget situation for higher management oversight and action.
▪ Contribute technically to the program counterpart to review budgets and financial plans of implementing partners; monitor compliance with HACT framework, including support to assessments, assurance, and capacity development of implementing partners.
▪ Prepare financial exception reports, highlight unusual activities and transactions, investigate anomalies, and keep supervisor informed for timely action.
▪ Review financial and reputational risks in the transactions carried out by the office and raise flags when action is needed by management.

▪ Assist the zonal offices in the timely preparation and submission of accurate financial reports to country office
▪ Prepare timely and accurate donor financial reports on the assigned grants and work closely with the supervisor on the submission of shared donor templates
▪ Assist the Finance Specialist with the planning and coordination of sub-recipient annual audits and follow up with partners on the execution of audit recommendations.

2. Monitoring & Control
▪ Provide rigorous budget monitoring and control to ensure timely and accurate budget utilization and raise awareness of areas of significant under performance and delayed implementation of assigned grants
▪ Monitor the aging of cash advances to partners and commitments of the Global Fund grants and fast track them as necessary
▪ Ensure the production of monitoring reports (donor reports, other routine management reports produced by VISION, non-routine reports, and presentations) and share with the supervisor, GFATM and Health Section
▪ Carry out mid-term budget reviews (reprogramming) and promptly prepare revised budgets that are based on accurate performance analysis and realistic program implementation projections
▪ Ensure that payments to partners are processed on time and in accordance with agreed budgets/Workplans, and financial reports are received on quarterly basis as required by HACT Guidelines.
▪ Ensure that program assets are correctly recognized, classified, and documented in compliance with UNICEF policies and procedures and reported to the donor.

3. Cash Management & Forecasting
• Create a reliable liquidity plan and financial forecast for Global Fund Grants on semesterly basis in accordance with approved budgets
• Monitor the Global Fund's bank charges and ensure they are promptly paid
• Work closely with HACT to ensure that ineligible refunds are properly credited to the correct grants and promptly refunded as required by the donor.

4. Knowledge and capacity building
▪ Promote culture of highest ethical standards and behavior in management of UNICEF’s resources.
▪ Support initiatives for management improvement by capturing, institutionalizing, and sharing best practices and lessons learned. Recommend improvements in processes and procedures to enhance productivity and performance including implementation of cost saving strategies.
▪ Participate and/or organize training and learning events to build capacity of staff and stakeholders/partners.
▪ Support operations of the office as required.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Job Description Download File JD - Finance Officer NOA.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements

Education: Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in accounting, finance, business administration, auditing and any other related fields.
Work Experience: 1 years of relevant work experience in Accounting and Auditing, Financial Management, Accounting, Financial Management and any other related fields.
Skills: Financial Planning, Grant Management, Cash Management, Financial Reporting, Risk Controls, Audit Coordination
Language Requirements: English - Proficient/Fluent

Desirables

Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
CIPFA diploma, SAP finance, IPSAS, IFRS, international organizations, large corporations
Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Finance Officer, NO-1, Temporary Position, Somalia, 364 days, Mogadiscio, Somalia, #00137634