Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Finance Section (FS), Headquarters Client Support Service (HQCSS), Department of Operational Support (DOS) in New York. It encompasses various subfunctional specialties in budget management and financial analysis. The Associate Finance & Budget Officer reports to the Finance and Budget Officer in the FS/HQCSS.

The HQCSS also provides administrative support to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, the Ethics Office, the Global Compact Office, the Human Security Unit, the Office of Administration of Justice, the Office of Information and Communications Technology, the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services, the Office of Special Envoy for Haiti, the Office of Victims’ Rights Advocate, the Office of Special Coordinator on Improving the United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, the United Nations Office for Partnerships, as well as to the liaison offices of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in New York and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Associate Finance and Budget Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

Medium-term plan:

• Reviews, analyses and finalizes the preparation of the medium-term plan and its revisions on the basis of departmental and supported entities submissions, taking into account recommendations and decisions of specialized intergovernmental bodies and donor agreements.
• Provides advice and support to client entities on their medium-term plans and its revisions; assists in securing approval from legislative bodies and donors.

Budget preparation:

• Reviews, analyses and assists in the finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals for extra-budgetary resources, including review of donor agreements; ensuring compliance with legislative mandates, regulations and rules and established policies and procedures.
• Assists with the review and analysis of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements, from DOS and client entities of HQCSS.
• Assists managers in the elaboration of resource requirements and budgetary submissions, ensuring adherence to budgetary and financial policies and procedures, including results-based budgeting, and with particular emphasis on the use of voluntarily contributions.
• Provides support to clients in their budget review and submission of documents for the review of legislative and expert bodies.

Budget administration:

• Releases budgets, including redeployment of funds when necessary, ensuring appropriate expenditures.
• Monitors budget implementation and recommends reallocation of funds as necessary.
• Monitors expenditures to verify that they remain within authorized levels of the donor agreements.
• Reviews and certifies the acquisition of goods and services to ensure correct objects of expenditure have been charged ensuring availability of funds and compliance with donor agreements.
• Reviews and assists in preparation of finalization of budget performance reports, analyzing variances between approved budgets and actual expenditures.
• Assists in providing substantive support to client entities and reviews donor reports.

General:

• Keeps up to date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to programme and client entities’ budgets, ensuring compliance with intergovernmental recommendations, donors and decisions as well as with United Nations policies and procedures.
• Performs other related duties, as assigned.

Competencies

Professionalism: Ability to identify and resolve budgetary problems and identify sources for data collection. Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Planning and organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies. Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required. Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work. Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning. Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary. Uses time efficiently.

Client orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect. Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems. Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects. Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Education

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in business administration, finance, or related field.

A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

A first-level university degree and no experience will be accepted for candidates who have passed the United Nations Young Professionals Programme Examination (YPP), the United Nations National Competitive Recruitment Examination (NCRE) or the General Service to Professional Examination (G to P).

Work Experience

A minimum of two years of progressively responsible experience in finance, budget, business administration or related area is required.

Experience in the administration and management of extra-budgetary resources is required.

Experience working in an Executive or Administrative office in the UN Secretariat, the UN Common System or in a similar international organization is required.

Experience in reviewing cost plans, including budget formulation, is required.

Experience providing advice to clients on the review and monitoring of their budget is required.

No experience is required for candidates who have passed the United Nations Young
Professionals Programme Examination (YPP) or the G to P Examination (G to P).

Experience with financial management in ERP systems, such as SAP (Umoja) is desirable.

Experience with Business Intelligence (BI) reports and the Business Planning and Consolidation (software) is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Fluency in French is desirable. Knowledge of another United Nations official language is an advantage.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice

This position is temporarily available for a period of 364 days. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.

If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment.

While this temporary job opening may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post.

Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.

This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15.

Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.

Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as “retirement.” Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.

At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.

Education qualification exceeding the specified requirement of this job opening including university degrees and certificates shall not give rise to additional entitlements or benefits, or facilitate a move to the Professional category. The movement of staff members from the General Service and related categories to the Professional category in the United Nations Secretariat is exclusively allowed through the Young Professionals Programme competitive examinations. Only a few staff members pass the competitive examinations. Passing the competitive examinations does not guarantee movement to the Professional category. For further information, please visit https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=GP

Pursuant to section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals programme who have not served for a minimum of two years in the position of their initial assignment are not eligible to apply to this position.

A current staff member who holds a fixed-term, permanent or continuing appointment may apply for temporary positions no more than one level above his or her current grade. However, a current staff member who holds an appointment at the G-6 or G-7 level may also apply to temporary positions in the Professional category up to and including the P-3 level, subject to meeting all eligibility and other requirements for the position. In accordance with ST/AI/1999/17 section 2.3, an SPA may only be granted to one level higher than the personal level of the staff member assigned to higher-level functions in his or her own category, whether the higher-level functions are one or several levels higher than the personal level of the staff member. Staff in the General Service and related categories temporarily placed against a post at the Professional level may receive an SPA to the P-1 or P-2 level.

For information on special post allowance, please refer to ST/AI/1999/17.

A staff member holding a temporary appointment shall be regarded as an external candidate when applying for other positions and may apply for other temporary positions at any level, subject to section 5.7 and staff rule 4.16 (b) (ii). Therefore, a staff member holding a temporary appointment in the General Service or related categories may only apply to positions within those categories. For full information on eligibility requirements, please refer to section 5 of T/AI/2010/4Rev.1 on Temporary Appointments.

United Nations Considerations

According to 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. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process.

By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.

Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.