Position Information

Title: Finance Assistant
Level: NPSA 5
Duty station: Beirut, Lebanon
Expected Duration: 1 year

Project Description

The Finance team supports the Country Office (CO) in the promotion of its sustainable development agenda by continuously enhancing CO financial performance, delivering sound management of financial resources, and ensuring strong accountability through informed decision making, effective financial management processes, and transparent financial reporting that complies with international standards and regulatory guidelines.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Operations Manager and direct supervisor, the Finance Assistant provides financial services ensuring high quality, accuracy and consistency of work. The Finance Assistant promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations.

The Finance Assistant works in close collaboration with the Operations, Programme and projects’ staff in the Country Office (CO) and with UNDP HQ and GSSC staff to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Scope of Work

Support implementation of operational strategies
• Ensure full compliance of financial processes and financial records with UNDP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (POPP) and strategies;
• Provide input to the Finance unit and office management in preparing and reviewing CO business processes mapping and elaboration of the content of internal standard operating procedures in finance in consultation with the direct supervisor and office management.

B.Support the functioning of the optimal cost-recovery system
• Provide inputs for the preparation of cost-recovery bills in ERP for the services provided by UNDP;
• Preparation of cost-sharing bills for the Common Services/Common Security projects;
• Follow-up/ensure collection of cost recovery and cost-sharing bills.

Provide accounting and administrative support to the Finance unit
• Provide support in ensuring proper control of the supporting documents for payment invoices and proper document management including systematic archiving;
• Prepare/Review VAT refund submissions for CO and Agencies. Follow-up on VAT exemption requests;
• Consolidate VAT exempted invoices for further submission to the VAT directorate in a timely manner;
• Prepare all types of invoices;
• Maintain the internal expenditures control system which ensures that invoices processed are matched and completed; transactions are correctly recorded and posted in ERP; and travel claims and other entitlements are duly processed;
• Provide information on the status of financial resources as required;
• Take timely corrective actions on unposted invoices, including invoices with validation errors, match exceptions, and/or unapproved invoices;
• Maintain the Accounts Receivables for UNDP projects in ERP.

Ensure proper functioning of CO cash and Treasury management systems
• Serve as a backup to Finance Assistant (ICS-5) for timely review of cash position for local accounts to ensure sufficient funds for disbursements and maintain liquidity level approved by Treasury.  Identify and record receipts and create deposits for revenue application on a timely basis;
• Support in clearing issues related to bank reconciliations and provide documentation to GSSC according to service level agreement;
• Initiate bank transfers and deals in ERP;
• Follow-up on uncollected/unpresented Checks.

Support knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the CO
• Participate in the training for the operations/ projects staff on finance;
• Provide contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

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

Institutional Arrangement

Under the guidance and supervision of the Operations Manager and direct supervisor, the Finance Assistant provides financial services ensuring high quality, accuracy and consistency of work. The Finance Assistant promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations.

Competencies

Core

• Achieve Results:LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
• Think Innovatively:LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
• Learn Continuously:LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
• Adapt with Agility:LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
• Act with Determination:LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
• Engage and Partner:LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion:   LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

• Business Management
  Customer Satisfaction/Client Management: Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers’ needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients’ immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns
• Business Development
  Knowledge Generation: Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need
• Business Management
  Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making
• Administration & Operations
  Documents and Records Management: Overall document (hard or electronic) management; registry and retention policy including storing and archiving
• Finance
  Accounting (General): Knowledge of accounting concepts, principles, regulations, policies and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations.
• Finance
  Financial Reporting and Analysis: Ability to extract, evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful and coherent manner to facilitate effective decision making and performance monitoring.
• Finance
  Audit: Ability to examine and verify accounts and records

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA

Education
• Completion of Secondary Education is required; or
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business or Public Administration desirable, but it is not a requirement.

Experience
• Minimum 5 years with secondary education or 2 years with a Bachelor’s degree of progressive relevant experience in finance and accounting experience at the national or international level is required.

Required Languages   
• Fluency in the English and Arabic is required.

Required  skills
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advanced knowledge of spreadsheets and web-based management systems such as ERP financials and database packages.

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section
• Knowledge of IPSAS and/or IFRS is desired.