FAO Finance Assistant
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Our goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to live active, healthy lives. With 195 members - 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide to promote better production, better nutrition and better environment for a better life.
The FAO Coordination Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip Programme implements the Country Programming Framework for Palestine to enhance the wellbeing of Palestinian people by making the agrifood system more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable in alignment with national policies and strategies and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF).
The Finance Assistant undertakes finance-related support activities of medium complexity. He/she ensures quality, transparency and consistency of processes. The job role requires in-depth knowledge and interpretation of financial policies, procedures and practices. The incumbent provides procedural guidance to other staff in the Organization as and when needed.
The Finance Assistant will work to provide financial services ensuring high quality, accuracy and consistency of work. The incumbent operates independently and takes decisions on work priorities. The Supervision received is focused on the quality of work output, in particular the meeting of timelines and the quality of advice given to clients. He / she provides guidance and advice to other finance support staff.
Duties and Responsibilities
1) Provides financial, accounting, and administrative support to ensure implementation of operational and financial management strategies and budget monitoring:
• Provides financial, accounting and administrative support ensuring full compliance with UN/FAO financial rules, regulations, policies and strategies, and the effective internal controls framework.
• Provides support to the projects’ financial management and maintains a proper filing system for the financial records and to ensure accuracy of accounting codes and recording of receipts and payments.
• Ensures timely preparation of monthly and annual expenditure reports, updating of budget monitoring tables, financial authorizations, transaction reports and project budget status sheets.
• Updates staff salaries planning tables and records.
• Supports preparation of budget revisions in coordination with Project Managers and Operations Officer.
2) Processes payments and manages expenditure tracking:
• Finalizes payment requests including checks and bank transfers, settlement of cash advances and travel advances and ensures that supporting documents are always adequate and complete.
• Keeps track of and monitors the payment of Letter of Agreements (LOA), office rent and utilities; reviews VAT exemption submissions and refunds; ensures maintenance of the internal expenditures reporting and control system, including the precise and correct processing of vouchers/payment requests through GRMS.
3) Manages cash and bank operations and supports financial transactions and revenue management:
• Ensures proper functioning office cash management system, including timely review of cash position for local accounts, preparation of cash forecast and cash replenishments on regular basis.
• Daily reviews zero-balance account bank statements; identifies and records contributions; timely and accurately prepares bank reconciliations; initiates bank transfers and deals.
• Facilitates the proper receipt of goods and services and establishment of accruals; maintenance of the Account Receivables for FAO projects and recording of deposits; as well as management of cash receipts and petty cash.
Perform other duties within your functional profile as assigned and deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the office.
Competencies
Core
Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
Learn Continuously LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
Adapt with Agility LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
Act with Determination LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
Engage and Partner LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
Enable Diversity and Inclusion LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making
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.
جميع الحقوق محفوظة لموقع جوبس.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
Secondary School Education is required or a first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in Accounting or Finance or Business Administration or any related field will be given due consideration but is not a requirement.
Experience:
A minimum of five (5) years with a secondary education or two (2) years with a bachelor’s degree of relevant experience in finance, accounting, cash management and/or asset management related support work is required.
At least one year of experience with UN agencies is required.
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages is required.
Ability to drive and travel within Jerusalem and West Bank is required.
Strong knowledge of financial rules and regulations and accounting principles is required.
Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions is required.
Desired Skills:
Experience with integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (Oracle) is desired.
Knowledge of IPSAS and/or IFRS is desired.
Languages:
Fluency in Arabic is required.
Working knowledge of English is required – both written and oral.