Job Details

Job Description

Grade

GS7

General Service

Reason

Temporary > Temporary Assignment/ Appointment

B

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2025-01-01

2025-06-30

January 2, 2025

Standard Job Description

Senior Finance Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior Finance Associate is normally supervised by the (Senior) Finance Officer who defines general work objectives and provides necessary advice and guidance. The incumbent also refers to UNHCR Manuals and relevant policy papers on financial issues. The incumbent works quite independently on regular assignments with an oversight from the supervisor.
The incumbent assists with the processing of financial transactions. S/he keeps frequent contact with staff at various levels in the office and with bank officials to exchange information. The incumbent normally supervises some support staff.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR’s core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
– Oversees the processing of financial transactions and reconciliations in line with relevant policies and procedures.
– Provide financial reports as per financial guidelines and when required.
– Maintain ledgers and accounting records for classification and recording of financial transactions and for the reconciliation of accounts and preparation of recurring or special reports.
– Ensure timely and accurate calculation and payment of salaries, allowances, travel claims and other payments to staff members, experts and consultants, vendors and other claimants.
– Contribute to the preparation and processing of monthly accounts.
– Prepare financial data for budget estimates and financial planning.
– Ensure reconciliation of cash books with bank statements.
– Maintain liaison with officials of local banks and financial institutions to obtain day-to-day information on exchange and interest rates, changes in procedures and regulations, and matters pertaining to maintenance of office bank accounts.
– Assist colleagues in all aspects of accounts maintenance and budget control by providing reports on financial status, procedures, exchange rates, costs and expenditures and potential funding problems.

– Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
– Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G7 – 4 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Finance; Business Administration; Accounting;
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Not specifed.

Desirable
Knowledge and work experience of MSRP Finance applications. Good knowledge of UN/UNHCR Financial rules and procedures. Completion of UNHCR learning programmes or specific training relevant to the functions of the position.

Functional Skills
*IT-Computer Literacy
*IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Operational Context:
UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).
In Zambia, UNHCR supports the Government of Zambia to provide an enabling protection environment that allows asylum seekers, refugees and former refugees to be protected, be self-reliant and achieve durable solutions.
Zambia has adopted a comprehensive refugee response approach as envisioned by the New York Declaration of 2016 and the Global Compact on refugees of 2018, which guide the country’s refugee and asylum response. The framework envisages an all-of-society approach with solid investment and support from the international community to meet both immediate life-saving humanitarian needs and long-term solutions through development action.
The Government of Zambia (GRZ) coordinates the asylum and refugee management through the Office of the Commissioner for Refugees (COR) in close collaboration with other government departments and the inter-governmental steering committee established for this purpose, with the direct support of UNHCR.
As of end of November 2024, the country hosts 106,541 persons that require UNHCR’s continuous protection support including 79,244 Refugees, 9,490 Asylum seekers and 17,807 Former refugees (Angolan & Rwandan). While a big part of the population has been in Zambia for decades, the operation has also been continuously receiving new arrivals, for instance at an average of 200/week in 2024. UNHCR has a Representation Office in Lusaka, with two field offices in Solwezi and Kawambwa and is planning to open another field office in Kaoma.

Nature of Position:
The Senior Finance Associate position in the UNHCR Representation Office in Lusaka is supervised by the Associate Administrative Officer. The incumbent assists with the processing of financial transactions and is responsible for supporting the financial operations of the representation office and field operations. With the objective to safeguard and optimize the utilization of UNHCR’s monetary and physical resources, the incumbent will contribute to the establishment and implementation of procedures and policies in line with UN financial regulations and UNHCR’s rules, policies, and procedures. S/he is responsible for accounts payable, accounts receivable, treasury processes, accounting, adherence to and implementation of internal control mechanisms, including support to oversight and audit functions. S/he is also responsible for regularly analysing, evaluating and controlling disbursements/receipts, as well as expenditure variances against approved budgets and timely assisting the management in all aspects of accounts maintenance and budget control by providing reports on financial status, procedures, exchange rates, costs and expenditures and potential funding problems in areas of responsibility.
His/her responsibilities include but are not limited to processing of financial transactions after ensuring all supporting documents are reviewed and endorsed according to standard procedures, monitoring the use of the administrative budget (ABOD) and expenditures ensuring adequate and timely replenishments of funds; processing monthly accounts closure, conducting regular review and timely clearance of open items, and reconciliations; processing timely submissions of VAT refund claims to the state authorities; providing financial status reports, etc.
The incumbent is part of a multifunctional team and supports the UNHCR Cash Based Interventions (CBI) programme through processing of prepayments/advance payments, dispatching of duly signed instructions to the bank and assisting in closure of prepayments after the bank confirms successful payments to the intended beneficiaries; performing reconciliations. The incumbent is required to provide support to and cooperate with other UNHCR teams in the country, particularly UNHCR’s three (3) Field Offices, and liaise/coordinate with other teams in UNHCR’s in the Regional Bureau for Southern Africa. The position is for a six months’ Temporary Appointment with possibility of extension.

Desired Candidate Profile
The candidate should be knowledgeable in and have demonstrated experience in the application of financial procedures and processes, and budget preparation, preferably in international organisations.
The candidate must possess demonstrated skills in the management of receivables and payables, in the preparation of bank reconciliations and payroll.
The candidate needs to possess demonstrated analytical and drafting skills as s/he will be required to provide comprehensive financial and budgetary reports. Knowledge and experience in finance and budget modules of financial resource planning systems is also necessary.
An understanding of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), or similar accrual accounting standards as well as experience in coordinating with internal and external auditors and other financial oversight bodies is required.
Advanced knowledge of Excel, including full proficiency with pivot tables, is essential.
The position requires a candidate who is highly organized, skilled in workflow management and is client oriented. The ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic work environment and to meet strict deadlines is necessary.
The incumbent is required to have excellent working knowledge and demonstrated experience in the use of digital and online resource planning and management tools. The candidate must be fluent in English, both spoken and and written and be a good communicator.
The incumbent must be ready to travel to remote areas in the country

This position doesn’t require a functional clearance

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Skills

IT-Computer Literacy, IT-Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Education

Certifications

Accounting – Other, Business Administration – Other, Finance – Other

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit for written test and/or oral interview