Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located within the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The Finance and Budget Assistant will be based in Kabul. The Finance and Budget Assistant reports to the Finance and Budget Officer.

Responsibilities

Under the general supervision of the Finance and Budget Officer, the Finance and Budget Assistant will perform the following tasks: • Assists with the preparation of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of Mission’s resourcing requirements such as staff and non-staff requirements, including programmatic aspects; assists, reviews and revises data to the finalization of the budget proposals as well as Result Based Budgeting inputs. • Assists with support to program/fund center managers (Substantive and Support Sections) to the elaboration of resource requirements for budget submissions. • Supports the administration and monitoring of extra-budgetary resources, including review of agreements and cost plans for Trust Funds and Cost Recovery/sharing, ensuring compliance with regulations, rules, and established policies and procedures. • Processes the Mission’s redeployment of funds under the established procedures. • Supports with the review in ensuring the efficient and effective use of budgetary resources through robust monitoring of budget utilization to the approved budget and timely provision of information to Mission management for decision-making. • Provides support and guidance to fund center/program managers on budget implementation and process corrective actions where necessary. • Assists with the preparation of budget performance reports for the Mission, ensuring that correct and accurate data/information is provided by the various program/fund center managers in compliance with the Controller’s instructions. • Assists with reviews and finalizes performance reports ensuring valid and adequate variance explanations between approved budgets and actual expenditures. • Reviews and allocates to the respective Mission’s fund centers the initial allotment and, once approved by the Fifth committee, the remainder of the Mission’s allotment advice for implementation. • Analyzes accounting transactions and open items in the accounting system and recommends corrective actions. • Reviews and reconciles various clearing accounts, investigates erroneous/invalid entries, and recommends corrective accounting actions. • Provides support to Fund Center managers for the year-end reviews of budget commitments under established criteria. • Reviews and verifies that appropriate relevant supporting documents have been provided for the processing of payments for goods and services received. • Processes staff and non-staff members’ entitlements including claims, danger pay, daily subsistence allowance, mission subsistence allowance, volunteer living allowance, and any other allowances for payments in conformity and adherence to applicable United Nations policies e.g., staff rules, financial regulations, and rules, ST/AI issuances or practices, IPSAS policy framework etc. • Assists with the management of cash flow requirements of the mission; verifies imprest documentation and processes imprest statements. • Provides advice, financial interpretations, adaptations, and corrective actions in response to audits and other queries to ensure adherence to the UN Financial Regulations and Rules, Staff Rules, Administrative Instructions, Bulletins, and Circulars under the supervision/guidance of the Finance and Budget Officer. • Contributes to the collection and analysis of data as well as identification of trends or patterns and provides draft insights through graphs, charts, tables, and reports using data visualization methods for data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation, and reporting. • Documents requirements and background information used for data analysis. • Performs other related duties as required.

Competencies

Professionalism: Shows pride in work and 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. Accountability: Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honors commitments; Delivers outputs for which one has responsibility within the prescribed time, cost, and quality standards; Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules; Supports subordinates, provides oversight and takes responsibility for delegated assignments; Takes personal responsibility for his/her shortcomings and those of the work unit, where applicable.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent. Technical or vocational certificate in accounting, finance, budgeting, or related fields is a requirement.

Job – Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

At least 8 years of progressively responsible experience with the United Nations System or in the private sector at the national or international level in accounting, budgeting, or financial management is required. Hands-on experience in financial ERP systems (e.g. SAP/Umoja) is required. Experience in cost management, budget formulation, financial monitoring, financial reporting, or other related areas is required. Experience in cost recovery budgeting, monitoring, and reporting is desirable. Knowledge of UN financial rules and regulations is desirable. Knowledge of the Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) platform or Results Based Budgeting (RBB) is desirable. Experience in working with MS Excel or similar programs involving large data sets (using pivot tables and arrays) and calculations is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of a second United Nations official language is an advantage.

Assessment

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

Special Notice

Appointment or assignment against this position is for an initial period of one year. In accordance with the Cost Recovery Policy and Guidelines, positions funded by voluntary contributions (VC) or other non-assessed funds are not controlled by staffing tables approved by governing bodies, and their approval or renewal is subject to the availability of funds. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers by established rules and procedures. Under section 7.11 of ST/AI/2012/2/Rev.1, candidates recruited through the young professionals program 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. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving a 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. Internal Applicants: When completing the form, ensure ALL fields, professional experience, and contact information are completed and up to date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you. Individual contractors and consultants (Non-Personnel Staff) who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered. All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. Online applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgment within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira “Need Help?” link.

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 offense 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 offenses 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 under 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 based on 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 on their 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.