Finance Officer (Cash Based Transfer) UN Jobs – United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

Job: Finance Officer (Cash Based Transfer)

Organization: United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

About WFP: United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to United help communities rebuild their lives. On average, WFP reaches more than 80 million people with food assistance in 80 countries each year. The organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to food and contribute to lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas.

Job Summary:  The Finance Officer (Cash Based Transfer) will act as the Cash Based Transfers (CBT) focal point in the WFP UGCO Finance Unit, supporting the CBT Interventions in all aspects relating to finance in accordance with finance and accounting principles, and WFP rules and guidelines. The Finance Officer CBT will also support the management accounting process in the finance unit to provide both routine and adhoc financial and analytical reports to support management decision making and will provide a backup role for the staff and vendor payments processing.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Perform all routine monthly CBT reconciliations including reconciliation of the Cash Release Note (CRN) vs Bank Upload, reconciliation of the CRN to the MNO (Mobile Network Operator) uploads and transfer reports, the routine monthly CBT bank account reconciliations, etc. This includes the follow-up and timely resolution of all exceptions arising with the various stakeholders (programmes, financial service providers (FSPs), etc.).
• Monitor the CBT compliance to the WFP corporate policies and guidelines and ensure that effective and efficient internal controls are in place to mitigate the various financial and operational risks arising in the CBT process. This will involve the validation and follow-up of all CBT transfer requests from the programmes unit to ensure that they comply with WFP guidelines and that they are done timely. It will also include periodic interactions with the WFP Regional Office and Head Quarters CBT focal points on new CBT process requirements, CBT tools and templates, internal controls etc and the follow-up and resolution of any CBT issues or internal control weakness raised during internal/external audits and the routine regional office oversight visits.
• Support the periodic CBT procurement process for new FSPs, MNOs, other CBT service providers and monitor the performance of the procured FSPs, MNOs versus the agreed contractual terms. This will include participation in the CBT Due Diligence processes, completion of the required corporate templates, requesting and reviewing FSP and MNO financial reports and information.
• Represent the Finance Unit in the CBT Working Group meetings to ensure effective coordination of all CBT activities that ensures timely and effective delivery of services to the beneficiaries.
• Prepare/Support in the preparation of routine and adhoc financial reports and analysis to both internal and external stakeholders to support decision making and to comply with donor, partner, or other stakeholder requirements. This will include supporting the preparation and presentation of the quarterly country program budget versus expenditure analysis, resource management committee financial analysis, etc.
• Support the routine payments processes, internal funds transfers, monthly financial closures as an alternate to the Finance Officer NOA. This will include preparation of the payment proposals and payment runs in the ERP system and the appropriate validation and review of these payments for tax, WFP financial guidelines compliance before processing and performing the routine month end financial closure process when required.
• Maintain appropriate physical and electronic documentation of all reconciliations, financial analysis reports and transactions done and manage all required data uploads, reviews and processing in the approved WFP corporate CBT reconciliation tool and ERP system.
• Contribute to the delivery of financial controls and insight into WFP performance, supporting periodic risk and internal control assessments to identify areas which may present potential audit, compliance, or financial risks.
• Guide and supervise more junior staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with more complex analysis and queries.
• Represent unit/CO at internal meetings, external meetings and events with other UN agencies, banks and other financial institutions, or other partners and entities as required.
• Follow standard emergency preparedness practices to ensure WFP can quickly respond and deploy food and needed resources to affected areas at the onset of the crisis.
• Perform other general financial and administrative duties as assigned by the supervisor e.g. facilitation and support to visiting oversight and audit teams, training/preparation of training materials for staff and other stakeholders, etc

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The ideal candidate for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)  Finance Officer (Cash Based Transfer) job vacancy must hold an advanced University degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting, or related fields, or First University degree in the same subject(s) with additional years of related work experience.
• Full or final stage professional qualifications in an internationally recognized professional accountancy body such as Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPA) or their equivalent.
• At least five years of relevant professional experience in performing basic financial analysis and financial reporting at a national and/or field operational level.
• Experience in reviewing and analysing financial statements.
• Experience in the use of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) like SAP.
• Very good working knowledge of the complete Microsoft Office suite, proficient in MS Excel. Ability to analyze, interpret and summarize large amounts of data and the capacity to identify process improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across one or more dispersed and diverse teams is desirable.
• Proven professional commitment to professionalism, punctuality, accuracy, confidentiality, integrity and flexibility, and proven experience in introducing new and more effective ways of working.

Competencies:

• Internal Controls & Compliance: Utilizes understanding of risk management approaches and internal controls to monitor projects and programmes to confirm regulatory compliance and ensure data integrity.
• Performance Budgeting, Reporting & Analysis: Analyzes budgets and forecasts to support the development of recommendations for senior leadership on financial and business planning matters in accordance with Value for Money principles.
• Resources Management (People, time, assets, etc.): Monitors trends in staffing and resource usage to anticipate and escalate potential issues to programme leaders.
• Financial Management & Accounting Principles: Applies knowledge of financial and accounting principles and practices to ensure compliance with WFP policies, applicable procedures and accounting standards.
• Supply Chain and Operations Knowledge: Applies working knowledge of WFP programme and supply chain principles to develop and/or review project budget plans.

  NB: Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified candidates who wish to join the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are encouraged to apply online at the link below

Click Here

Deadline: 29^th April 2021