Background The Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC) within the Bureau for Management Services (BMS) supports UNDP in the promotion of its sustainable human development agenda. It achieves this by developing and making fully operational a dynamic and harmonized integrated resource management framework.
As part of this commitment, UNDP adopted International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) on 1 January 2012 and established the Global Shared Service Centre (GSSC) to serve UNDP’s network of offices (covering 166 countries around the world) in the provision of financial, accounting and procurement services. In addition to their day-to-day operations, the GSSC supports UNDP’s country offices through transactions support training where needed.
To support sustainable human development, UNDP’s main resource is people. The GSSC Payroll Finance Unit (PFU) supports staff based in 166 locations in 140 currencies. Finance Associate function is a then a critical and material financial subject for UNDP.
For these HR finance functions, GSSC PFU supports all processes related to internal control, payroll finalization, pension administration and payroll accounting, third party disbursement of payroll deductions, after-service health insurance accounting, inter-agency billing for staff costs, positions management, income tax reporting for USA staff, audit of receivables and final pay entitlements for separating staff and monitoring/reconciliation of some staff receivables accounts.
The Finance Associate is responsible for providing support related to payroll finalization and posting, pension administration, financial clearance for separations, third-party payments, US tax reporting, positions and labor schedules management. In addition, the Finance Associate will improve regularly these processes, in a continuous improvement culture. 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
Duties and Responsibilities1. Perform accounting, processing, auditing and/or internal control tasks, as described in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) such as:
Review payroll results, execute analytical reports and coordinate with Benefits and Entitlements Services to ensure valid employee data setup for pension enrolment, recovery of staff receivables, medical insurance premium, garnishment, deductions for third parties and other earnings and deductions processed through HCM periodic payroll Provide pension administration support including audit of pension separation clearance documents, timely responses to Country Offices (COs) and other clients/customers on pension separation clearance process and other pension related matters. Support offices to update of the position information and labor schedules for timely posting of the payroll results to general ledger and Project & Portfolio Management (PPM) Prepare vouchers for third party payments and support reconciliation of the payments with the payroll deduction register Coordinate with Benefits and Entitlements Services and Office of Financial Resources Management (OFRM) Treasury to account for unprocessed and unpaid salaries in the receivable accounts. Support offices in review of the finalized payroll results using standard queries2. Support financial reconciliation and provide period-end closure support:
Support offices in reconciliation of staff receivable accounts with reports and guidance Reconcile liability accounts for pension, medical and life insurance and third-party payments Liaise with Quantum users to resolve transactional errors and provide functional and operational guidance for initiating undertaking corrective action Under the guidance of the approving officers, prepare adjustment and reclassification entries. Support the supervisor in the preparation of period-end working paper for management and audit review Process journals and payments for invoices received from the partner agencies and other UN organizations for reimbursable services billing for settlement of employee related inter-agency transactions3. Analysis of account balances for IPSAS compliance:
Support Country Offices review of financial transactions related to staff benefits and entitlements to verify the expense and liability accounts for conformity with operational guidance, staff regulations, period-end closure procedures and other standard operating procedures In accordance with the documented standard operating procedures, review the need for categorization of employee benefits expenses, prepare working papers and support disbursement and reconciliation of employee benefits related third party payments4. Ensure additional reporting/data management, such as:
Assist in maintaining/creating position attributes in coordination with the OFRM/OHR/CO process owners Liaise with the Country Offices to provide final financial clearance for the separating staff to the Staff Administrative Services Support enrolment of newly hired staff in the pension plan and process end-of-service pension clearance for separating staff Assume responsibility for special tasks and projects assigned by the supervisor and other GSSC managersThe incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization
Competencies CoreAchieve 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
HR - Compensation/remuneration - Payroll management
Knowledge of and ability to apply mechanisms and tools to collect payroll data, process payroll, and manage payroll reports Finance - Accounting (General) Knowledge of accounting concepts, principles, frameworks, standards, regulations, policies and trends, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations. HR - People strategy and planning - Position management Knowledge of the process, structure, and technology used to maintain positions in an organization in line with the corporate strategy. Finance - Financial reporting and analysis Understands changes in regulatory, legal and ethical frameworks and standards for financial reporting in the public sector. 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. Understands the benefits of integrated reporting, including non-financial resources such as human, social and intellectual capital, and environmental and governance performance. Business Development - Knowledge Generation Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need. Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations. Business Direction and Strategy - Business Acumen Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome. Ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization and ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks. Business Management - Operations Management Ability to effectively plan, organize, and oversee the Organization’s business processes in order to convert its assets into the best results in the most efficient manner. Knowledge of relevant concepts and mechanisms. Required Skills and Experience Education: Completion of Secondary education is required with specialized certification in Accounting and/or Finance and/or Payroll. OR University degree in Finance or Accounting is desirable. Part-qualified accountants from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage. Fully Qualified Accountant, from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy or Full Completion of the UNDP Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP). No UNDP Accountancy and Finance Test (AFT)is required. Candidates with no professional accountancy qualifications, but with degrees that major in accountancy and/or finance must complete UNDP Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP), if recruited. However, no UNDP Accountancy and Finance Test (AFT) is required. Candidates with no professional accountancy qualifications but with relevant experience must successfully undertake UNDP Accountancy and Finance Test (AFT) before shortlisting and must complete the UNDP Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP), if recruited. Experience: Minimum 6 years (with secondary school education) or 3 years (with a Bachelors’ degree) of relevant experience in finance/payroll at the national or international level is required. Experience in the usage of computers and MS Office packages is required. Advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages is required. Hands-on experience with UNALL is desired. Hands-on experience with Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP), preferably with PeopleSoft/Oracle is desired. Prior experience with the UN or UNDP in a similar role is considered an asset. Knowledge of IPSAS and/or IFRS is required for external candidates. Experience in audit and internal control systems is an asset. Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of other UN language (French/Spanish/Arabic) desirable. DisclaimerImportant applicant information
All posts in the GS categories are subject to local recruitment. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.