Job Title: Programme and Budget Officer
Department: Pakistan CO
Reports to (Title/Level): Country Representative
Direct Reports: No
Current Grade: NPSA 9
Duty Station: Islamabad, Pakistan
Background:
UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
UN Women Pakistan prioritizes supporting Women’s Leadership and Political Participation, Violence Against Women and Governance (VAW/G) and Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) as important goals to promote women’s empowerment and leadership in all decision-making processes. In order to achieve these important goals, UN Women works closely with key relevant government departments, CSOs, academia, and media to create wider awareness and promote gender equality.
Under the supervision and guidance of the Country Representative, the Programme and Budget Officer is responsible for ensuring the efficient management of the Project Budget, safeguarding accountability and transparency through risk-informed planning, budgeting, and reporting. This enables UN Women Pakistan to effectively advance its key priorities, strategic objectives, and commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Programme and Budget Officer plays a critical role in executing Budgetary administrative processes within the Country Office (CO), ensuring the timely and efficient use of resources in compliance with organizational financial rules, regulations, policies, and approved allocations.
The Programme and Budget Officer also works in close collaboration with the Programme and Operations Team in the Country Office and Regional Office as well as with the Operations and Programme teams in UN Women HQ to solve complex budget-related issues and information delivery.
Functions:
Prepare and administer the CO budgets in full compliance of UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems
Assist programme teams in budget formulation for new projects to support resource mobilization efforts of the Country Office, ensuring cost-effective resource allocation. Provide technical support on budgetary and financial aspects of project implementation and identify funding gaps and risks. Contribute to the development of budget guidelines, templates, and tools for project managers. Ensure the integration of gender-responsive budgeting in programme planning and implementation. Formulate the budget, control allotments, monitor expenditures, and prepare revisions according to the needs of the CO and support the preparation of multi-year financial frameworks, budget estimates, and work plans. Prepare budgets in Quantum and prepare revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds Ensure the maintenance of the control mechanism for development projects through monitoring budget preparation and modifications and budgetary status; Input budget data in Quantum and monitor status. Keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely action and/or decisions; Undertake corrective actions on un-posted vouchers, including vouchers with budget check errors, match exceptions and unapproved vouchers. Frequently review and investigate payment vouchers which are in error; and respond to CO requests to resolve financial data issues; Assist Project Managers with budget re-phasal as required. Promote full compliance of implementation of programming initiatives and activities with UN/UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures; implementation of effective internal controls, troubleshooting and analysis of parameters in support of effective design and functioning of management advisory support to the Country OfficeImplement financial strategies, and adapt processes and procedures in full compliance of UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systems
Monitor and analyze budget utilization and expenditure trends, ensuring compliance with UN financial rules and donor agreements. Prepare financial reports, forecasts, and variance analysis to support decision-making. Ensure timely and accurate financial reporting to donors, senior management, and external auditors. Identify and address financial risks, inefficiencies, and discrepancies in budget execution. Assist in budget entry for Multi-year Work Plan entry in the Results Management System (RMS) as required. Provide advice and recommend solutions to a wide range of budget issues; Monitor the proper utilization of the programmatic budgets and resources; Actively promote a client-oriented budget support service to the Country and where required, regional offices. Monitor financial exceptions reports for unusual activities or transaction, investigate anomalies and report to the supervisor conclusions and/or present recommendations for actions/decisions; Perform duties in full compliance with UN Women financial regulations and rules, policies and standard operating procedures, including internal controls;Collect, verify and present information and data for use in the planning of financial resources and the formulation of the Country Office (CO) programme work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements and execution modalities; Monitor the proper functioning of the financial resources management system for office and programmatic budgets and resources; Provide advice and recommend solutions to a wide range of budget and financial issues;
Provide support to the Programme and Operations teams
Review accounts receivables for UN Women projects and follow-up with project managers and finance section at regional office and/or headquarters on contributions, deposits creation in Quantum and their application to AR pending items; Provide day-to-day budget support to HR, Procurement, Programme, and Operations teams, ensuring efficient financial planning and resource allocation. Assist Procurement team with budget-related matters, and error resolution to ensure seamless procurement processes and financial accuracy. Under the guidance of the Country Representative plan and allocate operational costs effectively, optimizing the use of financial resources for smooth office functioning. Monitoring of budgets in Quantum to ensure they are in accordance with as agreed with donors and are input into Quantum at the detailed Activity ID level; Monitor each month over-expenditure of budgets and follow up with Budget Owner; Monitor regular transactions posted to projects ensuring actual expenditure has been recorded against correct budget category and activity, take timely corrective actions as required; Monitor and follow up on all the budget related items in Month-end and Year-end closure instructions status and under the guidance of the Operations Manager, take correction actions as required; Keep stakeholders and clients informed for timely actions/decisions and review status reports for quality control; Prepare PO and non-PO vouchers for development projects; Provide information inputs to financial reports for Country and regional office and other stakeholders; Finalize mandated financial reports to donors and other clients and stakeholders; Support in partner assessment and partner management where needed including budget and financial review of the partner agreement and compliance Provide information inputs to financial reports for Country and regional office and other stakeholders; Finalize mandated financial reports to donors and other clients and stakeholders; Associate revenue and expenditure in commitment control for non-core projects. Ensures effective support to monitoring and oversight activities including project appraisal, implementation, donor reporting, evaluation, and operational and financial management. Provide any additional support in matters of budget and finance for the UN Women country office on the advice of the Country Representative.Facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing
Conduct regular training for project managers and associates and/or help organize training sessions and activities to enhance staff capacity on budget management of UN Women country office Collect and compile lessons learned and best practices in financial management and services. Disseminate to clients and stakeholders as appropriate to build capacity and knowledge. Contribute to financial business operational practices and management innovations. Supervise and guide staff and personnel under responsibility, as applicableKey Performance Indicators:
Timely, complete and accurate financial transactions/activities/documentation Timely and accurate advice on UN Women financial rules and regulations Timely and regular monitoring of financial resources management system and timely expenditure of financial resources Timely and accurate support to budget formulation and controlling allotments Timely and accurate monitoring of internal expenditures control systems Timely and quality financial support to programmes and programme teamCompetencies :
Core Values:
Integrity; Professionalism; Respect for Diversity.Core Competencies:
Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues; Accountability; Creative Problem Solving; Effective Communication; Inclusive Collaboration; Stakeholder Engagement; Leading by Example.Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:
Functional Competencies:
Strong knowledge of UN financial regulations, budgeting principles, and donor reporting requirements. Excellent knowledge and application skills of IT tools and understanding of management systems; Experience in programme budgeting, financial analysis, and grant management. Proficiency in Quantum/ERP system or other financial management systems. Advanced skills in Excel, data analytics, and financial modeling. Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions.Education and certification:
Master’s degree in business administration, Management sciences, Public Administration or a relevant field with 5 years of relevant experience A first-level university degree(Bachelors) in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage.Experience:
At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in programme and budget management/support; Relevant experience at the national or international level in project/ programme management, business operations, etc. is desirable. Good knowledge of ERP systems is desirable. Experience with UN operations is desirable. Experience focusing on quality assurance and monitoring support in project implementation is desirable. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems. Experience in the use of Quantum will be an asset. Experience in working with organizations with a strong focus on gender and development issues will be an assetLanguage Requirement:
Fluency in English and Urdu is required Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.Application:
All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11- Personal-History-Form-en.doc
Applications without the completed UNWomen P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
HEC Attested degrees are a prerequisite for employment at UN. During the recruitment process candidates may be required to present HEC attested degrees. Foreign Qualified Candidates: Foreign degree holders shall be required to (i) Present a verification/certification letter from the university verifying the degree & student enrollment, or (ii) Foreign degree Equivalence Letter from HEC.
Statements :
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.
Diversity and inclusion:
At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.
If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.
UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.