Job Title: Admin/Finance Officer
Job ID: 7426
Location: Beirut,
Lebanon
APA Location: Beirut,
Lebanon
Salary Grade: P3
Hardship Level: B
Family Type Location: Family
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The Admin/Finance Officer is part of the Senior Management
of an office. He/she will establish and maintain efficient administrative
control mechanisms to ensure compliance with UN Financial, Administrative and
Staff rules and procedures.
Frequent external contacts with counterparts in other
organizations or at working level in national Governments on issues of
importance to Organization¿s programmes. He/she acts as adviser or
representative of the Organization with authority to discuss problems and seek
common ground on which to recommend solutions based on predetermined guidelines
provided by higher authority.
The incumbent directly supervises professional and general
service staff.
FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT
Accountability
- UNHCR premises for the country operation are managed in an
efficient and cost-effective manner, and provide a healthy, safe and respectful
working environment.
- UNHCR¿s financial rules and regulations, policies and
procedures are adhered to by the country operation.
- UNHCR¿s resources are allocated efficiently and
transparently to meet the country operation¿s objectives and priorities.
- The Delegation of Authority Plan (DOAP) is up-to-date and
reflects the necessary segregation of duties in the office.
- The country operation complies with UN security standards.
Responsibility
General Administration
- Manage the day-to-day personnel and administrative
operations of the office.
- Serve as a member of the Local Contracts Committee (LCC).
- Advise the Head of Office and other staff on personnel and
administrative policies and procedures.
- Participate in the physical verification of UNHCR property
plant and equipment.
- Formulate, implement staff safety and security measures
and ensure MOSS/MORSS compliance, in consultation with the Head of Office and
Field Safety Advisers (FSAs)
Human Resources
- Oversee recruitment, appointments and administrative
formalities concerning local General Service staff.
- Prepare operational context for all international posts in
the office.
- Serve ex-officio in the APPC.
- Review and approve the settlement of employee entitlements
including DSA, local salaries and the Medical Insurance Plan (MIP).
- Coordinate training and capacity-building activities to
staff in administrative related areas.
Finance/Budget
- Ensure compliance with UNHCR¿s internal control framework,
financial rules, policies and procedures requesting guidance and support from
headquarters as necessary.
- Identify potential risks in relation to the financial
management of the office, and propose mitigating action to senior management,
when applicable.
- Ensure timely and accurate monthly and year-end closure of
accounts, including bank reconciliation, and submit reports to headquarters as
per prescribed deadlines.
- Prepare a consolidated budget for the country operation
(Branch/Sub/Field Offices) for approval by Regional Office or Headquarters.
- Manage the FOCUS token for the country as a Focus Planning
Coordinator.
- Ensure timely and effective follow-up to audit
observations and recommendations.
- Provide training on financial matters.
Authority
- Select and negotiate with local service providers, within
the established financial parameters.
- Ensure local compliance with UNHCR¿s administrative, human
resources and financial policies and procedures.
- Approve vouchers, including ABOD and project
disbursements;
- Approve and certify local bank reconciliation and petty
cash accounts.
- Certify country-level financial expenditure reports
submitted to the regional office or Headquarters.
- Settle amounts due, or recover travel payments, from
country operation staff.
ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
REQUIRED
- University Degree in Accounting, Finance, Public or
Business Administration, Economics or related field, OR university degree in
another field combined with a professional qualification in accounting or
finance (CPA/CIA or equivalent).
- Minimum eight years of previous job experience in the
field of accounting or finance, of which at least two years in an
intergovernmental organization (United Nations or similar).
- Working experience with PeopleSoft/Oracle Financial and/or
HR modules.
- Excellent computer skills, in particular in MS Office
applications
- Excellent communication skills.
- Excellent knowledge of English and working knowledge of
another UN language.
(In offices where the working language is not English,
excellent knowledge of working language of duty station and working knowledge
of English.)
***For National Officer positions, very good knowledge of
local language and local institutions is essentials.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES.
- Professional qualification in accounting or finance
(CPA/CIA or equivalent).
- Excellent knowledge of United Nations administrative,
human resources and financial rules and procedures.
Operational Context
Over the past year, and due to the Syrian emergency, BO
Lebanon has steadily expanded to meet the needs of a growing number of persons
of concern. Today the Office has over
35,000 persons of concern, its caseload having tripled since the early 2011. In addition to the central office in Beirut, BO Lebanon has established two field offices: one
is in Qobayyat on the northern border with Syria and the second is in Zahle in
the Bekka valley. In July 2012 a third field presence will be opened in Chekka,
in north-east Lebanon.
As the caseload has grown, so too has the Office staffing which has increased
from 70 to 154 positions.
The impact on the Administration Unit of these changes has
been substantial. Previously a small
unit managing the admin/finance and human resource responsibilities for a
relatively modest operation¿ it has in a short period of time needed to respond
to new challenges including in the areas of finance, human resources, supply,
information and communications technology, and logistics. This position will
therefore require frequent travel to field offices and that selected candidate
should have relevant experience on emergency operation and demonstrated
functional competency on security and staff safety.
The Admin/Finance Officer for this post must have
multi-functional competencies to manage the many facets of the unit to support
the growing needs of the operation. The
person must have proven excellent managerial skills with a capacity to lead
well given the number of functions that are carried out by the staff in the
unit. Considering the particular cultural and political peculiarities in Lebanon, it is
important that the incumbent has very good record of inter personal skills and
team leadership.
As Human Resources (HR) and Financial management are
centralized at the capital level, proficiency in MSRP and FOCUS is
critical. It is also essential that the
candidate has a solid understanding of UNHCR rules and procedures related to
administration, human resources, and finance and demonstrated ability to put
them to good effect. The candidate on
this position should have the capacity to draft in English.
Closing Date
Please note that the closing date for vacancies in Part I of
the September 2012 Compendium is Thursday 27 September 2012 (midnight Geneva time).
To apply for this position and others at UNHCR, click here
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