Vacancy code: VA/2013/B5501/1702
Position title: Senior Finance Management Specialist
Level: ICS-11
Department/office: APO, Bangkok
Duty station: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Contract type: Local ICA Specialist
Contract level: LICA Specialist-8
Duration: 1 year with possibility of extension
Application period:11-Jan-2013 to 27-Jan-2013
Background Information - UNOPS
“UNOPS plays a critical role in providing management services for our life-saving, peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. I have seen many examples of how these activities help suffering people in troubled parts of the world.”
-Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General
UNOPS mission is to expand the capacity of the UN system and its partners to implement peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations that matter for people in need.
Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, UNOPS vision is to always satisfy partners with management services that meet world-class standards of quality, speed and cost effectiveness.
By assisting UN organizations, international financial institutions, governments and other development partners, UNOPS makes significant, tangible contributions to results on the ground.
UNOPS employs more than 6000 personnel and on behalf of its partners creates thousands more work opportunities in local communities. With its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, a network of five regional offices and a further 20 operations and project centres, UNOPS oversees activities in more than 80 countries.
UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.
Background Information - APO
Asia and the Pacific Regional Office
The Asia and the Pacific Regional Office is based in Bangkok, Thailand, and was established in 1995 to bring UNOPS closer to partners in the region. The regional office provides implementation support and project management services to operations throughout the region, supplying financial oversight of projects, procuring goods and services, and managing human resources. It helps ensure that projects are executed to the highest standards, ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are shared within the region and beyond.
Background Information - Job-specific
The Local Fund Agent (LFA) is a crucial part of the Global Fund's system of oversight and risk management. Its principal role is to provide informed and independent professional advice about the capacity of Principal Recipients (PR) to manage the implementation of activities funded under grants (including a PR’s capacity to oversee implementation of activities by Sub-recipients), to make recommendations concerning periodic disbursement of grant funds, to review grant performance when a grant is being considered for renewal, and to provide the Global Fund Secretariat on an ongoing basis with relevant information on issues or risks which might affect grant performance.
The LFA is expected to have an up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of the diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria), how they are prevented, transmitted and treated and their impact on the country. The LFA assesses the PR’s institutional and health/programmatic capacities and arrangements to ensure adequate health expertise (HIV/AIDS,tuberculosis and/or malaria) in the implementation of the Global Fund grants.The LFA also determines whether the PR has adequate infrastructure and information systems to support grant implementation, including the monitoring of performance of Sub-recipients and outsourced entities in a timely and accountable manner.
Under the direct supervision of the UNOPS LFA Team Leader, the Senior Finance Specialist will be based in Dhaka, Bangladesh,and is responsible for the financial coordination of the Bangladesh LFA Team and for helping ensure that all LFA work is of high quality and completed within the timeframe set by the GFATM.
Functional Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of LFA Team Leader (TL), the incumbent is required to perform the function of financial management specialist for the UNOPS LFA activities in Bangladesh by carrying out the following activities:
• Review Disbursement Request/Financial Progress Updates and complete the LFA Progress Review and Recommendation for Ongoing Disbursement forms;
• Timely and relevant review and comments to the Global Fund on the PR’s completed Enhanced Financial Reporting format;
• Review various documents submitted by Principal Recipient and provide independent opinion/analysis of financial adequacy for GFATM grants;
• Follow data verification procedures and formats, conduct field visits and using the format given by GFATM, provide independent opinion and analysis on the financial management by the PR;
• To conduct any other analysis requested by the LFA Team Leader from time to time;
• Identify financial weaknesses and make recommendations with timeframes for necessary follow up by the PR;
• Discuss with the Country Team Leader any other institutional and financial aspects to be reviewed and take action;
• Prepare mission reports on the format required by Global Fund and submit it to the Country TL;
• Mission travel may be required to support LFA team as and when needed;
• Other activities as per The LFA Manual and/or as assigned;
• Plan, monitor and supervise the works of finance team for all work as per TORs;
• Attend field visits with/ without the finance team members and debrief the SRs/SSRs on the filed visit outcomes.
• Guide and assist the finance team in writing reports on the filed visits before submission to the Team Leader for scrutiny and onward submission to the Global Fund;
• Suggest remedial measures on the potential weaknesses of the SR/SSR Management in the optimum utilization of GFATM grant money and safeguarding the GF grants against any fraud; and
• Red-flagging for the Global Fund of any potential risk of misuse of the GFATM Grants.
• Perform other related duties as required. The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies,administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
Impact of Results:
- Reports submitted by the LFA will comply with the deadlines and timescales agreed upon;
- Ad hoc queries by GFATM are promptly responded to;
- LFA clearly demonstrates an understanding of the terms of reference for each activity and GFATM requirements;
- Appropriate reporting template and tools are used by LFA;
- Analysis of data presented in LFA reports is of high quality;
- The conclusions reached in LFA reports are supported by accurate evidence gathered;
- LFA is pro-active in identifying and flagging to the GFATM Fund Portfolio Manager any major risks to effective management of program implementation and funds;
Education/Experience/Language requirements
- Master’s degree in accounting, finance or related field and professional internationally recognized accounting qualification OR Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or related field with additional two years of work experience.
- Internationally Recognized Professional Accounting Qualification (CA/CMA/CPA/ACCA etc.)
- 7 years of experience with 5 years of post-qualification experience in financial accounting.
- Fluency in English and Bengali is required.
Competencies
Core Competencies:
- Extensiveexperience with: IPSAS, Asset Management, Planning and reviewing and ProjectFinancial Control.
- Experience with forensic auditing and fraud examination; with the ability to review andanalyse accounting transactions;
- Reviewing budgets; Ability to critical review and evaluate financial management systems,with the ability to review and assess internal controls and financial processes and procedures and providerecommendations for improvement;
- Abilityto review and analyse financial statements (including income and expenditurestatements, balance sheets and cash reconciliation statements);
- Ability to review of audit reports; Audit experience mandatory.
- Previous LFA experience is an asset.
Skills:
- Professionalism,integrity and commitment to project demands;
- Strong audit / financial and compliance auditing / analytical Skills
- Accountability;
- Planning and Organizing;
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
- Aptitude for political sensitivities; and
- Team player.
Contract type, level and duration
Contract type: ICA
Contract level: Local ICA Specialist
Contract duration: One year with possibility of extension
For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
http://www.unops.org/ENGLISH/WHOWENEED/CONTRACT-TYPES/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements-ICAs.aspx
Additional Considerations
- Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time (CET)
- Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
- Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
- Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
- For staff positions UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
- The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
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