The Finance Officer will be based in Sanaa with frequent visit to OCHA hubs. S/he will be a member of the Humanitarian Financing team with the role of supporting humanitarian partners (UN agencies, international and national NGOs and other stakeholders) working with the Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF). Under the direct supervision of the Head of Unit and the Finance Manager, with overall direction of the Head of OCHA, and working as an integral part of the organization’s team, the incumbent will ensure maximum professionalism and add capacity in supporting the implementation of OCHA Yemen work plan.

Duties and Responsibilities

This position is located in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sanaa with missions to OCHA hubs in Yemen. Under the overall supervision of the Fund Manager/Head of Humanitarian Financing Unit, the Finance Officer, reports directly to the Finance Manager. The Finance Officer will be expected to be able to perform the following, prioritized according to operational requirements:

Financial Review:

• Perform a thorough review of the project proposal budgets as per fund operational guidelines and allocation strategy, and ensure cost effectiveness analysis of proposals by cross-checking of items commonly purchased under YHF;
• Support the Finance Manager and Program Staffs in the review of budget revisions, reprogramming or Cost/No-Cost Extension requests from implementing partners;
• Ensure on time submission of interim and final financial reports by implementing partners, review and clear the reports in due time as per CBPF Operational guidelines;
• Support the Finance Manager on audit process including facilitation of contracting external auditing companies, support the planning, advise on the review/clearance of audit reports and ensure follow-up of critical audit findings;
• Review the partner’s due diligence application to ensure accuracy of their banking information and documentations;
• In line with the CBPF accountability framework, conduct the capacity assessment of partners who passed the first step of the Eligibility process (Due Diligence) to gauge their capacity and assign them with an appropriate risk profile backed up by a comprehensive report based on review of partner’s systems, practices and documentations;
• Conduct periodic financial spot-check visits to partner offices, prepare the spot-check report and ensure visit findings are thoroughly discussed with the partner and recommendations are understood and followed.

Financial Management:

• Liaise with Administration Unit on tracking of expenses processed by Administration Unit and regularly produce and monitor the expenditure reports to inform further decision-making related to cost plan;
• In close coordination with Finance Manager, prepare financial analysis of the fund allocations for donor reporting, YHF annual report and the fund dashboards;
• Conduct partner sensitization on YHF procedures and guidelines for accessing grants, working with the Grant Management System (GMS), complying with the United Nations Financial Regulations and Rules (UNFRR) and the Guidelines for Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPF) through participation in meetings and workshops;
• Track, collect and review financial reports, installment requests, and projects refund on YHF financial tracking sheet from YHF partners to ensure accuracy and compliance with YHF guidelines and provide feedback to colleagues and partners as necessary;
• Maintain the HFU petty cash, record all expenses in UMOJA and ensure reconciliation of cashbook with the physical cash in the safe;
• Work closely with Funding Coordination Section (FCS) Finance in New York on financial reports, budget reviews, payments, and refunds;
• Assist HFU staff and YHF stakeholders regarding queries on budget, financial reports, payments, refund and deposit-related issues;
• Provide guidance and advice on CBPFs guidelines, internally (HFU, FCS, etc.) and externally.

Administration:

• Support the Pooled Fund Manager and Head of the Unit in liaising with companies carrying out contractual services on behalf of the HFU, and provide support and information as and when required;
• Keep up-to-date on documents/reports/guidelines that have a bearing on matters related to program budgets and the YHF in general;
• Document and file all financial documents like spot-check reports, audit reports, refund payments and financial authorization for recording purpose and future reference;
• Perform other duties as required.

The incumbent of the position should avoid any kind of discriminatory behavior including gender discrimination and ensure that

• Human rights and gender equality is prioritized as an ethical principle within all actions;
• Activities are designed and implemented in accordance with “Social and Environmental Standards of UNDP”;
• Any kind of diversities based on ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, gender are respected within all implementations including data production;
• Differentiated needs of women and men are considered;
• Inclusive approach is reflected within all actions and implementations, in that sense an enabling and accessible setup in various senses such as disability gender language barrier is created;
• Necessary arrangements to provide gender parity within all committees, meetings, trainings etc. introduced.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree (see below) preferably in Business Management, Accounting, Economics or related field is required.

Experience:    

• Up to 4 years of relevant experience with bachelor’s degree and/or 2 years with master’s degree in finance and accounting/administration, crisis/emergency program management or other related area, preferably with at least two years with a UN organization or an NGO;
• Very good analytical and writing skills are required, as is experience with project budgeting and proposal writing;
• Experience with auditing and/or financial spot-check of partners is an advantage;
• Experience and knowledge of accounting system, procurement, human resources management is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Professional fluency in oral and written English and Arabic is required.

Source:https://jobs.partneragencies.net/erecruitjobs.html?JobOpeningId=37950&HRS_JO_PST_SEQ=1&hrs_site_id=2