Project Finance Specialist

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Description

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The role includes supporting effective work planning in relation to budget utilization, ensuring that activities are planned, costed, and implemented within approved financial frameworks. Strengthening the coordination between finance, regional, and state teams, the Finance Specialist will work to enhance financial sustainability, optimize resource allocation, and build financial management capacity across the project.

Responsibilities

• Ensuring the timely preparation and submission of Statement of Expenditure and financial reports while ensuring accuracy and compliance with UNDP policies and donor requirements.
• Guiding and leading the project’s finance, managing outstanding financial claims by expediting the certification process and settlement of pending payments to maintain smooth financial operations, pre-finance mechanisms, and avoiding fund utilization gaps.
• Designing, refining, and implementing financial tracking systems for real-time monitoring of state contributions, pending claims, and cash flow.
• Developing financial forecasting models to support budget planning and fund allocation strategies.
• Ensuring an efficient financial flow process while identifying and addressing bottlenecks.
• Provide high-level financial analysis and strategic recommendations to project leadership for informed decision-making.
• Review multi-donor budgets and ensure accurate budget processing in the system, aligning with approved work plans.
• Identify gaps between the budget and expenditures and highlight them for corrective action.
• Establish a proactive risk management system to mitigate financial risks, including cash flow shortages and funding gaps.
• Ensuring compliance with UNDP financial regulations, donor requirements, internal controls, and accountability mechanisms.
• Supporting audit preparations and responses to audits by UNDP and donors, in line with donor agreements, UNDP rules and regulations, policies, and procedures, and ensuring the timely implementation of audit recommendations and findings.
• Develop and institutionalize SOPs to streamline financial management and donor funding.
• Conducting periodic internal reviews to proactively identify financial compliance issues and address them before audits.
• Ensure that the project team adheres to the approved agreements regarding financial allocations, preventing unauthorized deviations in spending.
• Provide financial quality assurance to maintain adherence to project budgets and donor conditions.

Education:

• Bachelor degree or equivalent in accounting from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy, and/or an Advanced University Degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Finance and/or Accounting is required. Candidates with professional accounting qualifications from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage.
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience:

Candidates are required to have a minimum of three (3) years of relevant professional experience in providing financial management services, and/or managing staff and operational systems. Experience of IPSAS and/or IFRS is required for external candidates.

Languages:

English, Level: Fluent, Required

Source: https://app.unv.org/opportunities/1784888021260783

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