Project Finance Associate at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life for themselves. It provides expert advice, training and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. It promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations.

Headquartered in New York City, the status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Project Finance Associate

Job ID: 1952
Location: Lagos
Practice Area: Inclusive Growth
Grade: NB3
Vacancy Type: National Personnel Service Agreement
Bureau: Regional Bureau for Africa
Languages Required: English
Contract Duration: 1 Year

Scope of Work

• The Project Finance Associate will be responsible for the following functions and tasks:

Summary of Key Functions

• Support in project finance tracking and management;
• Ensure proper financial tracking controls and risk management mechanisms;
• Ensure implementation of operational and financial management strategies and adapts processes and procedure.

Specific Functions/Results expected
Support in project finance tracking and management:

• Provide financial analyses and reporting for resources ensuring full compliance with UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and strategies;
• Prepare cost estimates for different activities of the Jubilee Fellowship according to the needs of programme management;
• Monitor the financial performance of Jubilee Fellowship project activities;  
• Support annual audits of the Principal Recipient (PR) and Sub-recipients (SRs) as required by UNDP and ensure that external auditors have all relevant information;
• Ensure that advance payments and direct payments are properly reviewed and recorded in a timely manner into Atlas;  
• Follow up on the disbursement of funds to facilitate timely review of cash position to ensure sufficient funds on hand for disbursements.

Ensure effective information management and reporting:

• Prepare regular analysis and reporting on the Jubilee Fellowship project funds and Country Office budget approvals, including on the delivery of programme activities;
• Support the preparation of annual project workplans, agreements, and budgets;
• Prepare forecasts necessary to support disbursements requests;
• Conduct verification and posting of disbursement requests, expenditure reports, and supporting documentation;
• Submit timely and accurate required financial reports to the donor, as relevant;
• Maintain information flows between non-finance actors to effectively link programmatic results to work plan expenditure and budgets agreed with the donor;
• Respond to HQ requests to resolve financial data issues or to provide information required.

Ensure proper financial tracking controls and risk management mechanisms:

• Develop and support the PMSU to maintain risk management and mitigation approaches relating to finance;
• Design and implement effective internal controls and financial resources management system;
• Map, establish and maintain standard operating procedures in the project finance unit, implementing improvements where possible.

Ensure implementation of operational and financial management strategies, and adapts processes and procedures:

• Full compliance of financial activities, financial recording/reporting system and audit follow up with UN/UNDP rules, regulations, policies and strategies; implementation of the effective internal control, proper design and functioning of the financial resources management system;
• Continuous analysis and monitoring of the financial situation, presentation of forecasts for development and management projects;
• Implementation of cost-saving and reduction strategies in consultation with office management;
• Routinely monitors financial exception reports for unusual activities, transactions, and investigates anomalies or unusual transactions. Informs supervisors and other UNDP staff at Headquarters of the results of the investigation when satisfactory answers are not obtained;
• Preparation of cost-recovery bills in Atlas for the services provided by UNDP.

Institutional Arrangement:

• The project finance associate would be reporting to the Team Lead for the Jubilees Fellowship Programme and may require to also follow up with the Finance team on issues that may arise regarding the smooth run of the programme.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:

• Secondary Education or Bachelor's Degree in specialized qualifications in Financial management or related field.
• Long-listed candidates may be required to undergo the UNDP Accountancy & Finance Test (AFT).   

Experience:

• 4 years of experience for Bachelors degree holders or 7 years of work experience with secondary education in providing financial resource management services, accounting advisory services and managing financial operational systems;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems and ERP financials, preferably PeopleSoft;  
• Knowledge of UN/UNDP Financial Resource Management is desirable. q Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Working knowledge of UN principles, SDGs and international development in Africa;
• Demonstrate the ability to showcase cross-disciplinary and cross-functional experience and expertise;
• UNDP Advanced Accountancy and Finance test required. 

Competencies
Innovation:

• Adept with complex concepts and challenges convention purposefully
• Contributes to prototyping, piloting, and evaluating lessons / feedback Leadership: Generates commitment, excitement and excellence in others;
• Actively shares knowledge.

Communication and relationship management:

• Synthesizes information to communicate independent analysis
• Communicates ideas and positions with command and confidence;
• Finds common ground to solve problems.

People Management:

• Models independent thinking and action
• Demonstrates behaviors of teamwork, collaboration, knowledge sharing, maintaining relationships.

Delivery:

• Meets goals and quality criteria for delivery of products or services.
• Embraces complex challenges and opportunities for getting work done;
• Ability to embrace challenges with minimal supervision;
• Works to develop organizational awareness of UNDP’s approach to client service delivery and integrity and accountability.

Language:

• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.

Application Closing Date
14th January, 2022.