Finance Associate

Job Description

Apply now Job no: 596809
Contract type: Temporary Appointment
Duty Station: Abuja
Level: G-6
Location: Nigeria
Categories: Financial Management

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a Champion

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children’s rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally – click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/

Click here to experience our country through the perspective of our colleagues by clicking on this Link

The Finance Associate, based in Abuja, supports the effective, timely, and accurate delivery of financial services for UNICEF Nigeria’s country programme. The assignment focuses on providing operational and transactional finance support in line with UNICEF financial rules, procedures, and internal controls.
The role involves supporting key finance functions, including invoice processing, payment preparation, financial data entry, reconciliations, and record management, to ensure transparency, compliance, and efficiency in the use of programme and operational funds. Through close collaboration with Finance Officers, Programme and Operations colleagues, the Finance Associate contributes to smooth workflow processing, timely disbursements, and the overall financial integrity of UNICEF Nigeria’s operations.

Major Responsibilities:
• Advise and assist on all aspects related to preparation of reports, compilation of data and answering queries on pledges recorded, funds received, adjustments made to ensure financial compliance, accuracy and completeness of data for its inclusion into statement of accounts and adjustment of budgets. Advise units of discrepancies and assist to resolve differences in their records. Reconciliation of Open items
• Maintains financial records and monitoring systems to record and reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements and other data for day-to-day transactions and reports.
• Selects and enters data from a wide variety of documents, verifying and ensuring accuracy by checking sources, making necessary calculations and assuring inclusion of all relevant data.
• Prepares recurring reports as schedules and special reports especially Excel reports, as required for budget preparation, audits or other reasons.
• Provide support on monthly and year end accounts closure and assist in the preparation of year-end reports related to accounts receivable, accounts payable, prepayment, deposits, NEP and leave balances, etc.
• Advises and assists international staff, experts and consultants on all aspects of allowances, salary advances, travel claims and other financial matters, and calculates and authorizes payments due for claims and services.
• Initiates correspondence to verify data, answers queries and obtains additional information on accounts and financial transactions with GSSC, as required.
• Maintains liaisons with officials of local banks to obtain day-to-day information on exchange and interest rates, changes in procedures and regulations, and matters pertaining to maintenance of office bank accounts. This includes prepares recurring reports and bank reconciliation.
• Reviews HACT transactions to ensure completeness and accuracy by tracing to supporting documentation.
• Prepares detailed cost estimates, and participates in budget analysis and projects, as required.
• Support in financial assurance activities and capacity building of UNICEF staff and Ips.
• Performs other duties, as required.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  ToR_TA_G6_FINANCE_ASSOCIATE_NCO.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Completion of secondary education is required. Professional/university level courses in Accounting and Finance/Business administration considered as an asset.
• Work Experience: A minimum of six years of clerical experience in the area of finance and accounting is required.
• Skills: To be considered for this role, candidates are required to have strong attention to detail and accuracy, analytical and problem-solving skills, the ability to prioritize and work under tight deadlines, effective communication, collaboration and teamwork, and a strong client/service orientation.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
• At least six years of relevant experience in finance and accounting, particularly in transaction processing, financial monitoring, reconciliation and reporting.
• Demonstrated experience in financial reconciliations and management of open items, including accounts payable/receivable and related balance-sheet items.
• Practical experience with cash-transfer/HACT-related financial processes, including review of transactions and supporting documentation.
• Experience in budget analysis, expenditure monitoring and preparation of financial reports, with strong Excel skills.
• Experience supporting month-end/year-end closure, audits and financial compliance/internal controls.
• Experience using ERP-based financial systems, preferably SAP/VISION or a comparable system, for transaction processing, financial recording and monitoring. 
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance