The Finance Analyst position is part of the Finance Branch, Division for Management Services, located in the Nairobi Service Center, Kenya. The Finance Branch is responsible for global finance and accounting including providing guidance and oversight for financial management to country, regional and headquarters offices. The Branch advances and owns key financial policies and processes including accounts payable, statutory and donor reporting, and ensuring the ERP and related systems are configured to implement, manage, and report on key financial processes.

Partnerships, knowledge management, communication and training

• Actively participate in Finance Branch and team meetings.
• Cultivate and maintain positive relationships with key partners of and division located within the Nairobi Service Center, and the broader Finance Branch to ensure business continuity.
• Represent the Finance Branch at the working level in transaction related finance and supplier processes the Nairobi Operations Unit.
• Maintain productive working relationships with the local UNDP finance office providing treasury support to UNFPA.
• Provide financial training, including preparation of training materials and guidance notes, and facilitate knowledge transfers with Nairobi based HQ staff or the global finance community based on financial and operations procedures.
• Contribute to the global financial management community facilitated by the Finance Branch.

Business continuity services and management: 

• Review and approval of non-PO payments to suppliers and staff; calculating and processing cost recovery, billing, and related transactions; submitting General Ledger Journals and other adjustments within the unit’s scope.
• Conduct a fiduciary review in line with UNFPA policy on accounts payable and key performance indicators for timeliness for all payments for Nairobi based HQ units to ensure compliance and documentation standards are met.
• Perform a quality assurance finance review of Implementing Partners (IPs) eFACE forms as recorded in the Implementing Partners’ approved work plans in QuantumPlus and UN-to-UN transactions; approve the IP payment requests and liquidation reports within assigned approval limits.
• Certify overtime requests for Nairobi based HQ staff to verify computation accuracy, completeness, and compliance with UNFPA Overtime Compensation Policy.
• Perform oversight of the petty cash management for Nairobi based HQ units, ensuring proper administration and accountability.
• Collaborate with UNDP Kenya to ensure timely processing of payments in the local pay cycle; and liaise with UNDP Kenya and the UNFPA Country Office on local staff payroll.
• Actively respond to support requests from Nairobi based HQ units as part of the Global Service Desk for areas under the under the unit’s responsibility.
• Monitor the timeliness and effectiveness of the APU unit in Kenya.

Support and guidance to offices on financial management

• Provide guidance to Nairobi based HQ staff on UNFPA financial policies and procedures; escalate issues for resolution as needed.
• Review data integrity and completeness tools as the second line of defense and support offices in their resolution.

Accounting, period end and year end closure activities

• Analyze and correct general ledger accounts related to payables, performing ongoing data corrections as part of periodic and year-end closure processes.

Reporting and information management

• Compile and provide accurate financial information and reports to Nairobi based units as required.
• Monitor financial data integrity and completeness using dashboards, reconcile and analysis general ledger accounts, complete year end activities as assigned.
• Review system generated reports for completeness, accuracy to underlying ERP records and resolve discrepancies before report issuance.

Business process and systems efficiency

• Analyze system-generated reports to identify and address delayed or duplicate payments.
• Propose improvements to enhance efficiency and harmonize business processes.

Carry out any other duties as may be required by UNFPA leadership

Qualifications and Experience 

Education: 

Advanced university degree in accounting / financial reporting or related discipline. A recognized professional accounting designation (CPA, CA), together with a Bachelor’s degree, will be deemed equivalent to a Master’s level degree for this position.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• A minimum of two (2) years of experience in financial management, accounting and/or related areas;
• Proven experience in successfully managing and implementing financial policies, processes and systems in development organizations at the national or international level.
• Advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems and ERP financials. Knowledge of Oracle ERP is a distinct advantage;
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills;
• Exposure to drafting policies or guidance notes is an advantage;
• Excellent written and spoken communications skills;