Finance Officer

ABOUT WFP

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency against world hunger. It is the largest and longest serving humanitarian agency in Uganda. Currently WFP focuses on three priority areas: Saving lives in Emergencies; Building Resilience through Predicatable Safety Nets; Improving Nutrition & Mother-and Child Health; and Supporting Small Holder Farmers to Access Markets. WFP has operations in various parts of the Country. WFP cherishes and takes pride in fostering a working environment of high capacity, diversity and innovation. We are currently seeking experienced and creative applicants for the position of Finance Officer to join our team.

JOB PURPOSE

Under the overall supervision of the International Finance Officer, and the direct supervision of the Head of Area Office the Finance Officer will support the stewardship of WFP’s resources, monitoring budgets, forecasting, analyzing, reporting and providing core administrative support to enable effective management of funds, and ensure assistance to beneficiaries is undertaken in the most efficient and effective way possible and will oversee execution of Administration, Human Resources, Information Technology and Procurement functions of the field office; with the support of the Business Support Assistant and IT Assistant.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Advise and support the supervisor on financial and administrative matters;
2. Ensures compliance with WFP financial policies, procedures, rules and regulations;
3. Ensure transparent and efficient utilization of WFP’s financial resources;
4. Provide regular and ad hoc financial information to the Head of the Office to support informed financial decision making;
5. Participate in preparing the WFP budgets, budget implementation, monitoring and act as Certifying Officerand bank signatory of the office;
6. Monitor and advise on the financial status of projects and programmes (including pending and approved budgets);
7. Set up proper accounting procedures and systems, internal controls to ensure that proper monitoring mechanisms are in place; Identify weaknesses and address them immediately;
8. Ensure that bank reconciliations for WFP accounts are regular performed and regularly reviewed by designated officials;
9. Perform oversight functions;
10. Ensure that disbursement are made based on proper authorizations and supported by legitimate and sufficient documentation;
11. Ensure proper maintenance of vendor accounts and timely clearance of outstanding advances and other receivables;
12. Coordinate financial closure for entrusted sub-imprest accounts;
13. Ensure efficient local banking arrangements and compliance with local financial and banking regulations;
14. Ensure integrity and consistency of data in WFP financial and accounting systems;
15. Supervise finance and related staff;
16. The incumbent will in addition, oversee the Administration, HR, IT and Procurement functions of the field office; supported by Admin Assistant and IT Assistant.
17. Perform other related duties as required.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
• Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
• Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
• Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
• Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
• Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
• Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
• Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
• Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
• Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
• Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
• Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

Capability NameDescription of the behaviour expected for the proficiency levelInternal Controls & ComplianceUtilizes understanding of risk management approaches and internal controls to monitor projects and programmes to confirm regulatory compliance and ensure data integrity.Performance Budgeting, Reporting & AnalysisAnalyzes budgets and forecasts to support the development of recommendations for senior leadership on financial and business planning matters in accordance with Value for Money principles.Resources Management (People, time, assets, etc.)Monitors trends in staffing and resource usage to anticipate and escalate potential issues to programme leaders.Financial Management & Accounting PrinciplesApplies knowledge of financial and accounting principles and practices to ensure compliance with WFP policies, applicable procedures and accounting standards.Supply Chain and Operations KnowledgeApplies working knowledge of WFP programme and supply chain principles to develop and/or review project budget plans.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced University degree in Finance, Business Administration and Accounting or related field obtained from a recognized institution;
• Or first University degree in Finance, Business Administration and Accounting with additional years of related work experience;
• At least six (6) years of relevant working experience in Finance gained from a reputable organizations;
• Membership to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPA);
• Writing and organizational skills that lead to timely documentation and submission of reports;
• Good knowledge and skills in using MS Office applications;
• Excellent command of English is vital.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• Has performed basic financial analyses at a national and/or operational level.
• Has experience managing financial transactions.

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply, please visit http://www1.wfp.org/careers/job-openings

Candidates are requested to Create an account in system before applying. Candidate curriculum and applications will be registered allowings profile updates and, apply for a job through WFP career website.

Qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status

WFP does not charge any fees from applicants at any stage in the recruitment process