Finance Associate – Mogadishu, Somalia

Background and Organizational Context

Somalia’s prolonged humanitarian crisis is characterized by ongoing conflicts, climate shocks including floods and drought, communicable disease outbreaks and weak social protection. Since the beginning of 2020, two additional shocks have contributed to a deterioration of humanitarian conditions: the desert locust infestation and the COVID-19 pandemic. Flooding displaced 840,000 people in the first 10 months of 2020 and destroyed infrastructure, property, and 144,000 hectares of agricultural land. Somalia also experienced the worst desert locust invasion in 25 years; tens of thousands of hectares of cropland and pasture were damaged, with potentially severe consequences for agriculture and pastoral-based livelihoods. Communities living in conflict areas were severely impacted by armed violence. COVID-19 directly impacted the lives of Somalis, worsening patterns of vulnerability. This came on top of ongoing disease outbreaks such as cholera, measles and, recently, vaccine-derived poliovirus. Lower Shabelle Region of South West State continues to bear much of the brunt of those affected by the negative impact of the shocks mentioned.

Position Purpose

Under the guidance and supervision of the Admin and Finance Officer, the Finance Associate ensures the effective execution of financial services and processes and the transparent utilization of financial resources. The Finance Associate promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UNOCHA rules and regulations.

The Finance Associate collaborates closely with the operations, program and projects staff in the country office and with UNDP and OCHA Administration office in Geneva for resolving finance-related issues and information exchange. The Finance Associate promotes a client, quality, and results-oriented approach.

Key Duties and Accountabilities

Summary of key functions:

1. Implementation of operational strategies
2. Administration of budgets and cost-recovery system
3. Accounting and administrative support
4. Payroll management together with UNDP Finance Team
5. Cash management
6. Cost recovery

1.Ensures implementation of operational strategies, adapts processes and procedures focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Full compliance with OCHA/UNDP rules and regulations of financial processes, financial records and reports and audit follow up; implementation of the effective internal control framework.
•   Finance business processes mapping and elaboration of the content of internal Standard Operating Procedures in Finance in consultation with the direct supervisor and office management.
• Preparation of cost sharing, follow up on contributions within the OCHA Somalia resource mobilization efforts.
• Follow up HQ authorization(s) for delivery of financial activities.

2.Ensures administration of budgets focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Provides support with respect to the review, analyses and preparation of the annual budget and cost plan and its revisions.
• Prepares supporting documents with respect to finalization of cost estimates and budget proposals, in terms of staff and non-staff requirements.
  Monitors expenditures and compares to approved budget; prepares adjustments as necessary.
• Reviews requisitions for goods and services to ensure correct objects of expenditure have been charged, and availability of funds.
• Monitors integrity of various financial databases.
• Issues allotments and verifies redeployment requests and takes actions as appropriate

3. Provides accounting and administrative support to the Admin and Finance Unit and performs payroll management together with UNDP Finance Team focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Prepare payment requests to UNDP and payment execution.
• Proper control of the supporting documents for payments.
• Calculate travel entitlements and F10 claims in accordance with approved travel schedules.
• Timely petty cash accounts closure at the end of the year and new opening.
• Monitor 11 petty cash accounts, and replenish accordingly.
• Management of vendor profiles ensuring correct bank information are updated, dealing with vendor on invoicing, and sharing information of successful payments.
• Follow up with UNDP to ensure that payroll functions are done well from HR and accounting aspects.
• Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that payment process is completed without errors, transactions are correctly recorded and budget lines are charged accordingly;
• Work closely with UNDP Finance Team ensuring payrolls are duly prepared and processed as authorized by HQ; and other entitlements are duly processed.
• Timely and accurate reconciliation of IOVs and verification of transactions with UNDP, including getting voucher details. Timely response to HQ on monthly IOV reconciliation.
• Follow up timely VAT reimbursements, and approval of VAT exemptions

4. Ensures proper cash management functioning focusing on the achievement of the following results

• Regular updates of Cash Book.
• Timely preparation of monthly cashflow forecast for use by Admin and Finance Officer.
• Timely reviews of expenditure to ensure sufficient funds are available under quarterly authorization for disbursements.
• Acceptance of user fees on cost recovery and issue of cash receipt voucher to the staff member
• Regular preparation of credits and checks of credit flow into the account of the OCHA Somalia under cost sharing and cost recovery modalities.
• Transaction and stop payment initiation on internet banking systems.
• Reflection of monthly UN exchange rate into payments and receipts.

5. Coordinate the Cost recovery for OCHA Somalia focusing on the achievement of the following results

• Coordinates with UNOCHA service providers in collecting cost recovery information for billing.
• Prepares ad-hoc report on cost recovery as required.
• Collects information for the cost recovery service costing process as required.