The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. It is the successor to the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO).

Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the Finance Manager in preparing of the cost plan for the Humanitarian Financing Unit and ensure all the needs of the Unit are considered and budgeted for;
• Liaise with Administration Unit on tracking of expenses processed by Administration Unit and regularly produce and monitor the expenditure reports to inform further decision-making related to cost plan;
• Work closely with Funding Coordination Section (FCS) Finance in New York on financial reports, budget reviews, payments, and refunds;
• In close coordination with Finance Manager, prepare financial analysis of the fund allocations for donor reporting, EHF annual report and the fund dashboards;
• Train partners and Cluster Coordinators on EHF procedures and guidelines for accessing grants, working with the Grant Management System (GMS), complying with the Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPF);
• Conduct market cost survey for items commonly purchased under EHF projects
• Liaise with HQ for procurement of audit services

• Liaise with EHF hired auditors for project account audit, reviews audit reports, communicate audit findings to partners; ensure that comments on the draft audit reports are satisfactorily addressed by implementing partners and finalizes final disbursements or requests for refund and proceeds to project closeouts;
• Reconcile advisory reports from HQ with EHF records on project performance status and financial statements
• Maintain and update a database to support cost effectiveness analysis of proposals to the EHF
• Provide guidance on EHF procedures and guidelines to partners on applications to clarify requirements for accessing grants and provide guidance on reporting requirements
• Review project budgets to ensure cost effective humanitarian objectives of the EHF are met and adherence of project documents as per the EHF procedures and guideline
• Ensure applicants receive and address feedbacks from technical and budget review
• Reviews requests for budget reprogramming and no cost extensions of projects and make recommendations
• Track, collects and reviews final reports from EHF fund recipients to ensure accuracy and compliance with EHF guidelines and give critical feedback to partners
• Conduct Financial Spot checks of EHF supported projects as required
• Organize and arrange Review Board meetings to review the financial status of the Fund and implementation of approved projects as well as to review strategic and policy decisions on the use of the Fund;
• Ensure the minutes and agenda of the EHF Review Board are distributed and follow up on agreed actions;
• Conduct periodic monitoring and evaluations visits to project sites, as required;
• Prepare financial and narrative reports detailing EHF performance
• Perform other duties as required on EHF or other OCHA priorities and special projects as assigned by the supervisor.

Impact of Results

The key results have an impact on the overall CO/ERF efficiency in financial resources management and success in implementation of operational strategies.  Accurate analysis and presentation of financial information enhances UNOCHA credibility in use of financial resources and proper financial process management. The information provided facilitates decision making of the management.

Job Requirement

Education: Advanced university degree or bachelor’s degree in the areas of Accounting, Project Management, Business Administration, or any related field is required.

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years  of  relevant  professional experience with an Advanced Degree and 4 years with bachelor’s degree
• Experience in humanitarian response programmes;
• Experience with the United Nations is desirable.;
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills;
• Experience in handling web-based management systems;
• Excellent computer literacy and skills (Advanced Excel & Microsoft Outlook);
• Availability for travel in-country;
• Ability to work with moderate supervision, with efficiency, competence and integrity with people of different backgrounds.
• Competencies and Critical Success Factors

Language Requirements: Fluency in the UN and national language of the duty station.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNOCHA’s mission, vision and values.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Core competencies:

• Planning and organizing
• Communication and networking
• Team work
• Managing resources
• Integrity
• Client orientation
• Technological awareness
• Knowledge management and learning
• Analytical and conceptual thinking

Duty Station: Addis-Ababa