Head of Unit (General Ledger Accounts) – P4

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a Temporary full-time position within the Accounts and Financial Service (AFS) of the Division of Financial and Administrative Management, in Budapest, Hungary.

The Head of Unit (General Ledger Accounts) reports to the Chief of Accounts Section. The General Ledger Accounts Unit (GLU) is one of the three Units of Accounts Section, responsible for the monitoring of accounting and financial control activities carried out by the UNHCR’s Headquarters and Field Offices.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a global United Nations organization which mandate is to protect and assist refugees and other persons of its concern world-wide and to seek durable solutions to their plight; UNHCR is present in 134 countries with offices in 546 locations.

Title: Head of Unit, General Ledger Accounts

Duty Station: Budapest, Hungary

Contract Type: 6-months Temporary Assignment

Closing date: 11 August 2022

Start date: 01/09/2022

Organizational context

The Accounts and Financial Service (AFS) of the Division of Financial and Administrative Management (DFAM) are responsible for the financial accounting and reporting of UNHCR, in accordance with the Financial Regulations of the United Nations and the UNHCR’s Financial Rules as well as IPSAS. AFS is comprised of Accounts Section and Financial Systems Support and Reporting Unit.

The position

The General Ledger Accounts Unit (GLU) is one of the three Units of Accounts Section, responsible for the monitoring of accounting and financial control activities carried out by the UNHCR’s Headquarters and Field Offices. Under the general direction of the Chief of the Accounts Section and the Head of Service of AFS, and in accordance with the agreed work plans and priorities, the incumbent manages the work of GLU and supervises his/her staff to achieve the overall work plan of the Unit. The incumbent frequently interacts with managers of functional related partner units outside of AFS, e.g., in Programme and Budget Service and Treasury of DFAM, Personnel Administration and Payroll Section of the Division of Human Resource Management (DHRM), Asset and Fleet Management Section of Division of Emergency, Security and Supplies (DESS) in order to strengthen the effectiveness of financial control activities. The incumbent maintains frequent contact with Finance staff and managers in Field locations to advise them on accounting and financial control issues.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Chief of Section (Accounts), the Head of Unit (General Ledger Accounts) will assume the following key functions:

• Provide advice, guidance and support to Field Offices and HQ, mainly in the following areas: bank reconciliation, cash and petty-cash accounts, General Ledger open item maintenance, UNDP/UNV transactions and MSRP procedural issues.
• Contribute to training plans and contents development and undertake ad-hoc Field missions for training and capacity building.
• Monitor accounts data to ensure compliance with UNHCR’s Financial Rules and accounting policies, follow through on identified issues, and inform management of any matters that affect the accuracy of the accounts.
• Ensure accounting transactions of the Unit are recorded accurately, completely and in a timely fashion.
• Carry out analysis of processes, systems and internal controls and make recommendations for streamlining and improving them, including enhancements to the ERP system.
• Implement changes in financial policy, processes and procedures within area of responsibility and ensure integration of systems and processes between other functional areas where processes overlap.
• Prepare assigned notes to the Financial Statements.
• Prepare variance analysis on monthly financial reports for management.
• Contribute to the preparation of closing instructions and manage the Unit’s work plan for the month-end and year-end closure of accounts.
• Prepare the data for the Board of Auditors; respond verbally and in writing to audit queries from both Internal and External Auditors.
• Review Monetary Asset Write-off Requests, organize the AFS Review Meetings and coordinate the recording of the approved write-offs.
• Manage, plan and monitor the work of the 1 National Officer and 11 General Service Staff, providing direction and focus, motivating and coaching to maximize overall effectiveness of the Unit.
• Perform other duties as required.

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

Essential

– University degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance or related field.

– Professional accounting qualification such as a Chartered Accountant or Certified Public Accountant.

– Minimum ten years of previous job experience in the field of accounting, finance or external audit which includes

international setting and supervisory experience.

– Good understanding of international financial accounting and reporting standards (such as IPSAS or IFRS) and experience in providing guidance on the practical application of these standards.

– Working experience with ERP Systems, such as PeopleSoft, Oracle or SAP, with good knowledge of financial modules.

– Excellent computer skills, in particular in MS Office applications.

– Excellent communication skills.

– Fluency in English, including strong drafting skills.

Desirable

– Good knowledge of United Nations financial rules and procedures.

– Exposure to UNHCR field operations.

– Exposure to humanitarian field operations and specific training/learning activities of UNHCR.

– Knowledge of any other UN languages.

Location

The successful candidate will be based in Budapest, Hungary

Conditions

This Temporary Assignment is for six months, and the start date is 1st of September 2022. It is a full-time role.