Financial Accounting and Systems Officer

UNITED
NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY

FOR
PALESTINE
REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST

UNRWA

UNRWA is the
United Nations agency responsible for the protection, care and human development
of a population of some 5 million Palestine
refugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan,
Lebanon and the Syrian Arab
Republic.  UNRWA is
committed to assisting Palestine
refugees in maintaining a decent standard of living, acquiring appropriate
knowledge and skills, enjoying the fullest possible extent of human rights, and
leading a long and healthy life.  UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the
Middle East with more than 29,000 staff.
  Most of these staff are refugees themselves, working directly to
benefit their communities - as teachers, doctors, nurses or social workers. For
its international team, UNRWA is seeking to employ a qualified:

Financial Accounting and Systems Officer

The Financial Accounting and Systems Officer will  have two key areas of responsibility,
comprising: a) ensuring Policy and operational adherence to International
Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) or International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) and b) be a key focal point from Finance to work with ERP
staff in ensuring the planned new ERP system is IPSAS compliant.

As UNRWA both reports and budgets according to IPSAS,
the incumbent will be responsible for : a) interpretation of all IPSAS Standards,
b) ensure all Budget, Finance and Treasury Technical Instructions comply with
the relevant IPSAS Standards, c) act as focal point for resolving any
accounting interpretation and reporting
issues to ensure that UNRWA is and remains IPSAS compliant and d) will
be the key Finance focal point working with the ERP team as required, ensuring
that the new ERP system and sub ledgers are IPSAS compliant.

This incumbent will supervise a moderate size
professional, technical, and clerical staff in Headquarters and will provide
technical guidance to related activities in the Fields.  In
accordance with the established Agency policy and procedures, the incumbent
will:

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• 
  Interpret
  all IPSAS standards and act as a focal point to resolve any accounting
  interpretation and reporting issues to ensure that UNRWA is and remains IPSAS
  compliant;
• 
  Interpret
  reporting requirements under IPSAS with reference to UNRWA’s circumstances;
  play a lead role in the development and maintenance of UNRWA IPSAS compliant
  financial statements and reports;
• 
  Provide
  a lead role in liaison with the ERP team in testing and proving that the
  accounting treatment of transactions in the “to be” developed new ERP solution
  is in all functional respects, IPSAS compliant;
• 
  Provide
  a lead role is collating finance department requirements and take primary
  responsibility in data conversion, training and support activities in the
  implementation of new ERP system;
• 
  Coordinate
  implementation of new accounting standards and financial policies and systems
  in cooperation with senior staff in Finance Department and Field Finance
  Officers (FFOs);
• 
  Provide
  financial accounting guidance and training to finance staff regarding IPSAS
  compliance;
• 
  Maintain
  regular dialogue on IPSAS matters with internal and external auditors as well
  as UN stakeholders;
• 
  Prepare
  notes, guidelines and replies relating to or arising from implementation of
  Accounting Standards;

Professional Knowledge and Experience

• 
  Advanced
  university degree in accounting, finance, public or business administration, or
  related field;
• 
  Membership
  in a professional body of accountants (e.g., Institute of Chartered
  Accountants, Institute of Certified Public Accountants).
• 
  Eight years
  of experience in the application of the knowledge acquired, including at least
  five years at a senior supervisory level in a financial accounting division in
  a large commercial, governmental or international organization.
• 
  Excellent
  command of written and spoken English.

Competencies

• Thorough
  knowledge of financial accounting standards, computerized finance and
  procurement systems;
• Ability
  to develop and implement appropriate finance policies and technical
  instructions;
• Ability
  to develop and maintain productive relationships with staff and clients of the
  Finance Department; including the ability to operate effectively across
  organizational boundaries and in multiple locations;
• Demonstrated
  experience in assisting in the development and testing of an IPSAS/IFRS
  compliant ERP solution;
• Ability
  to take initiative, coordinate and integrate multiple inputs to generate common
  approaches or frameworks;
• Ability
  to apply conceptual, analytical and evaluative skills in accounting operations;
• Ability
  to conduct independent research and analysis, identify issues, formulate
  options and make conclusions and recommendations.
• Demonstrated
  experience in interpretation of international accounting standards and
  preparation of financial statements within an ERP environment.

Desirable Qualifications

• Working experience with either IPSAS or IFRS;
• Working experience with large contemporary ERP systems.

Equivalency

When the minimum
requirements are not fully met, the Human Resources Department may substitute
part of the unmet requirements under UNRWA’s equivalency determination guidelines
with a combination of relevant academic qualification, additional professional
training and/or progressive relevant work experience. Note: Work
experience alone or formal qualifications with no relevant work experience are
not considered sufficient for an equivalency determination.

Additional Information

The
incumbent will be required to travel in the Agency’s area of operations in theMiddle East.

Conditions of Service 

UNRWA offers an attractive compensation package
including annual salary starting at $72,467 net tax free with dependants or $67,483
single, plus post adjustment of 42.7% (subject to change without
notice). Other benefits,
subject to eligibility, include education grant, dependency allowance, home
leave, pension fund, health insurance and 6 weeks annual leave. All UNRWA duty
stations (with the exception of Gaza)
are family duty stations. Initial
contract is for one year, with the possibility of further extensions subject to
the availability of funds and the continuing need for the post.

How to Apply

To start the application process, applicants are
required to register at http://jobs.unrwa.org
by creating a personal profile and completing UNRWA Personal History Form. Please note that UNRWA only accepts degrees
from accredited educational institutions. Only applications received
through http://jobs.unrwa.org will
be considered. Due to the large number of applications received for UNRWA
vacancies, only applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted.

UNRWA does not charge a fee at any stage in the
recruitment process.

General Information

UNRWA
encourages applications from qualified and experienced women.

UNRWA welcomes
applications from qualified candidates with disabilities.

UNRWA is a
United Nations organization whose staff are expected to uphold the highest
standards of integrity, neutrality and impartiality. This includes respect for
human rights, for diversity, and for non-violent means of dealing with all
kinds of conflict. UNRWA staff are expected to uphold these values at all
times, both at work and outside. Only persons who fully and unconditionally
commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. UNRWA is a
non-smoking work environment.