Jobs in Zambia and Zimbabwe

Ongoing Recruitment at United Nations World Food Programme Zambia – June/July 2017

by · Published · Updated


The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

Job Title: Finance Assistance

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Completion of  Degree in Accounting, Finance or in the related functional area is required.
Language: General Service: Fluency in both oral and written communication in the English language.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

This position is based in WFP’s Zambia Country Office (CO) in Lusaka. The successful applicant will be responsible for conducting and documenting all the financial transactions going through the Maano – Virtual Farmers Market mobile app.

The Maano – Virtual Farmers Market app aims to make rural Zambian smallholder farmers visible to new buyers, reduce transaction costs for both buyers and farmers, thereby increasing the profitability and scale of trade for both sides. Maano will do this by:

  • making information on farmers’ supply and buyers’ demand, identity, and location visible to everyone through a smartphone application
  • facilitating farmer-buyer discussions and price negotiation
  • facilitating the sale of farmers’ produce through payment system where WFP acts as a guarantor

The successful applicant will report to the Maano project manager or the designate.

At this level job holders are expected to take responsibility for completion of a range of finance/budget-related processes and activities requiring some interpretation of standard guidelines/practices. Job holders are able to recommend a course of action to staff at various levels and may allocate tasks to other support staff.

JOB PURPOSE

To support effective delivery of finance, budget and administrative support services in order to facilitate transparent and efficient utilization of financial resources.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

  1. The Finance Assistant will conduct all the financial transactions that are going through Maano mobile app. He/She is responsible for documenting and smooth transaction between buyers and sellers.
  2. Assist in providing the procedural and technical support to staff within the areas of finance and budget, to ensure compliance with WFP financial policies, rules and regulations.
  3. Monitor monthly expenditure forecasts and provide expenditure reports in order to facilitate informed decision-making.
  4. Monitor the sub-imprest bank and petty cash accounts regularly, to ensure that adequate funds are available and appropriately disbursed.
  5. Verify vendor claims, advances and other receivables and observe appropriate procurement procedures, to ensure that suppliers are paid in a timely manner and in conformance with WFP finance rules and regulations.
  6. Assist in compiling information from various sources in order to prepare reports relating to budgets, accounting, finance, and statistics.
  7. Retrieve, format and validate information obtained from various financial information systems and bring any discrepancy or inaccuracy to the attention of the supervisor and follow up corrective actions.
  8. Perform administrative duties related to the monitoring and recording of fixed assets, spend on fuel and spare parts for vehicles and generators, to ensure that the databases are accurately updated.
  9. Maintain the web-based register for all invoices and payment transfers and record paperwork, to ensure that all documents are maintained and filed in compliance with WFP standards and guidelines.
  10. Monitor and record all expenses in line with the approved budget in order to ensure that correct expenditure costs are charged and payments to external suppliers, cash grants, and other supplier invoices are processed in a timely manner.
  11. Provide guidance and on-the-job training to other support staff, to ensure services are delivered consistently and to the required standards.
  12. Perform any other duties as required

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

  • Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Helps teammates articulate WFP’s Strategic Objectives.
  •  Be a force for positive change: Suggests potential improvements to team’s work processes to a supervisor.
  •  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Explains the impact of WFP activities in beneficiary communities to teammates.
  •  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Articulates how own unit’s responsibilities will serve WFP’s mission.

People

  • Look for ways to strengthen people’s skills: Trains junior teammates on new skills and capabilities.
  •  Create an inclusive culture: Seeks opportunities to work with people from different backgrounds.
  •  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Serves as a peer coach for colleagues in the same area of work.
  •  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Tracks progress toward goals and shares this information on a regular basis with a supervisor.

Performance

  • Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Explores ways to consistently be more efficient and accurate in own areas of work and shares new methods of work with colleagues.
  •  Focus on getting results: Focuses on getting results and tracks trends in completion rates for own tasks to identify opportunities for efficiency.
  •  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Takes responsibility for own tasks and notifies the supervisor as soon as possible of potential delays in meeting deadlines or commitments.
  •  Be Decisive: Independently decides what action to take when faced with critical choices in the workplace or in dangerous situations in the field.

Partnership

  • Connect and share across WFP units: Suggests opportunities for partnering with other units to a supervisor.
  •  Build strong external partnerships: Identifies opportunities to work with colleagues and partners in the field towards common goals.
  •  Be politically agile & adaptable: Develops an understanding of the value of WFP’s teams and external partners in fulfilling team’s goals and objectives.
  •  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Aligns own activities with supervisor’s priorities to fulfill internal and external partner needs.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

  • Has experience in collecting and monitoring financial data on projects and programmes, assessing financial health and status, and reporting findings to senior leaders.
  • At least three years of responsible experience in accounting desirable.
  • Computer proficiency required.
  • Experience in coordinating with other UN partners Government and NGOs,
  • General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations and procedures governing administration is highly valuable.
  • Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to facilitate workshops, negotiate agreements, and write publishable reports.
  • Training and/or experience utilizing computers, including word processing, spreadsheet, project management and other standard WFP software packages and systems

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  • The service contract will be full time from July 1, 2017, to Dec 31, 2017, with the possibility of extension based on performance and project needs.
  • Finance Assistant will provide specific timelines and dates for each task in consultation with the Maano project manager.
  • The incumbent will report to the Maano Project manager.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

The deadline for receiving applications is 25th June 2017

Click Here To Apply