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.

To support effective delivery of finance, budget and administration support services to facilitate transparent and efficient utilization of financial resources in Ethiopia Country and Field Offices.

The job holder is expected to take responsibility for completion of a range of finance/budget related processes and activities requiring some interpretation of standard guidelines/practices. The job holder will be able to coordinate and provide finance, budget and admin support involving the recording and interpretation of financial and budgetary information to ensure the efficient functioning of support services. recommend a course of action to staff at various levels and may allocate tasks to other support staff.

The job holder is expected to demonstrate responsibility and initiative to respond independently to queries with only general guidance, to inform decision making and to use judgment in dealing with unforeseen problems daily. Job holders are expected to manage resources and coach and coordinate a team of support staff, or specific support.

Depending on the location of the assignment, the job may report to Head of Field Office, National Finance Officer in Country Office and/or to the technical head of the Finance function, the Head of Finance.

• 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 ;
• Monitor monthly expenditure forecasts and provide expenditure reports to facilitate informed decision-making ;
• Monitor the sub-imprest bank and petty cash accounts regularly, to ensure that adequate funds are available and appropriately disbursed ;
• 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 ;
• Assist in compiling information from various sources to prepare reports relating to budgets, accounting, finance and statistics ;
• 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 ;
• 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 ;
• 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 ;
• Monitor and record all expenses in line with the approved budget 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 ;
• Provide guidance and on-the-job training to other support staff, to ensure services are delivered consistently and to the required standards.

Education : Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area is desirable.

Experience : 4 years (of which 3 international) of postgraduate experience in financial resource management and/or complex project & program management.

Experience working in complex mutli-disciplinary groups and project teams to drive project outcomes and deliverables. Strong track record of delivering results in a complex environment.

Knowledge & Skills : First-hand knowledge of WFP operations and processes; creativity in problem solving, strong analytical ability, budget management, attention to details and strong organizational/coordinating skills.

Ability to influence and communicate cross-functionally and possess exceptional verbal and written communicational skills.

Language : Fluency in both oral and written communication in English. Knowledge of the local language is added advantage.

Has experience collecting and monitoring financial data on projects and programmes, assessing financial health and status, and reporting findings to senior leaders.

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 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 same area of work ;
• Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Tracks progress toward goals and shares this information on a regular basis with 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 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 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.