Finance Assistant

Job Posting Organization:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an international organization that leads global efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">food security. Established in 1945, FAO has a mission to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition, and to make agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more productive and sustainable. The organization operates in over 130 countries and has a workforce of more than 12,000 employees. FAO's commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to its strategic objectives and operations, aligning with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Job Overview:
The Finance Assistant position is a critical role within the FAO Shared Services Centre located in Budapest, Hungary. This role involves undertaking finance-related support activities of medium complexity, ensuring quality, transparency, and consistency in financial processes. The Finance Assistant is expected to possess in-depth knowledge of financial policies, procedures, and practices, providing procedural guidance to other staff members as needed. The incumbent will work autonomously, demonstrating a high degree of initiative and responsibility, while also being able to organize their work effectively and provide training to junior colleagues. The position requires maintaining a wide range of contacts within the organization to facilitate the delivery of finance support processes and services.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Finance Assistant will be responsible for a variety of key functions, including reviewing source documents for completeness and accuracy, extracting transaction details from the integrated financial system for analysis, investigating errors, and taking corrective actions. The incumbent will support continuous improvement efforts by participating in the testing and implementation of new financial process automations. Additionally, the Finance Assistant will assist in monitoring transactions, ensuring due diligence is performed, preparing worksheets, and compiling data for reports. The role also involves drafting correspondence, responding to queries, evaluating ongoing financial support requirements, and adapting service provision to meet changing needs. The Finance Assistant will provide procedural guidance to staff and train junior finance support staff, while also performing other duties as required.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a secondary school education and have a minimum of four years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, cash management, or asset management related support work. A working knowledge of English at proficiency level C is mandatory, along with very good knowledge of MS Office applications and office technology equipment. Candidates must also be nationals of Hungary or possess an existing visa/work permit and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of application.

Educational Background:
The educational requirement for this position is a secondary school education. This foundational education is essential for understanding the basic principles of finance and accounting, which are crucial for the role of Finance Assistant.

Experience:
The position requires a minimum of four years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, cash management, or asset management related support work. This level of experience is necessary to ensure that the Finance Assistant can effectively handle the complexities of the financial processes and provide the necessary support to the organization.

Languages:
A working knowledge of English at proficiency level C is mandatory for this position. Additionally, having intermediate proficiency (level B) in another FAO official language such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish is considered desirable, enhancing the candidate's ability to communicate within the diverse environment of the FAO.

Additional Notes:
The Finance Assistant position is categorized under General Service Staff, which means that candidates must be nationals of Hungary or possess a valid visa/work permit to be eligible for recruitment. The role is expected to be full-time, and candidates must reside within commuting distance of the duty station, which is defined as the distance that allows for daily travel between the workplace and residence. The position may also involve a contract duration that aligns with the needs of the organization.