Finance Assistant

Job Posting Organization:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Established in 1945, FAO has a mission to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. The organization works in over 130 countries and has a workforce of more than 12,000 employees. FAO's strategic framework is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focusing on transforming agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. The organization emphasizes environmental sustainability as a core component of its operations and objectives, aiming to improve production, nutrition, and the overall quality of life while ensuring that no one is left behind.

Job Overview:
The Finance Assistant position is designed to provide finance-related support activities of medium complexity within the FAO Shared Services Centre located in Budapest, Hungary. The role requires a strong understanding of financial policies, procedures, and practices to ensure quality, transparency, and consistency in financial processes. The Finance Assistant will be responsible for providing procedural guidance to other staff members and will work autonomously while demonstrating initiative and judgment. The incumbent will play a crucial role in maintaining effective working relationships with colleagues across the organization, ensuring that finance support processes and services are delivered efficiently and effectively. This position is integral to the overall success of the unit's mandate, impacting the efficiency and accuracy of services provided.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Finance Assistant will undertake a variety of duties, including but not limited to: reviewing source documents for completeness, accuracy, and validity; extracting transaction details from the integrated financial system for analysis and verification; investigating errors and taking corrective actions; supporting continuous improvement efforts by participating in the testing and implementation of new financial process automations; monitoring transactions to ensure due diligence is performed; preparing worksheets and assisting in the preparation of reports by compiling and consolidating data from various sources; drafting correspondence and responding to queries; evaluating ongoing financial support requirements and adapting service provision to meet changing needs; providing procedural guidance and training to junior finance support staff; and performing other duties as required. The incumbent's work will directly impact the efficiency, effectiveness, accuracy, and timeliness of the services provided by the finance team.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a secondary school education and have a minimum of four years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, cash management, and/or asset management related support work. A working knowledge of English at proficiency level C is mandatory. Additionally, candidates should have very good knowledge of MS Office applications and office technology equipment. It is important for candidates to 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 minimum educational requirement for this position is a secondary school education. This foundational education is essential for understanding the basic principles of finance and accounting that will be applied in the role of Finance Assistant.

Experience:
Candidates are required to have a minimum of four years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, cash management, and/or asset management related support work. This level of experience is necessary to ensure that the incumbent 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, it is desirable for candidates to have intermediate knowledge (level B) of another FAO official language, which may include Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish. Proficiency in multiple languages can enhance communication and collaboration within the organization.

Additional Notes:
The position is classified under the General Service Staff category, which means that candidates must be nationals of Hungary or possess an existing 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 at the time of application. This ensures that staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence. The Finance Assistant will be expected to demonstrate competencies such as results focus, teamwork, communication, building effective relationships, and knowledge sharing and continuous improvement. Technical skills required include a good knowledge of financial rules and regulations, accounting policies, and practices to ensure adherence to processing controls.