Inclusivity and Diversity:

Qualified women and individuals with physical impairments are strongly encouraged to apply. The World Food Programme (WFP) is committed to embracing diversity and providing equal employment opportunities for all candidates, regardless of their race, color, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status, or disability.

Type of Contract: Fixed Term (FT)
Unit/Division: Finance
Duration: 1 Year (with possible extension)

Background and Purpose of the Assignment

This position is located within the Finance unit of the WFP Country Office in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. It reports to a senior Finance Officer in the country office and is part of the finance team that provides essential financial support. The Kinshasa office oversees and supports 17 offices across the country. The role may involve tasks such as gathering, maintaining, analyzing, and reporting information to enhance the efficiency of financial services.

The Finance Officer will have direct reports and will work under the guidance of a more experienced staff member, receiving regular feedback on their work.

Job Purpose

The purpose of this role is to support the stewardship of WFP’s resources by monitoring budgets, forecasting, reporting key data, and providing basic administrative and human resource functions. This support enables effective fund management, ensuring assistance to beneficiaries is carried out in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Accountabilities/Responsibilities

1. Awareness of Corporate Finance: Maintain awareness of corporate finance and resource management strategies and major ongoing programmatic initiatives, participating where appropriate using finance and resource management expertise.
2. Country-Specific Plans: Contribute to the development of country-specific plans and processes that align with Regional and wider WFP strategy, policies, and processes to meet the food assistance needs of beneficiaries within the country.
3. Financial Reporting: Report on key data for financial status and outcomes of projects in compliance with corporate governance requirements, ensuring accuracy, deadlines, and accounting processes are followed.
4. Budget Monitoring: Monitor budgets and perform forecasting for new and ongoing projects in accordance with established corporate procedures and requirements.
5. Financial Transactions: Perform bank reconciliations, disbursements, clearance of receivables, overall cash management, and monthly financial closures on a regular basis in line with corporate requirements.
6. Administrative Services: When necessary, deliver core administrative services, working with contractors and following standard processes to provide cost-effective, quality, and timely services to WFP staff.
7. Human Resource Functions: If required, undertake basic human resource functions related to staff benefits, recruitment of local staff, and training.
8. Data Reporting: Collate data and contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reporting, providing management with financial, staffing, and resource usage information to enable informed decisions.
9. Financial Controls: Track and collate data to support others in improving policies, systems, and procedures to minimize financial risks, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure services are aligned with business objectives.
10. Supervision: Guide and supervise more junior staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with more complex analysis and queries.
11. Representation: Represent unit/CO at internal meetings, external meetings, events with other UN agencies, banks, and other financial institutions, or other partners and entities as required.
12. Emergency Preparedness: Follow standard emergency preparedness practices to ensure WFP can rapidly respond and deploy food and necessary resources to affected areas at the onset of a crisis.
13. Other Tasks: Perform any other tasks as required.

Other Specific Job Requirements

Details to be determined by Post Managers:

• Take the lead in day-to-day transactions, transfers reconciliations, and purchase orders management with both Financial Service Providers and Corporate Partners working on cash transfers to beneficiaries. Ensure all related transactions are processed in the corporate system (SAP) and outstanding items are fully cleared.
• Work with the relevant finance team across the country to ensure that information management related to Cash Transfers to beneficiaries is in an adequate manner, well streamlined, accessible, and updated on a regular basis.
• Collaborate with WFP headquarters and regional office Cash-Based Transfer units to support piloting and implementation of any new initiatives within the DRC operation, including the ability to train the country office team.
• Support the service providers contracting process in the country office, including conducting various financial market intelligence assessments and integrating risk mitigation measures into the business documents.
• Act as the finance focal point for the operations bilateral service provisions undertaken by WFP in support of humanitarian services across the country. Ensure timely billing, accounting, and recovery.
• Support in treasury management, reconciliations, and monitoring of daily banking relationships.

Qualifications and Experience Required

Education:

• Advanced University degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting, or related fields, or First University degree in the same subject(s) with additional years of related work experience.
• Membership in an internationally recognized professional accountancy body, such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPA), or equivalent is desired.

Experience:

• One (1) year of postgraduate progressively responsible experience in a Finance manager position.
• Minimum of (3) years of demonstrated technical work experience in one or more of the following areas: Finance, Audit (internal/external), Economics, Business Administration, Accounting, or related fields.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Professional experience in performing financial analyses at a national and/or operational level.
• Prior experience with medium-scale operations is an asset.
• Demonstrated work experience in improving the internal control systems of international organizations is an asset.
• Working experience with the United Nations or an international development organization or an iNGO is an asset.
• Experience in managing financial transactions, preferably within International Organizations.
• Ability to manage and transact in large sums of cash transfers at a business level using different mechanisms is desired.
• Experience in managing and/or reporting on donor funding in a multi-context operational environment.

Languages:

• Fluency (level C) in French, both oral and written.
• Intermediate level (level B) in English, both oral and written.

Our Values at WFP:

• Integrity
• Collaboration
• Commitment
• Humanity
• Inclusion

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free from sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of power. Consequently, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any contract will be offered to members of the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), the FAO Finance Committee, the WFP External Auditor, the WFP Audit Committee, the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities for WFP, either during their service or for three years following termination.