Beirut - Business Support Assistant (Finance) SC4

About WFP: Assisting 91.4 million people in 83 countries each year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. As the international community has committed to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030, one in nine people worldwide still do not have enough to eat. Food and food-related assistance lie at the heart of the struggle to break the cycle of hunger and poverty.

   Lebanon currently hosts the largest per capital population of Syrian refugees in the region and worldwide, with over 1 million registered Syrian refugees. In response to this large number of refugees, WFP works to support approximately 700,000 people with regular food assistance using its e-card systems. Program implementation is supported by substantial analytical research, including annual vulnerability assessments of Syrian refugees, market and financial assessments, targeting and validation exercises, and monitoring and evaluation.

      WFP also supports Lebanon’s safety net program for the poorest Lebanese, the National Poverty Targeting Programme (NPTP), through the e-card system and a package of technical assistance to strengthen Government capacity to effectively implement the program. As the Syrian conflict persists, and due to the current economic crisis in Lebanon, effort is ongoing to scale up this operation while strengthening the quality of the existing e-cards system to make it more adaptable and flexible to the needs of the population WFP serves. Strengthening partnerships with Government, local entities, and donors is also part of WFP Lebanon Country Office’s programme strategy.  

To know more about WFP’s mission, please check the below video:

https://www.facebook.com/WorldFoodProgramme/videos/10154930622760178/

Accountabilities:

Under the direct supervision of the Finance Officer, the Business Support Assistant (Finance) will perform the following responsibilities:

1. 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.
2. Monitor monthly expenditure forecasts and provide expenditure reports in order to facilitate informed decision-making.
3. Monitor the sub-imprest bank and petty cash accounts regularly, to ensure that adequate funds are available and appropriately disbursed.
4. 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.
5. Assist in compiling information from various sources in order to prepare reports relating to budgets, accounting, finance and statistics.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Control travel expenditures and process employee trip related payments.
10. Provide guidance and on-the-job training to other support staff, to ensure services are delivered consistently and to the required standards

        Desired experiences for entry into this role:

• Has performed detailed financial analyses at a national and/or operational level.
• Has experience working with auditors and other third-party vendors
• Has working experience in SAP EPR system
• Has good knowledge of Tax Laws in Lebanon

Minimum Qualifications:

Education:

Completion of secondary school education. A University degree or post-secondary certificate in the related functional area is considered an asset.

Experience:

At least Three (3) years of professional experience in Finance, Accounting, Audit or relevant fields with independence, analyzing financial figures, coordination with other functional units and managing complex funding situation.

Language:

Fluency in both oral and written communication in Arabic and English. Knowledge of French language is added advantage.