JO# 17806 – Finance Assistant – G4 – PN 10023316 – UNHCR Fixed Term Appointment - Beirut

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

Eight years into the Syria crisis, Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with nearly 950,000  Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR, about 20,000 refugees of other origins - mostly Iraqi - and Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate.  There are no formal camps for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and refugees are living in hundreds of communities and locations across the country.

The refugee response is led by the Government and UNHCR and UNDP, supported by the international community. As the designated lead agency in the refugee response, UNHCR has established a sector-based structure in Beirut and in the field. The structure brings together over 150 UN agencies, national and international NGO partners [over 150 actors, including UN agencies, national and international NGOs and Ministries] in identifying and agreeing on the strategic priorities to address the needs of Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese communities. The Lebanon Chapter of the Response Plan falls under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), whereby UNHCR guides the refugee response and UNDP facilitates the resilience and stabilization component.

The UNHCR operational response in Lebanon is one of the largest for the organization. Media attention and the frequency of influential high-profile visitors is high. The Office has grown substantially in the past years and is currently operating with around 650 staff. Aside from the country office in the capital city of Beirut, UNHCR has field offices in Mount Lebanon, Qobayat, Tripoli, Tyre and Zahle.

The Finance Assistant is normally supervised by the Finance Officer or the National Finance (or Admin) Officer who defines work objectives and provides regular advice and guidance. The incumbent's workload and the assignments will remain under constant scrutiny and direction of the supervisor. The incumbent also refers to UNHCR Manuals and relevant policy papers on financial issues. The incumbent receives and carry out the financial verification for the Third party Administrator related to Refugees hospitalization invoices as well as the verification of the Proof Of Payments and the archiving that comes along

The incumbent assists with the processing of financial transactions. S/he keeps frequent contact with staff at various levels in the office and with bank officials and suppliers to exchange information.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

Accountability

• Financial transactions and reconciliations are processed in line with relevant policies and procedures.

Responsibility

• Assist newly arriving or departing international staff members on opening/closing bank account; process their entitlement upon assignment.
• Compile and verify budget and accounting data by checking files, calculating expenditure and estimating projections.
• Issue PO and non-PO vouchers including monthly salaries of UNHCR national and international staff, daily subsistence allowance to staff going on official missions, cost of air-tickets, requisitions of goods and services based on agreements with the suppliers, office running common cost, rental and salary advances, lease agreements of UNHCR offices, etc.
• Process on-line bank transfers ensuring that bank accounts of staff and suppliers are complete.
• Liaise with other functional units who work closely with Finance Unit on relevant issues.
• If applicable, may be required to assist in the preparation of the VAT refund submissions and monitoring of the reimbursable amounts.
• Maintain efficient and timely archiving system of physical and electronic files to ensure that all documents are accounted for.
• May be assigned as the custodian of the office petty-cash.
• Draft routine correspondence.
• Perform any other related tasks as required.

Authority

• Verify that the financial transactions are correct and in accordance with UNHCR rules and procedures.
• Have access to confidential data and information.