The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
FAO's commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.
The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) is responsible for leading FAO's response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development through the identification, planning and implementation of FAO's priority activities in the region. It oversees the network of Country Offices and the Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands (SAP). It ensures a multidisciplinary approach to programmes, identifies priority areas of action for the Organization in the region, and, in collaboration with Divisions, Offices and Centres at headquarters, develops, promotes and oversees FAO's strategic response to regional priorities and the implementation of the Organization's strategies through programmes and projects across the region.
The Regional Office leads the preparation of the Regional Conferences and the Statutory Bodies in the region.
The Regional Office supports the formulation and implementation of the Country Programmes and Projects, including Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs), and their contribution to the FAO Strategic Framework and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) at the country level, advising Decentralized Offices on corporate priorities such as the Strategic Framework and on the incorporation of regional priorities into the Organization's Programme of Work and Budget.
The Regional Office develops and maintains relations with region-wide institutions, including the Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs), and participates in the United Nations Regional Architecture, such as UN Regional Forums on Sustainable Development and UN Regional Collaborative Platforms and related mechanisms.
The position is located in the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok, Thailand.
The National Professional Officer (Finance) reports to the Finance Officer (Head of Finance Unit).
Effective and efficient provision of administrative support in the area of finance.
• Coordinates and supervises the activities of an operational team in the area of banking, accounts payable, assets, bank reconciliation, and any other team defined in the Finance Unit.
• Ensures the delivery of results within established SLAs if applicable and effective responses to clients for optimal service.Creates and maintains Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) in the area of banking, accounts payable assets and bank reconciliation.
• Exchanges and/or provides information to internal and external partners (banks, donors and other partners) and provides information/clarification to auditors.
• Monitors the work of the team and reviews reports on performance.
• Prepares, analyses and evaluates information from financial records and provides relevant inputs for operational improvement.
• Provides support to projects assigned by the Finance Officer; monitors and reports on progress to management.
• Contributes to process improvement initiatives where possible and undertakes requirements gathering activities in the assigned area of work for eventual process improvement in collaboration with Decentralized Offices and the Finance Division.
• Participates in the development of training and related training materials and promotes best practices and capacity development in Decentralized Offices.
• Performs other duties as required.
Functions :
• Provides expert support to the Finance Officer in all matters relating to finance, accounting management and internal control oversight. Provides advice to Technical Officers in all aspects of accounting and financial management.
• Supports the oversight on the full compliance of financial activities, financial recording/reporting system and audit follow up with FAO rules, regulations, policies and strategies for RAP region.
• Supports the implementation of the effective internal control, proper design and functioning of the second line monitoring mechanism in RAP region.
• Drafts and prepares correspondence and responds to queries.
• Evaluates ongoing financial support requirements, adapts service provision to meet changing needs and solves operational problems as required.
• Retrieves, enters, selects and analyses data from a wide variety of sources, including FAO's corporate system and data bases; verifies accuracy of data documents; makes necessary calculations.
• Assembles and reviews supporting documentation for processing Non-Staff Human Resources (NSHR), Travel or Financial actions in FAO's corporate systems, while ensuring compliance with FAO's rules and regulations.
Minimum Requirements :
• National of the country of assignment (Thailand).
• Advanced university degree in accounting, finance, business administration or a related field and one year of relevant experience in office management, administration, accounting and/or audit, budget or finance OR a first level university degree in accounting, finance, business administration or a related field, three years of relevant experience and completion of professional qualification in accountancy (CA, CPA, ACCA) or similar.
• Working knowledge (proficiency - level C) of English and Thai.
Technical/Functional Skills :
• Extent and relevance of experience in finance, business analysis, banking and/or accounting as well as payment processing and/or reconciliation or supplier banking records masterfile maintenance.
• Extent and relevance of knowledge and experience in analysing and evaluating financial reports and/or experience in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
• Knowledge of UN or standard operational rules and procedures, and knowledge of administrative management procedures of projects and programmes is considered an asset.
• Knowledge of FAO's corporate systems and database, or knowledge of other financial modules or applications relevant to finance operations, is considered an asset.
• Good communication skills (both oral and written) in English and willing to work with diverse team and background.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc), advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, and proficient in handling the enterprise resources planning (ERP) system is a strong asset.
