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Finance & Common Services Officer (Open to Tier 1 & 2 applicants only).
Better Than Cash
Accounting & Finance
Pretoria, South Africa
Posted on Mar 10, 2026
Tiered Approach
In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:
- Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
- Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
- Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
- Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates
Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.
Background
UNDP remains firm in its commitment to accompany the Government of South Africa in its development journey by investing in youth and women empowerment initiatives (skills development, employment promotion, and supporting entrepreneurship), promoting renewable energy, building state capability, disaster response, lobbying for biodiversity investments, and driving innovation.
In this context, this job description is a direct response to UNDP’s improved business model in South Africa. It envisions an office structure adapted to the current and future needs of the country, underpinning its advisory and programmatic offer while at the same time delivering solid implementation support. It also promotes a more collaborative approach to working across the office and with external partners.
UNDP’s organizational structure in South Africa endeavors to strengthen UNDP´s role as a learning organization ‘fit-for-purpose’ to deliver on Agenda 2030. It is designed to provide the foundation for the whole public policy life cycle with a special emphasis at sub-national level that, as an engagement strategy, is expected to allow new areas of joint work and resource mobilization.
Position Purpose
The Finance & Common Services Analyst is responsible for the end-to-end execution of financial services and common services–related administrative processes in the Country Office, ensuring the effective implementation of operational strategies, sound financial management, and compliant delivery of shared services.
Under the supervision of the Operations Manager, the role ensures smooth day-to-day management of common premises, accurate budgeting, cost recovery, financial controls, and financial reporting for the Country Office and UN common services arrangements. The position collaborates closely with CO staff and Common Services Agencies. The position also works closely with the Landlord and Common Premises Service Providers ensuring the most efficient and effective management of UN common premises and services. The position is the main liaison for common services and promotes a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP financial rules, regulations, and internal control frameworks, enabling timely, transparent, and value-for-money service delivery to internal and inter-agency clients
The role requires a profile with hands-on experience in implementing operational and financial strategies, administering budgets and cost-sharing arrangements, and supporting common services through robust financial and administrative systems.
UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. This is a recognition of interconnected nature of development risks & crises that the world is facing and that call for assembling of multidisciplinary teams for an integrated & systemic response.
Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across issues, units, functions, teams and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.
Duties and Responsibilities
1.) Effective implementation of Operational and Financial Management Strategies:
- Implement approved operational, financial, and common services strategies, ensuring alignment with UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and internal control frameworks
- Prepare and implement result-oriented workplans, actions and budget estimates of common services in consultation with participating agencies.
- Map, review, and improve finance and common services business processes, contributing to the development and maintenance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Long Term Agreements (LTAs).
- Support the implementation of the Business Operations Strategy (BOS) and related action plans, with particular focus on finance, cost recovery, and shared services efficiency.
- Identify operational risks, process gaps, and inefficiencies, and propose practical mitigation and improvement measures.
2.) Budget Administration, Financial Monitoring and Cost Recovery:
- Support the financial administration of CO and UN common services funds.
- Prepare, revise, and monitor Country Office and common services budgets in Quantum, ensuring accurate forecasting, allocation, and expenditure tracking.
- Establish and maintain cost-sharing and cost-recovery mechanisms, including preparation of budgets, billing statements, debit notes, and follow-up on agency contributions.
- Maintain accurate financial records in Quantum, including budget revisions, commitments, expenditures, and income tracking.
- Analyze budget performance and provide regular financial status reports to management and inter-agency coordination structures.
3.) Accounting and Financial Operations Support:
- Provide accounting and financial operations support, including revenue management, payment processing, voucher preparation, account reconciliations, and expenditure controls, in line with UNDP financial procedures.
- Maintain Accounts Receivable records related to development projects and common services and follow up on outstanding balances.
- Ensure timely closure of accounts, resolution of financial exceptions, and corrective actions on posting or reconciliation issues.
- Support audit preparedness by ensuring availability, accuracy, and completeness of financial documentation and audit responses.
4.) Administrative Support to Common Services:
- Provide overall day-to-day management of common premises and services to ensure non-interruptible working conditions for all personnel.
- Participate in common premises management and services-related policy discussions to ensure consistency with UN/UNDP policies and procedures.
- Lead the implementation of the common premises Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), budget planning, expenditure monitoring, building maintenance services and financial reporting.
- Maintain up-to-date and accurate record of receipts and disbursements and space occupancy of participating agencies.
- Maintain financial control records for common services expenditures.
- Support contract administration and supplier performance monitoring for common services in close coordination with Procurement.
- Prepare periodic financial/narrative reports and certifications for common services governance bodies, including expenditure and cost-sharing reports.
- Support audit preparation and audit exercises.
5.) Client Orientation, Coordination and Knowledge Sharing:
- Act as a finance and common services focal point for internal clients and participating agencies, providing clear guidance on processes, timelines, and requirements
- Liaise with programme, operations, and inter-agency stakeholders to resolve finance and common services–related issues efficiently.
- Network with regional common premises management and services experts on various technical and country issues pertaining to UN House premises management and services.
- Contribute to knowledge building and sharing by supporting trainings, documenting lessons learned, and disseminating best practices in finance and common services operations.
- Support continuous improvement of service delivery standards through feedback, data analysis, and process refinement.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:
The direct reports of the incumbent will be the Building Maintenance Assistant.
Competencies
Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making
People Management
UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
Business Direction and Strategy & Strategic Thinking: Develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.
Business Direction, Strategy & Negotiations and Influence: Reach a common understanding/agreement, persuade others, resolve points of difference through a dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions and create ‘win-win’ situations.
Business Management, Customer Satisfaction & Client Management: Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.
Administration, Operations, Building, facilities & office space management: Knowledge and ability to facilitate the renovation and upgrade of offices including review of complex engineering/architectural drawings; negotiate technical agreements to ensure fully operational building infrastructure and services; design policy & procedure (POPP) for premises and facilities including space standards; manage premises and facilities; validate financial statement notes on leasehold data
Business Direction, Strategy & Systems Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
Business Management & Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment
Finance & Financial Reporting and Analysis: Ability to extract, evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful and coherent manner to facilitate effective decision making and performance monitoring.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- A professional accounting qualification from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy, and/or Advanced (Master’s) University Degree in Finance and/or Accounting is required.
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the above fields in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience at the national or international level in accountancy and/or finance will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
- Candidates with professional accounting qualifications from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy will have a distinct advantage.
- Candidates with no professional accountancy qualifications, but with degrees that major in accountancy and/or finance must complete the Finance Training and Certification Programme (FTCP), if recruited.
- Candidates satisfying the two above criteria are exempted from undertaking the UNDP Advanced Accountancy and Finance Test (AAFT).
- Candidates with MBA or master’s in finance with no accountancy qualification but with relevant experience must successfully undertake the UNDP Advanced Accountancy and Finance Test (AAFT) to be eligible for shortlisting.
Experience:
- Applicants with Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field of study are not required to have professional work experience. Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) are required to have a minimum of two (2) years of relevant professional experience in providing financial management services, and/or managing staff and operational systems.
- Demonstrated experience managing the financial and cost-recovery aspects of shared or common services, including budgeting, billing, reconciliation and follow-up with multiple stakeholders and suppliers in regulated environment is required.
- Proven experience overseeing the administrative and operational delivery of shared services, including coordination with service providers, monitoring service performance and ensuring compliance with agreed service levels and budgets is desired.
- Hands-on experience using UNDP Quantum or a comparable ERP system for budget management, financial monitoring, cost recovery and financial reporting. Experience must include transaction processing and financial controls, not end-user exposure only is desired
- Proven ability to analyze financial and operational data and translate into clear reports, recommendations and briefings for management and inter-agency stakeholders. Experience producing audit-ready documentation is a strong asset.
- Experience in the use of computers and office software packages as well as web-based management systems is desired.
Languages:
- Fluency in English is required.
- Knowledge of another UN lanague would be an asset.
Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.
UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.
Probation
For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.
Right to select multiple candidates
UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Use of AI by candidates
Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection
Scam alert
UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.
Duties and Responsibilities