National Administrative and Finance Assistant (EU Project)

Full Job Description

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Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the Agenda through FAO’s Strategic Framework -31 by supporting the transformation to More efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri- food systems, for Better production, Better nutrition, a Better environment and a Better life, leaving no one behind. 

The FAO Representation in Ghana is the body in charge of ensuring liaison between FAO and the Government of Ghana and is the first port of call for analysing and appraising government assistance requests; identifying, formulating, implementing and monitoring all FAO programmes and projects; managing all phases of the project cycle for national projects for which operational and budget holder responsibilities have been assigned by the Technical Cooperation Department; identifying opportunities for collaboration, and mobilizing technical and operational support from the Regional Office, Headquarters and other funding sources as appropriate.

Global challenges to ending hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition remain, and have been worsened by climate change while the combined effects of the COVID 19-pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and other factors are deepening the plights of households in many countries, including West Africa and Ghana. In Ghana, from the November Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), an approximately 19% of the analyzed population were found to either be under pressure, in crises or in emergency food insecurity situation. Overall, 6.2% of the population were identified to be vulnerable (food insecure) with smallholder farm households having been the hardest hit given their economic vulnerability. 

Climate change could cause yield losses to most rainfed cereals, especially maize, up to 16 to 21 percent in , compared to a baseline without climate change. Yields decrease due to climate change are also expected other crops like sorgum, millet, groundnut and vegetables while increase in the share of livestock affected by droughts is expected from 13 to 39 percent. Weak resilience to climate impacts lack of resources to acquire productive inputs are some of the causes of low productivity, and therefore low income and low availability of nutrient dense diverse foods at the household level.

As a response to the current situation and foreseeable future food security crisis, The Government of Ghana and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations with funding support of the European Union (EU) is implementing EU Food Security Response in Northern Ghana (GCP/GHA//EC) project (-) targeting at least households. The project is being implemented over three agricultural seasons to increase crop and livestock production, including 6 maize farmers who will be supported to produce 18 Mt of maize over three years in targeted districts; 2 millet farmers who will be supported to produce 5, Mt of millet; and 4 sorghum farmers to produce 8 Mt of sorghum over the three years in the targeted districts. In addition, farmers, especially women and youth, and value chain actors will be supported with capacity and access to post-harvest technologies along the groundnut, soybean and vegetable (tomato) value chains with farmers’ capacity on climate change adaptation among others enhanced. 

An integrated approach to sustainable food production and the resilience of food systems has become all-time important than ever. The project will promote crop-specific, agro-ecological systems and approaches and support the sustainable development of maize, millet, sorghum, soyabean, groundnut, vegetables (tomato), poultry, piggery value chains. In selected project locations, direct agricultural inputs provision, accompanied by support to climate-adapted agricultural practices, provision of improved grain storage technologies, training on post-harvest practices, promotion of organic fertilizer use, provision of solar powered irrigation solutions and application of other climate sensitive and sustainable agri-techniques, promotion of integrated pests and diseases management approaches and facilitation of access to market as well as value addition for crops produced will help in resolving some of the production and post-harvest bottlenecks and contribute to achieving food security, and enhanced resilience to future shocks and disasters.

Reporting Lines

The Administrative and Finance Assistant will be under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative to Ghana, and the direct technical guidance of the Project Technical Expert and the Assistant FAO representative to Ghana.

Technical Focus 

The Administration and Finance Assistant maintain processes on the Finance business processes and other Admin functions, ensuring compliance with FAO norms and procedures.

Tasks and responsibilities 

• Monitor project expenses and disbursements that should be requested to FAO for the timely execution of the project implementation in compliance with FAO rules and procedures;
• Monitoring outstanding advances and providing inputs to the travel focal point for the status of outstanding advances monthly 
• Maintain an updated inventory of all supplies and equipment and prepare guidelines for the proper use and maintenance of office equipment and properties;
• Prepare vouchers for payments, maintain and monitor records of all disbursements of the project and validate disbursements; 
• Prepare updated reports on disbursement, and advise the Project Team on the overall financial status of the project;
• Establish financial systems and procedures in line with UN’s existing guidelines for project staff, consultants and subcontractors and in consistent with the FAO guidelines;
• Develop and implement a proper archiving system for all program, administration and finance related files, reports and correspondence for easy access and future reference;
• Reconcile expenditures, balances, payments, statements and other data; assist in the preparation of recurring and special reports by preparing and editing data in an appropriate format as requested
• Ensure adherence to corporate financial systems, rules and regulations, policies and practices and to required recording and documentation standards:
• Maintains administrative control records such as commitments and expenditures;
• Process claims or invoices and other payment requests in line with relevant regulations and instructions;
• Ensure all supporting documents and information are required to justify payment, including receipts, banking details, etc. are complete before releasing payments;
• Compile and verify budget and accounting data by checking files, calculating costs and estimating anticipated expenditures; following authorization, make disbursements from petty cash as per delegation, maintain records of such disbursements and balance accounts as required;
• Assist in the preparation of periodic accounting records, Finance and budget documents; record receipts and disbursements (ledgers, cash books, vouchers, etc.);
• Support reporting needs and audits with data and supporting documents as required;
• Perform other related duties and activities as required

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or any related discipline 
• Minimum 5 years of experience in administration, Finance, accounting, cash management and/or asset management-related support work
• Working knowledge of English (proficient – level C)
• National of Ghana

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills 

• Ability to communicate clearly and to share knowledge and information;
• Ability to work effectively under pressure;
• Capacity to build effective relationships and partnerships with team members and service providers;
• Ability to take initiative and accomplish tasks in due time;
• Ability to be flexible in changing circumstances and to adapt the work approach in response to changes;
• Extent and relevance of experience in management of computer programs such as Excel, Word, Power Point and statistical software.
• The candidate must demonstrate high communication skills, both verbal and written, negotiation, leadership, vision, strategy, coordination and teamwork.

Selection Criteria

• Ability to use Oracle software and other information systems and databases to insert data, make enquiries, retrieve/define ad hoc reports and analyses and edit results in appropriate format.
• Demonstrated experience in cooperating with multi-disciplinary teams
• Excellent communication and managerial skills
• Proven ability to meet deadlines with excellent skills to work under pressure.
• A systematic, organized, well-structured and efficient approach to work assignments.
• Analytical ability, accuracy and consistency. Exercise diligence and care in dealing with records and expenditures.
• The incumbent must possess a cooperative spirit, flexibility and openness to work in an international environment.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION