Stretch Assignment: Finance Officer, UNICEF Conakry Guinea (Onsite)
Title: Finance Officer
Level: NOB/P2
Reports to: Deputy Representative - Operations
Duration: 2 months
Section: Office of Deputy Representative - Operations
Location: Conakry, Guinea
Dates/Duration: Stretch assignment from 18 May until 18 July 2026.
Eligibility: All Fixed-Term, Permanent or continuing appointment UNICEF staff members currently working in UNICEF worldwide.
Background
Guinea is a lower-middle-income country facing significant challenges in child development and deprivation. According to the latest Human Development Index (HDI) report, Guinea has a Human Development Index of 0.480, ranking 178th out of 191 countries in 2023, reflecting its ongoing struggle with poverty and social development challenges. Since 1984, UNICEF has worked with the government and various partners, including UN agencies, NGOs, and community-based organizations, to improve conditions for children.
The population of Guinea is projected to be around 15.2 million in 2025, with 63.4% living in rural areas and women comprising approximately 50.3% of the population. The annual growth rate remains steady at about 2.8%. Children under the age of 18 account for roughly 51% of the population, underscoring the critical need for child-focused interventions in areas such as health, education, and protection (World Population Review).
The vision of the 2024-2028 country programme is: "A Guinea where children, especially adolescent girls and children from the most vulnerable families in the most disadvantaged geographical areas, have equitable opportunities for sustainable access to essential social services and quality social protection, and can reach their full potential, including in a context of climate-related vulnerabilities and emergencies".
Currently, Guinea faces several humanitarian and emergency situations with multiple health crises, including outbreaks of diseases such as poliovirus, diphtheria, yellow fever, and Lassa fever. The country is particularly vulnerable to health shocks due to weak healthcare infrastructure. In addition, the country faces regularly natural disasters, such as flooding, which displace populations, damage infrastructure, and exacerbate the already challenging humanitarian conditions. These ongoing challenges necessitate continued support and local resilience-building measures to mitigate their impact on the population.
The UNICEF Guinea office is looking for committed and creative professionals to make a lasting difference for Guinean children.
Purpose of the Position
Under the guidance of the Deputy Representative Operations, the Finance Officer is responsible for providing support to the supervisors and colleagues in the office by administering and executing a variety of professional and technical financial transactions and processes, applying theoretical skills and thorough knowledge of organizational goals, objectives, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures to complete the tasks.
The Finance Officer when supervising support staff will be responsible for planning and guiding work in progress and for reviewing work completed by subordinate staff to verify accuracy and compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), UNICEF Financial Regulations and Rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, standards of accountability, and ethics.
Main responsibilities and tasks
- Support to financial planning and management
- Provide support to the financial planning process for CPMP by preparing/analyzing financial data/estimates and documentations verifying relevancy, accuracy and completeness to support budget planning. Provide financial operations support throughout the financial planning and implementation process.
- Review budget expenditures according to allotment and codes and verify compliance with guidelines and procedures. Keep stakeholders informed for timely action.
- Provide technical and operational support on the application, interpretation and implementation of operational policies, procedures and guidelines to the Representative and CO colleagues and stakeholders. Resolve routine financial operational issues and/or recommend (and record) deviation from policies and guidelines to meet objectives.
- Provide technical support to the programme counterparts/committees, e.g. review budgets and financial plans of implementing partners; monitor compliance with HACT framework, including support to assessments, assurance and capacity development of implementing partners.
- Prepare and/or monitor financial exception reports to assess unusual activities and transactions, investigate anomalies, and keep supervisor informed for timely action.
- Review financial and reputational risks in the transactions carried out by the office and raise flags when action is needed by management.
- Where applicable, support PSFR activities on budget preparation, strategic income projection/ reporting, setting and monitoring performance indicators, revenue and expense reporting, and provide technical advice during strategic planning exercises.
- Control of accounts
- Process and/or review (as per delegated authority) the accurate and timely processing submission of payments (e.g. MIP, travel claims, pension fund, advances to governments etc), journal entries and other financial transactions within scope to the Global Shared Services Center (GSSC), ensuring compliance with budgetary limits, IPSAS and organizational regulations, rules, policies, procedures, standards of accountability, and ethics. Take timely action on outstanding accounts to resolve pending issues. This includes dialogue and follow up with the GSSC to facilitate timely processing of financial transactions submitted to the center.
- Process/supervise (as per delegated authority) the disbursement of payments when done locally via bank letters, checks, or petty cash.
- Process and supervise cash receipts and reconcile income contributions to ensure their timely deposit and recording in UNICEF systems.
- Monitor and analyze financial transactions, accounting reports and reconciliation of accounts to ensure accurate and current financial information for applicable compliance (e.g. IPSAS, donor reporting, internal policies) and management oversight, planning and/or action.
- Prepare or contribute to mandated management/statutory office financial and accounting reports to UNICEF Board/Bodies/Donors, verifying the reliability of data and compliance with organizational guidelines.
- Collaborate with oversight bodies (e.g. UNBOA, OIAI, Evaluation Office, JIU, donors, etc.) to provide answers to requests; and engage with the appropriate colleagues to resolve financial observations and recommendations raised in a sustainable and efficient manner.
- Complete applicable accounts closure activities (monthly, quarterly and yearly) on a timely basis and per closure instructions.
- Examine DCT transactions (transfer, adjustments, reprogramming and liquidation) supporting documents to ensure FACE form has been properly entered into the system and the expenditure is broadly reasonable and in accordance with policy.
- Treasury and cash management
- Manage bank, petty and cash on hand accounts transactions and operations in accordance with UNICEF/UN financial regulations and rules, policies, procedures and local banking practices. Keep abreast of procedures and regulations regarding maintenance of bank accounts and exchange and interests rates. Keep supervisor and relevant colleagues informed for timely action.
- Maintain contact with local bank management on routine operational matters.
- Maintain a system to monitor and forecast periodic cash requirements. Provide current information on cash position/forecast to management and make recommendations or take action to ensure sufficient availability of resources for programmes and operations activities.
- Submit monthly bank statements to the GSSC for reconciliation and take appropriate corrective actions on findings identified by the Center
4. Knowledge and capacity building
- Promote a culture of highest ethical standards and behavior in management of UNICEF’s resources.
- Support initiatives for management improvement by capturing, institutionalizing and sharing best practices and lessons learned. Recommend improvements in processes and procedures to enhance productivity and performance including implementation of cost saving strategies.
- Participate and/or organize training and learning events to build capacity of staff and stakeholders/partners.
- Support operations of the office as required
Duration
This stretch assignment will be for a period of two (2) months.
Minimum Qualifications and Competencies
Education:
A first level university degree in accounting, financial management or another related financial field is required. Supplemental formal financial / accounting training may be accepted if university degree is not in a related financial field. Diploma qualification in CIPFA is acceptable in lieu of relevant university degree, or its equivalent.
Experience:
- A minimum of 2 years of professional experience in financial management or audit is required.
- Experience in an international organization and/or large corporation is preferred.
- Experience in a UN system agency or organization some of which served in a developing country is considered as an asset.
- Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Excel required.
- Experience in database packages, web based management systems and ERP systems (preferably SAP financial modules) is considered as an asset.
- Experience with IPSAS and/or IFRS is considered as an asset.
Language Requirements: Fluency in French and English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
Competencies of Successful Candidate
Core Values
- Care
- Respect
- Integrity
- Trust
- Accountability
- Sustainability
Core Competencies
- Builds and maintains partnerships
- Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
- Drive to achieve results for impact
- Innovates and embraces change
- Manages ambiguity and complexity
- Thinks and acts strategically
- Works collaboratively with others
- Nurtures, Leads and Manages people
Eligibility:
This opportunity is open to UNICEF staff members with Fixed-term or Permanent or Continuing appointment with UNICEF that runs through the duration of the assignment.
Travel and funding
Guinea Country Office will pay for economy class travel. The candidate will receive 100% of Conakry DSA rate for the first four (4) weeks and 50% for the remaining duration of the assignment. Staff member selected for this stretch assignment will continue to receive salary and emoluments from the releasing office during the assignment
Link to present position
Discuss this stretch assignment with your supervisor and obtain the Representative’s agreement for your application to be submitted, as part of your learning and development plan for the year. The agreement of your Representative is a pre-requisite for this stretch assignment.
If selected for this opportunity, the selected staff member will remain in their current position and will be temporarily placed with UNICEF Guinea for the duration of the support mission. At the end of the stretch assignment, the staff member will return to his/her respective position. Thus, no changes will be made to the current status of staff member at UNICEF.
How to apply
To apply, please take the following steps:
Discuss this stretch assignment with your supervisor as well as Head of Office and obtain his/her agreement prior to submitting your application. The agreement of your supervisor and Head of Office is a pre-requisite for this stretch assignment.
Interested candidates are requested to submit their application by 8 May 2026 to the following link : Internal Vacancies (sharepoint.com) with required documents cited below:
Attach to your application's email the following documents:
- An updated CV
- Updated UNICEF profile,
- Last two PERs
- A cover letter outlining your motivation for applying
- Approval from the supervisor and Head of Office
Selection process:
A desk review will be used for the selection of suitable candidates with informal discussion.