Background:
UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
In June 2025, UN Women and three UN agencies (UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF) began implementation of a new UN Joint Programme entitled: Sustaining the Gains: Strengthening Accountability to Gender Equality and Womenโs Rights in Zimbabwe which builds on several achievements of the Zimbabwe Spotlight Initiative (2019-2023). The new UN Joint Programme will directly contribute to the implementation of Zimbabweโs High-Level Political Compact on Ending Gender-Based Violence & Harmful Practices (HLPC) (2021-2030). The programme also will contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 and continue to build on the comprehensive model approach of the Zimbabwe Spotlight Initiative with a specific focus on strengthening gender equality and womenโs rights accountability systems and mechanisms.
Under the overall guidance of the Operations Manager, and direct supervision of the Programme Specialist and Finance Associate, the Finance and Programme Assistant is responsible for the execution of a wide range of financial and administrative services in the Country Office ensuring timeliness, efficiency and transparent use of financial resources and delivery of services in support of the project and the CO Programme in accordance with UN Women and EU financial and administrative rules, regulations, policies, procedures. S/He will work in close collaboration with the programme and operations teams in the Country Office, Regional Office and relevant Headquarters colleagues in solving complex finance and programme related issues.
Scope of Work
Provide financial support to the strategies, in full compliance of UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and recording and reporting systemsย
Support budget formulation, control allotments, monitor expenditures, and prepare revisions according to the needs;ย Prepare supporting documents for timely payments, advance to partners and liquidations; Follow up with partners for submission of timely quarterly progresss and financial reports;ย Conducts regular spot checks to implementing partners to verify reported expenditures against submitted financial documents maintaining adherence to UN Womenโs and EU rules and regulations; Prepare documents for internal and external audits, supports preparedness and ensures implementation of recommendations; Investigates, provide advice, recommends and implements agreed upon solutions to a wide range of financial issues;ย Draft and present information and data for use in the planning of financial resources and the formulation and revision of work plans and budgets;ย Track the appropriate and timely use of financial resources and advise direct supervisor accordingly;ย Monitor regularly transactions posted to projects ensuring actual expenditure has been recorded against correct budget category and activity, identifies over expenditures and take timely corrective actions as required;ย Monitor and proper follow up of all the financial items in Month-end and Year-end closure instructions status and take corrective follow up action under the guidance of the Finance Associate;ย Provide information inputs to financial reports for Regional Office, HQ Finance and stakeholders; Support financial donor reporting by providing timely and accurate information and taking necessary actions as required in the UN Women Virtual Global Service Centre for financial donor reporting.Provide finance and administrative support for effective project management
Prepare the necessary documentation related and support the entire partner selection process for the implementation of the project/s;ย Prepare all financial and procurement requests related to the assigned project/s; Support the efficient and timely implementation of programmesโ activities; Assist in the development ofโ workplans and provide support for monitoring of progress; Support to coordination efforts with programmesโ partners and ensuring flow of information arranging for meetings with stakeholders and draft minutes of meetings as requested; Provide administrative and logistical support in the organization of workshops, activities and events related to the programme interventions, as needed; Organize and keep updated hard and soft project files;ย Support the collection and analysis of data related to the programmesโ related baselines and targets;ย Support in the inputting of the annual work plan and budget development exercise in consultation with the Programme Specialist and the programme team;ย Contributes to the review of partners narrative reports; Liaise with administrative and operations staff from other relevant UN Women teams as needed.Contribute to project budget management and implementation in full compliance with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and proceduresย
Support Programme Specialist in the creation of project budgets, linking projects results with corporate systems in corporate system and preparation of budget revisions; Support the preparation of budget and delivery plans and keeping track of expenditure;ย Conduct budget analysis, recommends actions to Programme Specialist and enter agreed upon budget revisions and maintain proper record of approved programme budgets and budget revisions;ย Support in Annual Work Plan, quarterly and annual report entry in corporate system as required;ย Input data in the corporate system and keep partners and clients informed for timely action and/or decisions.Contribute to capacity/knowledge building and knowledge sharingย
Support organization of all administrative actions related to training activities and events; Organize and conduct training on finance and administrative matters to partners; Collect and compile lessons learned and good practices in financial management and services and disseminate clients and stakeholders as appropriateย to build capacity and knowledge; Contribute to financial business operational practices and management innovations; Contribute to lessons learned and best practices in finance, in support of knowledge networks and communities of practice.Key Performance Indicators
Timely, complete and accurate financial transactions/activities/documentation Timely and accurate advice on UN Women financial rules and regulations Timely and regular monitoring of financial resources management system and timely expenditure of financial resources Timely and accurate support to budget formulation and controlling allotments Timely and accurate monitoring of internal expenditures control systems Timely and accurate drafting of management financial reportsCompetencies :
Core Values:
Integrity; Professionalism; Respect for Diversity.Core Competencies:
Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues; Accountability; Creative Problem Solving; Effective Communication; Inclusive Collaboration; Stakeholder Engagement; Leading by Example.Please visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
Strong knowledge of financial rules and regulations and accounting principles;ย Strong knowledge and application skills of IT tools and understanding of management systems; Strong knowledge in the application of complex financial systems and modules;ย Strong knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages; Ability to evaluate financial data, derive relevant findings and present them in a meaningful manner.ย Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems; Ability to administer and execute financial and accounting processes and transactions.Minimum Qualifications
Education and Certification:
Completion of Diploma or intermediate in Business Management, Finance and Administration is required. Specialized national or international certification in accounting and finance is an asset. Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting is an asset. Successful completion of UN Women Accounting and Finance Test is required.Experience:
At least 4 years of progressively responsible work experience in Finance. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required. Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable. Experience working on EU funded projects is an asset.Languages:
Fluency in English is required. Fluency in a local language is desirable.Statements :
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.
Diversity and inclusion:
At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.
If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.
UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.
ย