Accountant (Back Office)

Org. Setting and Reporting

The United Nations Secretary-General is responsible for the investment of the assets of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF). The Secretary-General has delegated this responsibility to the Representative of the Secretary-General for the investment of the assets of the UNJSPF (RSG). The RSG heads the Office of Investment Management (OIM), which manages approximately $95+ billion multi-asset class, global investment portfolio, about 85% of which is actively managed in-house. Asset classes under management comprise of global equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, timber, and commodities. OIM’s staff are all based in New York and come from over 40 countries. This position is located in the Operations Section of OIM and the incumbent will report to the Chief of Operations.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Accountant will be responsible for the following duties:

• Manages multi-currency trade settlement process, encompassing a wide variety of funding sources, a large volume of transactions, and extensive dispersed activities.
• Approves/Confirms trade and payment instructions to custodian banks, as well as cash balances and cash projections in the trade order management system.
• Analyses cash/assets accounts, reviews regular daily cash and position reconciliations. Proposes/implements solutions with respect to problem transactions and irregularities.
• Ensures that accurate and complete internal control systems are functioning in the back-office investment operation unit and that all relevant records are maintained.
• Responds to internal/external audit requests and observations.
• Produces major/complex Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for management.
• Provides substantive support to the development and implementation of new trade order management and alternative investment systems. Takes initiative to improve back-office operational processes and approaches for new investments/asset classes. Participate in the fund’s strategic projects.
• Provides data for the preparation of quarter evaluation and year-end performance reports of the custodian bank ensuring the meet their contractual obligations and service level agreements.
• Guides, trains and supervises general service and professional staff in the function.
• Collects and analyzes data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation and reporting.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in business administration, finance, accounting or related field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in investment operations and cash management is required. Experience in trade settlement using SWIFT is required.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this position, fluency in English is required; Knowledge of another UN official language is desirable.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/247587?language=en