Finance Analyst - Benin City Mayors Challenge - Benin, Nigeria (Open to internal and external applicants)

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 provides integrated programmatic, policy and financing solutions to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this context, UNDP has created a Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and the Crisis Bureau (CB) are the two anchor Bureaux of the GPN.

In this context, the newly established Governance, Rule of Law, and Peacebuilding (GRP) Hub, a joint endeavour with the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), provides leadership and advisory services to enhance UNDP’s impact on governance and peacebuilding, ensuring the integration of democratic governance and human rights into crisis response and recovery. The Hub aims to build an integrated portfolio collaboratively between the CB and BPPS and establish partnerships with various stakeholders including the UN System, IFIs, civil society, and the private sector.

Through Local Action, the GRP Hub seeks to contribute to peace and development, achieving a visible impact on communities and improving lives by delivering integrated solutions that harness global expertise and partnerships. The Local Action Unit works closely with local and regional governments as key development players, highlighting their role as public service implementers, as drivers of innovation and the closest institution to people.

Local and regional governments are already responsible of over 65% of the SDG targets, most of them linked to basic service provision from water, sanitation, mobility, climate action, health or education. Cities and territories are playing a big part on the implementation of SDGs, that are becoming a new tool for strategic planning and budgeting in the mid to long-term. Since 2015, local governments and their associations have been increasingly active in promoting the SDGs through advocacy, working with their local population and partners in transposing the spirit of Agenda 2030 in cities and territories. Local Governments have also started to use SDGs as a strategic framework to deliver better and more innovative public services linked to SDG targets and indicators. As part of the SDG Local Action project, UNDP is one of the implementing partners of the Mayors Challenge, a global initiative to reimagine the most essential services that cities deliver to residents.

Within this context, the SDG Local Action project is seeking recruit a Finance Analyst to support the sound financial management of the Mayors Challenge in the City of Benin, Nigeria, one of the winners of the 2025 Mayors Challenge.

The project, led by the Egor Local Government aims to expand women’s access to vital health care through neighborhood kiosks, community outreach, and digital referrals.

CONTRAconnect is a digital platform that facilitates access to dignified, youth friendly and free contraceptives and vital women´s health services through mobile kiosks and health facilities spread around the city of Benin. Thanks to the Mayors Challenge support, the platform is targeted to reach 250.000 women in two years. The platform encompasses a mobile app accessible to a network of community mobilizers able to refer beneficiaries to either mobile kiosks or renewed and redesigned health facilities. Additionally, beneficiaries can also use WhatsApp and a web-based portal to access the city services. Unlike other programs that offer similar services, this model will be able to track the beneficiaries needs in real time. The project also contemplates the selection of 2.000 community ambassadors, ensuring peer to peer mobilization and project ownership among the local residents.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UNDP Advisor, cities and local governments, and in coordination with the city team, the Finance Analyst will perform the following functions:

A. Ensure Financial Management and Administrative Coordination

• Provide financial and administrative support for the effective implementation of project activities in accordance with UNDP rules, regulations, policies, and procedures;
• Monitor project budgets, expenditures, and delivery rates, ensuring proper utilization of resources and timely identification of financial discrepancies or implementation delays;
• Review payment requests, invoices, supporting documentation, and financial records for completeness, accuracy, and compliance prior to submission for processing;
• Support budget planning, expenditure forecasting, and preparation of budget revisions and financial projections as required;
• Maintain and oversee financial and administrative filing systems, ensuring accurate record keeping, traceability, and accessibility of documentation;
• Coordinate with project teams, implementing partners, vendors, consultants, and UNDP operations units to facilitate timely administrative and financial processes;
• Monitor deadlines related to payments, contracts, reporting, and operational processes, and proactively follow up on pending actions;
• Support the organization of missions, meetings, workshops, and events, including administrative and financial coordination arrangements.

B. Ensure procurement, contracts, and operational support

• Support procurement and contract management processes in compliance with UNDP procurement policies and procedures;
• Prepare, review, and maintain procurement, contractual, and administrative documentation, ensuring completeness and compliance with audit and operational requirements;
• Monitor procurement plans, contract implementation status, vendor documentation, and payment schedules to support timely project delivery;
• Review vendor invoices and supporting documents against contractual terms, deliverables, and approved budgets before payment processing;
• Coordinate with suppliers, service providers, consultants, and relevant stakeholders to resolve administrative and operational issues in a timely manner;
• Contribute to the preparation of terms of reference, requests for quotations, evaluation documentation, and administrative justifications related to procurement and contracting actions;
• Support asset and inventory tracking related to project implementation and ensure proper documentation and record management;
• Contribute to improving operational workflows, administrative tracking tools, and filing systems to strengthen efficiency and accountability.

C. Reporting compliance, project support and facilitating knowledge management

• Contribute to the preparation of financial, operational, and administrative reports by compiling, reviewing, and validating supporting documentation and expenditure data;
• Support compliance with UNDP financial, administrative, and operational procedures through regular monitoring and verification of project records and transactions;
• Coordinate the organization and maintenance of documentation for audits, evaluations, monitoring missions, and verification exercises;
• Identify financial or administrative issues and escalate them to the supervisor with proposed corrective actions and follow-up recommendations;
• Provide administrative and operational support for implementation of annual work plans, procurement plans, and project reporting requirements;
• Support knowledge management and documentation of operational processes, lessons learned, and best practices related to project implementation;
• Ensure confidentiality, transparency, accuracy, and integrity in the management of project financial and administrative information and documentation.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangements

The Finance Analyst will report to the Project Manager, Benin Mayors Challenge.

Competencies

Core Competencies

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline;
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements;
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback;
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible;
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident;
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships;
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.

Functional/Technical competencies

Business Management

• Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.

Business Management: Monitoring & Evaluation

• Ability to systematically monitor results of strategies, programmes, and activities with a view to make sure that they are being implemented effectively.
• Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback and reporting on the consistency or discrepancy between planned activities and programme management and results.
• Ability to make independent judgment of the management and results of strategies, programmes and activities based on set criteria and benchmark, keeping in mind the needs and concerns of client, current and upcoming.
• Knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, concepts, methodologies, systems, processes, and tools.
• Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks.
• Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.

Business Management: Communication

• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.

Business Management

• Working with Evidence and Data: Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision-making.

Finance

• Budget Management: Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.

Finance: Accounting (General)

• Understands how regulations and professional standards in internal and external audit underpin audit work in the public services. Understands the key stages of audit work, including planning, documentation, testing and reporting.
• Ability to examine and verify accounts and records. Understands wider mechanisms for assurance and scrutiny. Understands the law and best practice relating to anti- bribery and corruption controls and the fraud risks faced by public bodies.

Finance: Financial reporting and analysis

• Understands changes in regulatory, legal and ethical frameworks and standards for financial reporting in the public sector.
• 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.
• Understands the benefits of integrated reporting, including non- financial resources such as human, social and intellectual capital, and environmental and governance performance.

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 areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience 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.

Desired skills:

• Experience in project/programme administration;
• Demonstrated ability to maintain organized records and filing systems;
• Experience using Microsoft Excel and other basic office applications;
• Demonstrated ability to support preparation of financial summaries and administrative reports;
• Experience working on development projects or donor-funded projects;
• Experience supporting audits, financial reporting, or procurement documentation;
• Experience and knowledge of accounting or financial management systems;
• Experience working with municipalities, public institutions, or community-based projects.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in the English is required;
• Knowledge of any Nigerian local language/dialect will be an advantage.

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.

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

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