Senior Finance Associate (Data), G-7

ABOUT UNICEF

UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to protect children’s rights and support their survival, development and wellbeing.

Its programmes include healthcare, nutrition, education, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, immunisation and emergency humanitarian assistance.

UNICEF Nigeria’s Health Section supports the Government of Nigeria to implement child-survival interventions at national and state levels. These interventions contribute to reducing maternal, newborn, infant and child mortality in Nigeria.

JOB DETAILS

Position: Senior Finance Associate (Data)

Position Level: G-7

Contract Type: Temporary Appointment

Contract Duration: 364 days

Duty Station: Abuja, Nigeria

Job Number: 594774

Functional Area: Financial Management

Reporting Line: Finance Manager

Strategic Supervision: Polio Team Lead

Advertised: 28 July 2026

Application Deadline: 11 August 2026

This is a General Service position. Candidates must meet the applicable local recruitment and work-authorisation requirements.

JOB PURPOSE

The Senior Finance Associate will perform specialised financial-management and data-processing responsibilities supporting UNICEF Nigeria’s Health Section and polio-related programme activities.

The position will ensure that payment requests, financial records, payment data, reports and reconciliations are complete, accurate, timely and compliant with UNICEF’s financial rules and internal-control procedures.

The successful candidate will be expected to research and resolve unusual financial cases, identify discrepancies and recommend improvements to payment and financial-management processes.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Payment Verification and Processing

• Review payment plans and requests submitted through the HOPE platform.
• Verify the completeness and accuracy of health and polio-related payment requests.
• Compile the supporting data required for payment processing.
• Confirm that all required information is included before payments are processed.
• Check beneficiary and recipient bank-account information.
• Identify incorrect, incomplete or inconsistent bank details.
• Inform the relevant programme section of identified discrepancies.
• Support the correction of inaccurate bank-account information.
• Confirm that funds have been transferred successfully to the appropriate individual accounts.
• Follow up on failed, rejected, delayed or incomplete payments.
• Ensure necessary adjustments are made before payment runs.
• Verify that payment data complies with UNICEF’s financial procedures.
• Ensure payments are processed within approved timelines.

Payment Records and Monitoring

• Update payment records for HOPE and polio-programme activities.
• Maintain accurate payment-monitoring systems.
• Record transactions, balances, statements and payment adjustments.
• Reconcile payment information against supporting records.
• Maintain current records for polio campaigns and related health interventions.
• Track payment progress from initiation through completion.
• Monitor unpaid, failed or returned transactions.
• Maintain clear documentation of corrective actions.
• Ensure records are organised and available for review or audit.
• Protect confidential financial and beneficiary information.

Financial Data Management

• Select and enter financial information from different documents and data sources.
• Verify entered information against original documents.
• Check calculations and supporting schedules.
• Ensure all relevant data is included in financial records.
• Identify duplicated, missing or inconsistent information.
• Correct data-entry errors where authorised.
• Maintain accurate and properly formatted spreadsheets.
• Extract, organise and analyse financial information using Microsoft Excel.
• Ensure data-management practices comply with internal controls.
• Support the improvement of payment-data quality.
• Maintain accurate electronic and physical financial records.

Financial Reporting

• Prepare recurring financial reports according to established schedules.
• Produce special reports requested for management purposes.
• Prepare financial information required for budget development.
• Compile reports required for internal and external audits.
• Develop payment-status reports for the Health and Polio teams.
• Report unresolved payment and reconciliation issues.
• Provide accurate payment updates in response to queries.
• Prepare schedules showing payments, balances and outstanding transactions.
• Support financial analysis and decision-making.
• Ensure submitted reports are accurate, complete and properly documented.

Payment Closure and Grant Management

• Support the completion of outstanding payments before year-end financial closure.
• Track payments connected to grants approaching their expiration dates.
• Ensure transactions are completed before grant closure.
• Identify unresolved financial issues that could delay closure.
• Support the reconciliation of grant-related payment records.
• Follow up with relevant teams on incomplete documentation.
• Assist with the financial closure of health and polio-programme activities.
• Ensure payment records are finalised within the required timelines.
• Support preparation for year-end accounting procedures.

Coordination with GSSC and Financial Service Providers

• Liaise with UNICEF’s Global Shared Services Centre on financial transactions.
• Respond to questions raised regarding payment requests.
• Make required corrections to financial transactions.
• Follow up on unapplied receivable balances.
• Review failed-payment lists and initiate corrective action.
• Work closely with selected financial service providers.
• Monitor payment processing and reporting arrangements.
• Ensure agreed payment procedures are implemented.
• Escalate unresolved financial-service-provider issues.
• Maintain records of communication and agreed actions.
• Support the improvement of payment efficiency and effectiveness.

HOPE Platform Support

• Initiate correspondence to verify information entered into the HOPE platform.
• Respond to payment and data-related enquiries.
• Obtain additional information where payment documentation is incomplete.
• Support users in resolving payment-processing problems.
• Monitor the accuracy of information submitted through the platform.
• Identify recurring platform or data-management challenges.
• Recommend practical improvements to payment procedures.
• Ensure all HOPE-related transactions have appropriate supporting documentation.
• Support efficient use of the platform for health and polio payments.

Banking and Reconciliation

• Maintain professional communication with officials of local banks.
• Obtain current information on exchange rates and interest rates.
• Monitor changes to banking procedures and regulations.
• Address issues concerning the maintenance of UNICEF office bank accounts.
• Prepare recurring bank-related reports.
• Conduct or support bank reconciliations.
• Investigate differences between bank records and UNICEF financial records.
• Follow up on unresolved reconciliation items.
• Maintain supporting documentation for banking transactions.
• Ensure banking information is handled confidentially.

Budgeting and Cost Analysis

• Prepare detailed cost estimates.
• Support budget preparation and analysis.
• Compile financial information for programme planning.
• Assist with financial projections for health and polio activities.
• Review expenditure information against approved budgets.
• Identify financial-data gaps affecting budget analysis.
• Provide accurate financial information to programme teams.
• Support financial reviews and special projects.
• Perform other financial-management responsibilities assigned by the Finance Manager.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Education

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Additional training or qualifications in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Data Management or another relevant discipline would be advantageous.

Professional Experience

• At least seven years of relevant professional experience in financial management, accounting or another closely related area.
• Experience processing and reconciling high-volume payments is desirable.
• Experience maintaining financial records and preparing reports.
• Experience managing financial data using Microsoft Excel.
• Experience working with financial-service providers or banking institutions is advantageous.
• Experience in a development, humanitarian or fragile setting is desirable.
• Previous experience within the United Nations system or another international organisation would be an advantage.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Knowledge of financial-management and accounting principles.
• Understanding of financial controls and compliance requirements.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills.
• Ability to extract, clean, organise and format financial data.
• Ability to conduct calculations and reconciliations accurately.
• Ability to prepare financial reports and payment schedules.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to identify and correct data inconsistencies.
• Computer literacy.
• Ability to solve operational and payment-processing problems.
• Knowledge of the HOPE platform is an advantage.
• Understanding of financial principles used within the United Nations system is desirable.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Knowledge of another official United Nations language—Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish—is an advantage.
• Knowledge of a Nigerian local language is desirable.

UNICEF CORE VALUES

The successful candidate must demonstrate UNICEF’s core values:

• Care.
• Respect.
• Integrity.
• Trust.
• Accountability.
• Sustainability.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

• Builds and maintains partnerships.
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness.
• Drives to achieve results for impact.
• Innovates and embraces change.
• Manages ambiguity and complexity.
• Thinks and acts strategically.
• Works collaboratively with others.
• Maintains confidentiality.
• Demonstrates accuracy and accountability.
• Communicates financial information clearly.
• Manages competing responsibilities and deadlines.
• Identifies problems and recommends practical solutions.

SAFEGUARDING AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

UNICEF has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination and other conduct incompatible with the values and objectives of the United Nations.

Selected candidates will undergo reference and background checks, including verification of academic qualifications and employment history.

Appointments are subject to applicable medical-clearance and employment requirements.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested and qualified candidates must complete their applications through UNICEF’s official recruitment portal using the application link provided above.

Applicants should:

• Create or sign in to their UNICEF candidate account.
• Complete all required sections of the online profile.
• Provide accurate educational and employment information.
• Upload an updated CV or résumé.
• Upload a cover letter where requested.
• Review the application carefully before submission.
• Submit the application no later than 11 August 2026 at 11:55 p.m. West and Central Africa Standard Time.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to continue to the next stage of the recruitment process.

UNICEF does not charge application, interview, processing, training or recruitment fees. Applicants should never provide money or personal bank-account information in response to a recruitment request.