Staff Assistant (Accounting & Travel)

Post Context

On 15 FEB 2024, the NATO – Ukraine Council (NUC) Defence Ministers took the political decision to endorse the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education, Centre (JATEC).  Subsequently, in JUL 2024, the Washington Summit agreed to take forward the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine JATEC, as an important pillar of practical cooperation, to identify and apply lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine and increase Ukraine’s interoperability with NATO. With this agreement, the Allies approved the establishment of a Joint Civil-Military Centre under ACT Leadership to become a pillar of the NATO-UKR relationship.

JATEC provides analytical, educational, and training capabilities to jointly identify and apply lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine, and embedding these in strategy, policy, doctrine, tactics, and operations. In this context, JATEC contributes to the development of NATO’s and Ukraine’s transformation in deterrence and defence, crisis prevention, crisis management and cooperative security, providing support to the successful achievement of NATO – Ukraine interoperability objectives.

Principal Duties:

• Ensure that all Purchase Orders are raised with the correct accounting information to ensure accurate recording of expenditure
• On a day-to-day basis, account for all JATEC funds held on account, to include funds received, payments made and all assets and liabilities.
• Responsible for the administration and monitoring of suspense accounts and recovery of funds due to JATEC
• responsible for ensuring goods and services are correctly confirmed as received, then taking the receiving action in the ACT FinS Financial System.
• Review all non-travel related invoices and process them for authorization and approval
• Ensure all JATEC Travel Requests are accurately recorded in the FinS Travel Module; and are actioned in a timely manner.
• Process JATEC staff travel claims for reimbursement of expenses incurred when on TDY.
• Review all other travel related invoices and process them for authorization and approval
• Produce travel reports for the ACT Financial Controller’s designated representative i.e. JFTC Head of Finance as required.
• Liaises with external travel suppliers, ACT and JATEC personnel.
• Perform daily reconciliation of JATEC bank accounts to balances in the ACT FinS Financial System
• Provides monthly financial and ad hoc reports to the ACT Financial Controller’s designated representative.
• liaise with the JFTC finance office on all matters related to JATEC invoicing, resolving any questions that may arise
• Perform any other duties as directed by the ACT Financial Controller, JFTC Head of Finance or their designated representative.

Essential Qualifications / Experience:

• Higher Secondary education and completed higher vocational training in human resources management, business administration, law, social sciences, or related field, public administration or related discipline leading to a formal technical or professional certification with 3 years function related experience, or Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training in that discipline leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 5 years post related experience
• At least two years’ experience in an accounting environment, including a minimum of two years’ experience of double entry accounting.
• Three years minimum experience in government finance related field.
• Experience in accounting, bank reconciliation and production of financial reports for senior managers.
• Proven ability to interpret Policy and Directives on finance issues and implement accordingly.
• Knowledge and proven experience in the use of computerized financial systems.
• Proven financial responsibility for specific area; must be able to illustrate these qualities with tangible experience.
• Possess character, ethics and sound business judgement for working in a finance office.
• Strong educational background including some form of formal financial accounting training.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision on assigned projects.
• Proven ability to communicate effectively, both orally and written.

Language:

English – SLP3322 - (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing)

Desirable Qualifications / Experience:

• Experience and knowledge of NATO Financial Regulations and procedures.
• Knowledge of NATO financial directives.
• Experience with ORACLE financials or other major automated financial system
• Previous experience working in international environment.

Attributes/Competencies:

Personal Attributes:

• Capable of working harmoniously in a multi-national environment, whilst representing and projecting the needs of JATEC in a tactful and firm manner.
• Capable of communicating professionally and effectively with a range of stakeholders both internally and externally to JATEC.
• Capable of effectively prioritizing own workload to meet organizational output

Professional Contacts:

• The incumbent must have the ability to effectively coordinate with other agencies, suppliers and colleagues

Contribution To Objectives:

• This post will provide effective and efficient financial administration for JATEC’s operational and travel related transactions.

Security Clearance

The successful applicant will be required to apply for and receive a NATO SECRET Security Clearance prior to final confirmation of contract and commencement of employment.

Contract

• This position is linked to a specific NATO project and is for a limited duration of 3 (three) years only.
• Serving NATO International Civilian staff will be offered a contract in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations.  Newly recruited staff will be offered a three year definite duration contract.

Notes for Candidates

The HQ SACT web site gives full details on the eligibility criteria and application processes to be adopted by all candidates.  However, candidates should particularly note:

Please answer each of the pre-screening questions completely in English. Expressions such as: “please see attached CV, please see annex, please see enclosed document, etc” are not acceptable; this is a cause of immediate rejection of the application.

Particular attention should be given to Education and Experience section of your application form, which should be populated with details of your career to date and educational achievements and certifications as they relate to your application.

The candidature of NATO redundant staff at grade G12 will be considered with priority.

NATO will not accept any phase of the recruitment and selection prepared, in whole or in part, by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools, including and without limitation to chatbots, such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Chat GPT), or other language generating tools. NATO reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared, in whole or in part, by means of such generative or creative AI applications may be rejected without further consideration at NATO’s sole discretion, and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.

NATO is committed to diversity and inclusion, and strives to provide equal access to employment, advancement and retention, independent of gender, age, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, cultural background, sexual orientation, and disability. NATO welcomes applications of nationals from all member Nations, and strongly encourages women to apply.

This vacancy will close on 21 November 2024 @ 17:59hrs (EDT)/11:59hrs (CEST).