Payroll Analyst (Open to Tier 0 candidates only)

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

The Volunteer Services Centre (VSC) is part of UNV's Management Services, supporting ever growing number (over 15,000 in 2025) and providing timely and high-quality delivery of services on volunteer HR pre-assignment activities, contract administration, payroll, and evacuation UN Volunteers assigned to agencies, funds, and programs, and UN missions throughout the UN system. 

With a presence in nine locations globally, VSC ensures timely and high-quality delivery of services in volunteer HR pre-assignment activities, contract administration, payroll, and evacuation support. 

VSC collaborates closely with the Volunteer Solutions Section (VSS) and other relevant sections at Headquarters, Regional Offices, Field Units, and the UNDP Global Shared Service Centre (GSSC) to deliver seamless, consolidated services in accordance with UN Volunteers Conditions of Service, regulations, policies, and best practices. In delivering its functions, VSC also liaises with UNDP Country Offices, other UN Agencies, Service Centres and operations counterparts.

Reporting to the Chief, Volunteer Services Centre, the Payroll Analyst is responsible for the end-to-end oversight and quality delivery of payroll administration services for UN Volunteers, ensuring the timely, accurate and compliant management of payroll, banking and related disbursement data. S/he is responsible for effective delivery of payroll services and efficient administration of volunteer payroll processes, the consistent and transparent application of the UNV Conditions of Service and MoU/Service agreements and other relevant policies, and the integrity of payroll-related data required to support accurate validation, disbursement, reconciliation, reporting and audit support.

The Payroll Analyst supervises the payroll team and serves as the primary functional focal point and escalation point for payroll matters within the VSC, working in close coordination with the Global Payroll Services (GPS), UNDP Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC). S/he works in close collaboration with VSC functional teams, Regional Offices, Field Units and other relevant stakeholders to ensure timely payroll validation, disbursement and resolution of complex cases. The incumbent plays a key role in maintaining service quality, resolving complex payroll related issues, strengthening operational controls and compliance, supporting management reporting, audits and knowledge transfer, and driving continuous improvement, efficiency and client satisfaction across the payroll function.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.    Administration of payroll services

• Ensure full compliance of volunteer payroll and related invoice processing in the ERP system in line with UN, UNDP and UNV rules, regulations, policies and SOPs, as well as effective implementation of the UNDP/UNV internal control framework;
• Ensure timely and accurate determination, validation and processing of entitlements for UN Volunteers;
• Create and maintain monthly payroll schedules and monitor adherence to critical deadlines and handovers; 
• Ensure accurate payroll data entries, verification and validation to reduce recoveries and other exceptional payments;
• Run and review payroll validation and exception reports, and ensure discrepancies are corrected or escalated in a timely manner;
• Ensure earnings and deductions are reviewed, verified, documented and accurate before being submitted to the Global Payroll Services (GPS);
• Coordinate payroll finalization with the GPS, including calculation, reconciliation, administration of retroactive recoveries and adjustments;
• Take timely corrective actions on erroneous payroll data in the ERP system and escalate issues that may affect payroll timeliness or accuracy;
• Ensure timely follow-up, resolution and/or escalation of volunteer payroll issues with relevant stakeholders;
• Maintain records of payroll-related advances (amounts, currencies, schedules, etc.), and process recoveries in the ERP system.

2.    Ensure payroll operations, banking and client advisory support

• Ensure that destination banks are correctly set up for seamless payroll and related entitlement disbursement;
• Ensure full understanding of all available payment methods, especially in countries with complex banking arrangements;
• Follow up on claims of non-receipt of payment and ensure disbursement of entitlements for rejected/returned payments; actively manage the reconciliation of open-items and other receivables related to volunteer payments;
• Review and analyze bank reconciliation data, identify discrepancies and coordinate corrective action when required;
• Ensure corrective actions are taken timely and escalated to technical support as appropriate;
• Support banking and disbursement services as required;
• Ensure queries from UN Volunteers related to payment of entitlements are addressed accurately, consistently and in a timely manner;
• Ensure accurate maintenance and follow-up of payee/supplier data related to UN volunteer payments, where applicable;
• Contribute to operational system specifications to assure user and business needs and requirements are adequately reflected in operational and related systems; coordinate and contribute to testing/UAT of system and process changes affecting payroll operations, when required;
• Contribute to process mapping, continuous process improvement and cross-cutting optimization initiatives;
• Monitor payroll- and payment-related service arrangements with relevant service partners, manage deviations in a solution-oriented manner, and contribute to service improvement discussions as required;
• Actively contribute to relationship building with UNV sections and regional offices, and to partnership building with UNDP/BMS/GSSC colleagues and other stakeholders as required.

3.    Reporting, controls and audit support

• Perform checks and balances for due diligence and financial accountability within the Financial Rules and Regulations of UNDP related to the VSC mandate;
• Monitor volunteer payroll reports, validation reports and exception reports and take corrective action on unusual or questionable activity and payments;
• Manage planned and ad hoc reporting requirements in coordination with the relevant technical teams as required;
• Produce timely and accurate inputs to section and corporate reporting and audit requirements;
• Support audits and year-end reconciliation processes related to payroll, and contribute to management responses and follow-up actions arising from audit observations, as required;
• Provide regular reporting on the status of volunteer-related open-items and receivables;
• Contribute to improvement in the reporting requirements and help define reporting needs for implementation;
• Contribute to the analysis of the VSC results in each region, report on trends and propose changes for improvements.

4.     Facilitate knowledge building and continuous improvement

• Lead the development, review, updating and dissemination of SOPs, workflows, guidance notes and other payroll-related knowledge products; 
• Drive the design, organization and delivery of training and learning activities on volunteer payroll, banking and related operational processes; 
• Synthesize and share lessons learned, good practices and other pertinent knowledge to support operational improvements and consistent service delivery; 
• Provide substantive inputs to process, system and policy discussions based on operational experience, recurring issues and emerging service delivery needs; 
• Keep abreast of latest trends and benchmarks in payroll and related service delivery areas to inform continuous improvement and promote effective practices within UNV; 
• Engage with and contribute to knowledge networks, communities of practice and cross-functional exchanges within UNV, UNDP and other relevant partners;
• Guide, train and support UNV teams to continuously build capacity for volunteer payroll, banking and related operational processes during onboarding sessions, regional retreats, etc.

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

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: supervise and manage Payroll team. 

Competencies

Core Competencies 

Achieve Results 

• Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work

Think Innovatively:  

• Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking 

Learn Continuously: 

• Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning

Adapt with Agility:  

• Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process 

Act with Determination:  

• Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously

Engage and Partner: 

• Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: 

• Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Business Acumen

•    Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome. Ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks; 
•    Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organization.

Customer Satisfaction/Client Management

•    Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs;
•    Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns.
 

Operations Management

•    Ability to effectively plan, organize, and oversee the different parts of corporate operations, simultaneously and in an integrated way, in order to convert the organization’s assets into the best results in the most efficient way Organisation’s business processes in order to convert its assets into the best results in the most efficient manner;
•    Knowledge of relevant concepts and mechanisms.

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.

Knowledge Facilitation

•    Ability to animate individuals and groups, internally and externally, and to design and facilitate activities, to share and exchange knowledge, information and ideas; 
•    Knowledge of tools and approaches to stimulate active participation, contribution, and exchange.

Payroll Management

•    Knowledge of and ability to apply mechanisms and tools to collect payroll data, process payroll, and manage payroll reports.

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:

•    Advanced University degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Human Resources Management, Finance, Business or Public Administration, or related fields is required. Or
•    A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

•    Minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) relevant experience in HR operations, payroll administration, disbursement support, or related areas in a multilateral organization at the global, regional or national level is required; 
•    At least 2 years of recent supervisory responsibility leading teams in a diverse environment, preferably including experience in managing teams with tight deadlines, is required;
•    Experience in the usage of office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and cloud-based ERP systems is required; 
•    Working knowledge of HR/payroll modules in ERP systems and (payroll) reporting tools is an asset;
•    Demonstrated experience in resolving complex payment, reconciliation or entitlement-related issues is an asset;
•    Experience supporting audits, reconciliations, exception reporting or internal control processes is an asset;
•    Experience in business process design and automation, data analysis and use of metrics to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes is an asset;
•    Proven experience and knowledge of advanced data analytics and reporting and tools (Power BI, database packages, etc.) is an asset; 
•    Work experience in a Country Office is a strong advantage.

Language requirements:

•    Fluency in English is required. 
•    Working knowledge in another UN official language is an asset.

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. 

Probation

For all new UNDP fixed term appointments (FTA), including for staff members being transferred or seconded to UNDP under the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or Loan of Staff, on an appointment of more than one year, continuation of the appointment beyond the initial 12 months is contingent upon the successful completion of a probationary period.

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

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.

 #LI-DNI