Financial Assistant – Assets (m/f/d)

Do you have proven finance and accounting skills? Are you a stickler for detail and accuracy? Are you comfortable working both autonomously and with a diverse group of colleagues occupying different roles within the EDQM? Do you have the potential to analyse complex figures and prepare information for non-financial managers that is both useful and understandable? Lastly, do you want to pursue a meaningful career in a dynamic Organisation with a positive international impact on public health? If so, this vacancy may be the right opportunity for you.

Your role:

As a Financial Assistant, your role will focus on undertaking accounting and finance tasks related to EDQM assets, including:

• collecting financial and activity information to calculate the standard and actual costs of EDQM inventories (e.g. raw materials, consumables, energy, buildings and equipment [depreciation and maintenance] and staff costs); updating cost information in SAP;
• working closely with the production team to analyse and understand variances between standard and actual costs;
• co-ordinating the analysis of the EDQM’s fixed assets, including: 1) reviewing the potential obsolescence of fixed assets; preparing potential disposal/replacement reports; 2) reviewing the estimated and actual useful life of assets and identifying asset families; 3)contributing to regular cleaning of the fixed assets register to ensure its accuracy and integrity; ensuring tags are allocated to fixed assets;
•  producing regular reports on the costing of EDQM products; researching and analysing information for pricing reviews;
• co-ordinating asset management reporting and analysis, for stocks and fixed-assets, drafting reports, analysing metrics; and identifying and proposing potential internal control improvements;
• participating in IT projects related to fixed assets and stock inventories.

What we are looking for

As a minimum

• hold a higher education degree or professional qualification (1st cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area) in finance, accounting or related field;
• proven experience in accounting or financial control in asset management or related field;
• have a very good knowledge of one of the two official languages of the Council of Europe (English/French) and good knowledge of the other;
• be a citizen of one of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe;
• be under 65 years of age at the closing date of this vacancy notice.

Demonstrate to us that you have the following competencies

• Professional and technical expertise: sound skills in the use of accounting software such as Oracle Financials, SAP or SAGE; proficient user of standard tools in office applications, including an excellent grasp of MS Excel (especially VLOOKUPs and pivot tables).
• Planning and work organisation
• Analysis and problem solving
• Concern for quality
• Service orientation
• Teamwork and co-operation
• Results orientation
• Relationship building

These would be an asset

• Professional and technical expertise:
  – working knowledge of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) relating to assets;
  – proven experience of production/asset accounting in an industrial setting;
  – ability to use SAP software.
• Resilience
• Learning and development
• Drafting skills

What we offer:

If successful, you may be offered employment based on renewable fixed-term contracts at grade B4. In Strasbourg, you will receive a basic monthly gross salary of €4 225 which is exempt from national income tax. In our external offices different salary scales are used according to the cost of living conditions. This salary may be supplemented by other allowances depending on your personal situation and you will be affiliated to a Council of Europe pension scheme. You will also benefit from private medical insurance, 32 working days leave per year and other benefits (including flexible working hours, training and development, possibility of teleworking, etc.). This competition is carried out in accordance with Article 15.b of the Regulations on Appointments (Appendix II to the Staff Regulations), which foresees renewable employment on fixed-term contracts. Details on conditions of employment (probationary period, salaries, allowances, pension scheme, social insurance, etc.) can be consulted on our recruitment website. Any changes to these conditions during the recruitment process are updated on this site and will apply at the time of the job offer. If your profile matches our needs and you are not recruited straight away, you may be placed on a reserve list, valid for a maximum of four years.

Applications and selection procedure:

Deadline for applications is 26 September 2022 (midnight French time). Applications must be made in English or French using the Council of Europe online application system. By connecting to our website www.coe.int/jobs you can create and submit your online application. Please fill out the online application form providing all requested details and explain how your competencies make you the best candidate for this role. It usually takes a few hours to fill in an application form, so please take this information into consideration while applying.
Only applicants who best meet the abovementioned criteria will be considered for the next stage, which will consist of assessments and an interview. Further information on the assessment process will be provided to the selected candidates in due course. The tentative dates for each stage of the recruitment process will be found on our website.
As an equal opportunity employer, the Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of sex, gender, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, disability, religion or belief. Under its equal opportunities policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve parity in the number of women and men employed at all levels in the Organisation. In the event of equal merit, preference will therefore be given to the applicant belonging to the under-represented sex in the grade. During the different stages of the recruitment procedure, specific measures may be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities.