WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.
ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.
WHY JOIN WFP?
- WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
- WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
- A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
- We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
At this level job holders are expected to take responsibility for completion of a range of finance/budget related processes and activities requiring some interpretation of standard guidelines/practices. Job holders are able to recommend a course of action to staff at various levels and may allocate tasks to other support staff.
JOB PURPOSE
Sri Lanka is highly vulnerable to cyclones, floods, landslides, and droughts, with disasters increasing in frequency and severity. In November 2025, Cyclone Ditwah devastated 22 districts, affecting 2 million people, destroying homes and croplands, and severely damaging irrigation systems. With the anticipated El Niño event in 2026–27 expected to bring both droughts and flooding, communities face heightened risks and limited coping capacity.
To address these challenges, WFP is implementing a USD 7.5 million program to assist 87,000 people (21,750 households) by combining cash transfers for rehabilitating irrigation systems, anticipatory cash support to flood-prone households, pre-positioning of essential non-food items, and strengthened disaster preparedness through coordinated risk assessments and digitalized systems.
The program builds on WFP’s leadership in disaster coordination, enabling rapid deployment within 72–96 hours of an emergency while supporting recovery and resilience, ensuring households are better prepared for future shocks and reinforcing government disaster risk financing systems.
A vacancy exists for an experienced Finance Assistant with robust finance skills, analytical capabilities, and experience in finance and accounting engagements with key stakeholders such as government bodies, agencies, NGOs, Private Sector Organizations, communities and beneficiaries,
Reporting directly to the Head of Finance, the Finance Assistant will provide support for WFP Sri Lanka activities, focusing on the following key priorities
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive, nor exhaustive)
- Assist in providing the procedural and technical support to staff within the areas of finance and budget, to ensure compliance with WFP financial policies, rules and regulations.
- Monitor monthly expenditure forecasts and provide expenditure reports in order to facilitate informed decision-making.
- Process and review financial transactions, including payments, receipts, and journal entries, in accordance with established procedures
- Liaise with WFP financial service providers (FSP) for Cash base transfers (CBT) - issuance of payment instruction letters to FSP, receiving and processing of FSP invoices, support 1st level Reconciliation processes of payments to beneficiaries, support for any late payment returns, close coordination with CBT team.
- Verify vendor claims, advances and other receivables and observe appropriate procurement procedures, to ensure that suppliers are paid in a timely manner and in conformance with WFP finance rules and regulations.
- Assist in compiling information from various sources in order to prepare reports relating to budgets, accounting, finance and statistics.
- Retrieve, format and validate information obtained from various financial information systems and bring any discrepancy or inaccuracy to the attention of the supervisor and follow up corrective actions.
- Perform administrative duties related to the monitoring and recording of fixed assets, spend on fuel and spare parts for vehicles and generators, to ensure that the databases are accurately updated.
- Monitor and record all expenses in line with the approved budget in order to ensure that correct expenditure costs are charged and payments to external suppliers, cash grants and other supplier invoices are processed in a timely manner.
DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE
- Has experience collecting and monitoring financial data on projects and programmes, assessing financial health and status, and reporting findings to senior leaders.
Education
Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area is desirable.
Language
Fluency (level C) in English language. Fluency (level C) or intermediate knowledge (level B) of another official language may be required depending on the location of the post or area of responsibility.
Contract Type: Service Contract
Nationality: Nationals Only
Date of Publication: 21.08.2026
Deadline of Application: 04.09.2026
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: global.inclusion@wfp.org
NO FEE DISCLAIMER
The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.
REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
- All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.
- We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
- If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.
- At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.