Assistant Finance and Governance Officer at Unilever

PURPOSE

To assist with the finance and governance duties of the Pension Fund.

The incumbent will also facilitate the surplus query and distribution process.

Other duties will include tasks that are of a planning, organizational and prioritization nature.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Administration

• Retention of service provider supporting documents to accompany payment requisitions to the Fund administrator.

• Ensure payments of service providers are complete and on time.

• Raising of purchase orders and goods receipting of invoices when required.

• Investment bank reconciliations (x2 accounts).

• Assist to analyze pension fund contributions.

• Assist with intercompany reconciliation including commentary.

• Assist with statutory correspondence queries during annual audit.

Trustee Elections and Governance

• Planning and execution of trustee elections at Unilever sites in accordance with the Pension Fund rules and the Pension Funds Act.

• FICA document collection and retention for trustees, asset managers and bankers.

• Capturing and retention of Continued Professional Development (CPD) documents from trustees and pension benefits management team.

• Maintenance of Fund and trustee registers.

• Facilitating approval of Fund resolutions via DocuSign.

Co-ordination of Meetings

• Board of Trustees (+30 attendees - internal and external attendees and held quarterly)

• Pension Investment Committee (held quarterly)

• Audit Committee (held biannually)

• Facilitating approval of the minutes of meetings via DocuSign.

Travel and Seminar Arrangements

• Principal Officer (local and international)

• Trustees (Local – the 6 elected trustees)

Document Management

• Ensure document storage facilities are secure.

• Ensure the pensions SharePoint is up to date and categorized accordingly.

• Co-ordination of surplus query documentation.

• Ensure face to face meetings are adequately planned.

Surplus Queries

• Facilitation of surplus queries and the investigation process.

• To update and maintain the register of surplus queries/cases.

• Surplus query/case reporting at Board of Trustee meetings.

 KEY INTERFACES

 Interaction is mainly with the following parties

• Regulatory and monitoring bodies

  • Correspondence

• Fund consultants, actuaries, fund administrators, auditors

  • Meeting co-ordination

  • Correspondence

• Bankers and asset managers

  • FICA correspondence

  • Signatory amendment

• Trustees

  • FICA correspondence

  • Meeting co-ordination

  • Correspondence

• Surplus querying members

  • Correspondence

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Financial or HR/legal qualification or plans to get a similar qualification.

• Previous work experience preferably in a pension fund related environment, or otherwise in the HR or legal environment coupled with financial administration capabilities.

• An understanding of Pension Fund rules, Pension Funds Act and rules regarding surplus distribution.

• Understanding of the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA)

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Ability to anticipate needs and solve problems proactively.

• Strong multi-tasking skills with a comfort to managing deadlines.

• Solid relationship management skills.

• Ability to work independently as well as in a collaborative team environment with good interpersonal and communication skills.

• Integrity is essential as is the ability to communicate with stakeholders at all levels.

• Proficiency in MS Office applications required (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Outlook, SharePoint etc.)

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.