Senior Officer Finance

National Research Foundation; Singapore; On-site; SGD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A government research department in Singapore is looking for a professional to enhance process efficiency and manage grant disbursement. The successful candidate will streamline operations, liaise with grant recipients, and ensure compliance with relevant policies. Ideal applicants should have a strong educational background in Accounting and Finance, along with at least two years of relevant experience. Effective communication and organizational skills are essential for success in this role.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years of related working experience in a similar position is preferred.
• Knowledge and experiences in grant disbursement processing.
• Possess good interpersonal, communication and organisational skills with an eye for details.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities for process improvement and transform and streamline these processes.
• Drive projects on process improvements by coordinating with internal and external stakeholders.
• Process grant disbursements in a timely and accurate manner.
• Perform sampling checks on selected projects to pick up anomalies.
• Liaise with grant recipients to clarify claims and address queries.
• Track disbursements and payments status.
• Advise requestors on NRF’s internal policies and processes.

Skills

Accounting

Finance

Microsoft Office Suite

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Education

Strong tertiary education in Accounting and Finance

Tools

NFS@Gov

Fi@Gov

RPA

AI

Job description

Overview

What the role is:

The National Research Foundation (NRF) is a department within the Prime Minister's Office, and we set the national direction for research, innovation and enterprise (RIE) by developing policies, plans and strategies; funding strategic initiatives that strengthen our scientific and technological capabilities, grow our RIE talent base, and achieve economic and national impact; and fostering RIE collaboration in Singapore and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Transforming and streamlining processes — Identify opportunities for process improvement and transform and streamline these processes.
• Drive projects on process improvements by coordinating with internal and external stakeholders, such as consolidating & reviewing feedback, testing out new processes and seeking buy-in before implementation.
• Processing grant disbursements — Process grant disbursements in a timely and accurate manner, and ensure compliance with the Instruction Manuals, relevant grant guide, financial policies and procedures.
• Perform sampling checks on selected projects to pick up anomalies, e.g. non-fundable items.
• Liaise with grant recipients to clarify on claims and address queries from stakeholders.
• Track disbursements and payments status, as well as prepare submissions for reporting.
• Supporting procurement requirements — Advise requestors on NRF’s internal policies and processes.
• Work with VITAL Shared Services to ensure that requestors’ approval of requirements/publication/award submissions and the accompanying procurement documents are reviewed and in compliance with the Instruction Manuals.
• The incumbent will also take on any other duties and ad hoc projects as assigned.

What we are looking for

• Strong tertiary education in Accounting and Finance;
• Proficient in office software applications (e.g., Microsoft Office Suite);
• Minimum 2 years of related working experience in a similar position is preferred;
• Knowledge and experiences in grant disbursement processing as well as the use of WOG systems (e.g. NFS@Gov and Fi@Gov), RPA and AI are advantageous;
• Possess good interpersonal, communication and organisational skills with an eye for details;

About National Research Foundation

The National Research Foundation (NRF) was set up on 1 January 2006 as a department under the Prime Minister's Office. It was set up to perform the following:a) To provide secretariat support to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), chaired by the Senior Minister;b) To coordinate the research of different agencies within the larger national framework in order to provide a coherent strategic overview and direction;c) To develop policies and plans to implement the five strategic thrusts for the national R&D agenda; andd) To implement national research, innovation and enterprise strategies approved by the RIEC, and to allocate funding to programmes that meet NRF's strategic objectives.