A FINANCE OFFICER – Permanent full time contract

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) composed of 188 national human rights organizations from 116 countries. FIDH is a non partisan, non sectarian, apolitical and not for profit organization. Since 1922, FIDH has been defending all human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural – as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As a federal movement, FIDH operates on the basis of interaction with its member organizations. It ensures that FIDH merges in-country experience and knowledge with expertise in international law, mechanisms of protection and intergovernmental bodies. This unique combination translates into joint actions between FIDH and its member organizations at national, regional and international levels to remedy human rights violations and consolidate processes of democratization.

FIDH’s International Secretariat is composed of around 70 employees, with a multi-disciplinary background, based either in FIDH’s headquarters in Paris, France, or in one of its offices or representations across 5 continents.

You can find us online and on our social networks:
https://www.fidh.org/en
https://twitter.com/fidh_en
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fidh-international-federation-for-human-rights-/mycompany/
https://www.facebook.com/FIDH.HumanRights
https://www.youtube.com/c/FidhOrg/videos
https://www.instagram.com/fidh/

We are looking for :

A FINANCE OFFICER – for the PROGRAMME “Global Initiative Against Impunity For International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations: Making Justice Work” – Permanent full time contract

About the programme :

FIDH is leading a new 4-year consortium programme, funded by the European Union, establishing an Observatory to fight impunity for serious human rights violations, called the “Global Initiative Against Impunity For International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations: Make Justice Work”. The programme is designed to be an integrated and inclusive action that will contribute to comprehensive justice and accountability for serious human rights violations, with global geographical scope, and 23 priority countries where consortium members will join forces to maximise effectiveness and impact by leveraging their individual strengths. The action will be implemented by a consortium of eight civil society organisations with vast networks of local members and partners in the Global South: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH, lead), Civil Rights Defenders (CRD), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Impunity Watch (IW), Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), Redress, TRIAL International and the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice (WIGJ). The Secretariat of the CICC (hosted by WIGJ since 2021) will also play a significant role in the action.
The Secretariat of the Observatory is hosted by FIDH International Secretariat and consists of a small coordination team, enshrined within the International Justice Desk and the Administration and Finance department, dedicated to the consolidated management of the programme, and composed of three staff members: a Programme Coordinator; a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer; and a Finance Officer.

Tasks and general responsabilities :

Under the supervision of the Deputy Head of management control and in close coordination with the Programme Coordinator and MEAL Officer, the Finance Officer will coordinate the financial tasks between all the consortium members, will provide technical advice and support regarding finance matters, will consolidate the information received by the members of the consortium to produce the financial data and reports needed, and liaise with the auditors and with all the finance officers belonging to the organisations that are part of the consortium. This person will ensure financial compliance with contractual requirements before documentation is transmitted to the European Commission.

The responsibilities of the Finance Officer include:

Financial control
• Coordinate and implement the financial aspects of the multi-year, multi-partner programme in line with EU requirements and the grant contract;
• Prepare the disbursement of funds in accordance with the agreed schedule;
• Ensure that financial management systems and records are effective and robust;
• Consolidate cash flows, reporting templates, financial plans and amendments throughout the programme life;
• Ensure the existence of an adequate filing system for all financial and accounting deliverables to ensure ease of access during internal/ external audit;
• Monitor budget burn rates and cash-flow projections;
• Recommend appropriate action on any significant variances ( +/- 10%) and prepare budget amendments where necessary in coordination with the FIDH finance team and consortium members;
• Prepare the financial accounts for external audit and coordinating audit activities;
• Follow-up on the timely implementation of recommendations to remedy significant variances;
• Prepare and manage the yearly audit of the programme in collaboration with the Programme coordinator, the MEAL officer and FIDH accounting.

Financial reporting
• Oversee, plan and prepare of reporting to EU, in adherence with consortium requirements and timelines, and timely submission of reports by the consortium members;
• Produce integrated financial reports on a timely basis and in line with international accounting standards and EU regulations;
• Finalise yearly accounts and provide any ad hoc financial reports that may be required;
• Follow-up on the expenditures of the Global Initiative Against Impunity’s budget;
• Prepare and coordinate each expenditure verification and possible external audit;
• Communicate on a regular basis with the consortium partners finance teams, including support for their preparation of financial reports through the organisation of meetings and ad hoc support as requested and needed.

Capacity building of and general administrative support to consortium members
• Be available to consortium members to clarify EU financial rules and to check compliance of reporting;
• Put forward recommendations when appropriate;
• If needed, undertake support visit to consortium members;
• Participate in consortium meetings to foster compliance and to address any financial issues;
• Ensure that internal audit recommendations for grant-funded projects are adhered to;
• Share lessons learned with consortium members throughout the programme’s implementation;
• Support the logistical and administrative organisation of finance meetings when necessary.

Experience and key skills required :

• Advanced training or equivalent experience in Finance, Accounting or related field. Professional accounting qualifications a plus.
• Minimum of 6 years of professional experience in a finance/accounting role preferably with an international NGO.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and managing large budgets, with preference for previous experience working in a consortium or a network.
• Considerable experience of successfully managing the implementation of complex projects (multi-annual, multi-countries, multi-partners).
• Experience in working on projects funded by major international donors, with preference for previous experience with EU.
• Strong coordination/negotiation skills specifically with the ability to effectively coordinate among partner organizations.
• Very good knowledge of Excel and of one or several accounting softwares (Agresso, Sage, SAP…).
• Fluency in written and spoken English and French (level C1/C2).
• Strong interpersonal skills and aptitude for cross-cultural communication.
• Ability to work efficiently under time pressure, skilled at prioritizing and completing multiple tasks with autonomy and team spirit.
• Genuine interest in and knowledge of human rights and justice for victims of serious human rights violations.

Values: You are in total agreement with the values at work in the FIDH International Secretariat (professionalism, respect, commitment, equality, integrity, participation, audacity), as well as with the struggles led by FIDH for the defense of human rights everywhere in the world, as explained in its statutes and through its publications accessible on its website : www.fidh.org

FIDH seeks diversity and is committed to equality by not discriminating in its hiring practices on the basis of race, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, health status or any other situation protected by French and international human rights law.

For people with disabilities, we ask you to indicate in your cover letter any adaptations that would be useful to enable you to participate in the recruitment process in an optimal way.

Starting date, compensation and benefits

Envisaged starting date: November 2023
• Location: you will work from FIDH’s office in Paris, France. FIDH recognizes that flexible working arrangements are important for work-life balance, and offers the possibility of at-home work with a minimum of 4 face-to-face days per month. Please note that a laptop and basic accessories are provided to all employees at the time of hire.
• Contract: Permanent Contract, governed by French law (CDI), Full time position (39 hours worked per week).
• Gross salary: annual gross salary from 39 000 EUR (over 13 months) depending on experience.
• Supplementary health insurance
• Restaurant vouchers with a face value of €9, paid 60% by the FIDH.
• Sustainable mobility package or 50% of the cost of public transport passes.
• Paid time off:
◦ 25 days of paid vacation per full year worked.
◦ 24 compensation days per full year worked (given the basis of 39 hours worked per week).

Line manager : Deputy Head of management control

FIDH internal job grid : Officer B level