Country Finance Manager

Job Title: Country Finance Manager

Reports to: Country Director

Liaises with: Country Management Team, Country Finance Team, Overseas Finance, International Accounting Services (IAS) Accountant

Job location: Aden, Yemen

Pay Band: 4 (€ 44,133 – € 53,941)

Contract: two years

Job Purpose: The Country Finance Manager (CFM) is responsible to manage all aspects of the finance function of the Concern Worldwide country programme in Yemen to achieve objectives in line with Concern’s policies, procedures and standards.

Key Responsibilities:

Financial Systems and Controls

• Ensure that country financial management systems and records are adequate in order to identify and protect the assets and interest of the organization.
• Ensure that the systems and procedures in place enhance, as far as possible, the efficiency and effectiveness of the manner in which assets are utilized.
• Maintaining and monitoring an effective and efficient system of internal controls (i.e. ledger, cashbooks, balance sheet reconciliations, cash and bank management etc.) which comply with Concern Worldwide’s financial guidelines and minimise the risk of fraud or misappropriation.
• Ensuring financial systems of the country programme are operating in line with standard Concern procedures and they meet the monitoring and reporting requirements of the Country Management Team, Donors and National Authorities
• Ensure that the country financial operations comply with legal and statutory requirements e.g. audit and financial reporting to all relevant national authorities.
• With the support of the finance team, keep up to date with donor regulations and ensure that all controls are in place to meet donor compliance.
• Support the SD in ensuring there is a complete record of capital assets and that they are adequately safeguarded
• Organising and supporting financial assessments, reviews, monitoring and training of local partner organisations;
• Undertaking regular field visits to assess the financial systems in place & implement improvements wherever needed
• Closely monitor all financial activities, and keep the CD/Senior Management Team advised of all situations that have the potential for a negative impact on internal controls or financial management performance.
• Accepting, advancing and pursuing any new objectives or responsibilities that may be assigned by the Country Director including transfer of existing duties and/or re-assignment to other responsibilities should the organisation so require
• Undertaking financial assessments & evaluation of partners, in line with Concern’s standard financial procedures
• Participating in the review, monitoring and capacity building of partners
• Lead the preparation of annual and revised country budget and donor budgets including
  • Budget template preparation
  • Consolidation of the budget packs
  • Completion of the budget submission to Dublin
  • Complete the responses on budget feedback from Dublin jointly with IAS Accountant

Financial Reporting and Donor Reporting

• Provide all financial information ( Cash/bank /Journals) to IAS Accountant timely so that he/she can produce monthly management accounts (budget vs. actual) on time and work with the programme teams and department managers to understand their expenditure reports (management accounts) and budgets. Also analyse the major variances and collate the comments from budget holder on major variances and present it to SMT.
• Ensure proper recording of income and expenditure to comply with Concern and donor regulations.
• Prepare journals with accurate backing documentation for entry into Microsoft Great Plains by the IAS Accountant
• Assisting the IAS Accountant to produce monthly management accounts (budget vs. actual) and working with the programme teams and department managers to understand their expenditure reports (management accounts) and budgets
• Overseeing the accurate preparation of financial reports and ensuring both organisational and donor requirements are met within agreed timeframes
• Overseeing the process of for new project/programme budgets and reviews
• Maintaining a donor financial management system in order to optimize funding and to ensure efficient and accurate reporting to donors, including donor compliance
• Ensure timely and accurate preparation of financial reports for Concern’s Head Office (Financial Reporting Pack) with the assistance of the IAS Accountant
• Review and complete the financial reporting pack prepared by IAS Accountant including country commentary and CMT approval and dealing with feedback from Dublin jointly with IAS Accountant. Support the timely & accurate preparation of donor reports for external donors / agencies.
• Ensure all balance sheet items are reconciled on a timely basis, in accordance with Concern Worldwide policies & procedures
• Finalise year end accounts for the external auditors and provide any ad-hoc financial reports for Concern’s Head Office with the assistance of the IAS Accountant
• Provide financial analysis where necessary especially on maximizing available funds and advice to CD.

Staff Management & Capacity Building

• Providing leadership and direction for the in-country Finance Team
• Develop a second layer of staff who can fill the gap whenever any position is vacant in the finance team
• Undertake specific training, capacity building and other relevant initiatives to ensure national staff perform their roles and responsibilities with accuracy and professionalism and also create the space for national staff to develop into credible candidates to fill vacant positions in the finance team and to provide strong cover for leave.
• Providing training and support to financial and non-financial staff regarding Concern’s financial procedures and internal controls
• Undertake financial training of budget-holders, to assist them in enforcing financial controls and making decisions based on financial reports.
• Ensuring Concern’s values and policy commitments, including accountability and equality, are reflected in the work of the Finance Team/Department;
• Ensure that Job Descriptions of field finance are up to date
• Ensure that PDRs are completed for all country finance staff at least annually

Donor Management

• Ensure that necessary donor reporting deadlines are met
• Ensure that donor reports tie back to the general ledger from GP and donor original budgets
• Ensure staff positions are mapped to donor funding, ensuring that gaps are identified and included in future donor proposals, with decisions made on eliminating positions if there isn’t sufficient funding for the role in consultation with CMT
• Ensure all relevant donor guidelines, policies, proposals, periodic reports and other communications are readily available, categorized by grant, and documented in soft and hard copy filing
• Review of prepared donor budgets

Other financial duties

• Facilitate internal, external and donor audits and associated reviews of field systems
• Ensure that all statutory deductions & taxes in respect of national staff are complied with & to liaise with relevant authorities in this respect.
• Review and established an effective monitoring system for the donations in Kind (DIK) so that all items received from donor as DIK and distribute to beneficiaries are recording properly and a reconciliation procedures need to develop to pass the audit trail.
• Assist Country Director to update the delegation of authority document in line with fundamental changes (New project/ closed project/ staff structure/emergency response/ etc.)
• Implement the finance systems related feedback provided by Regional Accountant or internal auditors.
• Assist in the development and implementation of the Country’s Strategic Plan
• Contribute to the development of the country’s strategic direction and to the overall leadership of the country programme
• Support training of staff in procurement, budget management and systems policies and procedures as appropriate. Lead in facilitating and providing orientation, basic training, technical support and guidance to the country programme staff, particularly budget holders, for skills improvement in the areas of Concern and donor budget preparation and monitoring, budget revision, reporting and its interpretation, and internal control as per Concern’s standard practices
• Preparation of monthly cash flow and ensuring adequate monetary levels in field offices
• Any other finance-related assignments

Country Specific Tasks

• Liaise with relevant authorities, donors and other actors on issues related to financial management, including summary points being sent to the Country Director and CMT members as relevant, as soon as feasible following these meetings.
• Ensure compliance with legal and other requirements related to Concern’s fiscal responsibilities in operating the country programme.

Security

• Ensure that all staff are aware of and adhere to Security Management Plan (SMP); and that finance staff are aware of the standard operating procedures related to handling money, processing funds and related to banking.
• Ensure that a finance team member is represented on the security focal group and contributes to this forum.
• Ensure compliance with Concern’s procedures regarding Security Incident Reports and the Tracker system.
• Ensure that adequate controls over cash and bank management are constantly monitored and updated to minimise the risk of security incidents, fraud or misappropriation.

Concern Code of Conduct and Associated Policies

• Ensure adherence to the Concern Code of Conduct and Associated Policies
• Ensure finance staff understanding and adhere to the Concern Code of Conduct and Associated Policies
• Ensure the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) are understood by finance staff

Confidentiality

• Ensure the non-disclosure of any information whatsoever acquired in the course of duty, relating to the practices and business of Concern Worldwide, to any other person or Organization without authority, except in normal execution of the above duties Ensure finance staff understanding and adhere to the Concern Code of Conduct and Associated Policies
• Ensure strict guardianship and security of financial data and documents at all times, including secure storage, accurate & complete filing and limiting access to the finance office to authorised personnel only.

Skills and Experience Required:

Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree in Commerce/ accounting / Business Administration or a related field
• Part professional accounting qualification e.g. CPA/ACCA/CIMA
• 3-5 years-experience in a similar position ideally including previous Concern experience
• Strong understanding of NGO financial management and donor regulations.
• Strong understanding of tax laws and financial policies;
• Experience in accounting for donor agency grants and donor financial reporting
• Experience in mentoring and capacity building of staff and partners
• Excellent spoken and written English communication skills, preferably with good Arabic language skills
• Empathy with Concern’s goals and a commitment to capacity building, protection and participation including Concern’s safeguarding policies
• Familiarity with broader systems development including procurement, logistics, HR and IT.
• Experience of working/living in insecure and sensitive environments
• Ability to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines
• Good analytical and statistical skills. excellent knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
• Strong attention to detail

Desirable:

• Experience of working in the Middle East (or elsewhere under similar conditions) would be an advantage.
• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic.
• Experience working with local, national and international organisations
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload, using initiative when appropriate.
• Good team player, flexible and capable of working with a multinational country team,
  politically and culturally sensitive.