Finance and Administration Officer

Job Purpose

• To support the implementation of IFRC programs in Timor-Leste providing high quality support in finance, administration and reporting (financial) while contributing to the IFRC’s overall goals.
• To ensure IFRC and donor rules and regulations are adhered to and ensure close collaboration with the Country Cluster Delegation Team in Dili and Jakarta, the Cruz Vermelha de Timor-Leste (CVTL) and potential additional partners.
• To work closely with CVTL on overall delivery of financial and administrative support related to projects and operations specifically for funding support from IFRC and related back donors. The Finance and Administration Officer will help ensure the right use of resources according to established agreed procedures.
• To work closely with DRM team in IFRC CCST Dili and Jakarta, to understand the technical aspects of the DRM projects/programmes in order to improve the quality of financial reporting.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Support to the Implementation of program management

1. Grant/Contract Management – long-term and short-term DRM projects/programs
   • Support the management of agreements with CVTL and potential external partners and providers by ensuring that all contracts are validated from a financial point of view before being signed at CVTL side, in accordance with the latest agreed Federation – CVTL procedure on Contracts and Agreements.
   • Validate and reconcile individual contractor payments to ensure payments are in accordance with the agreement and completion of actual work.
   • Support CVTL team to comply with donor rules and regulations, Federation Secretariat policies and procedures, as well as local regulations by accompanying on the process
   • Provide guidance and assist the team in the identification of fraud and corruption risks, make recommendations for improving internal controls, and ensure follow through.
   • Support the IFRC program team in Dili to prepare and check operational and Fedbudgets and forecasts for projects and operations, including completing financial document for recording in the IFRC system.
2. Budgeting
   • Support CVTL with the monthly updating of the Financial Overview of their operation utilising the designated template on Kobo and or Excel Dashboard
   • Support CVTL with budgeting for activity plans as required.
   • Support the Budget Holder/Project manager with the preparation and revision of monthly expenditure forecasts based on activity plans with close coordination with IFRC CCD Finance team.
3. Reporting
   • Support the delivery of timely financial reporting, by liaising with CVTL on the provision of financial reports, supporting financial documents, reconciliation of working advances and checking and verifying that supporting financial documents are in line with IFRC financial requirements.
   • Work closely with the Finance Team and Program Manager to ensure compliance with IFRC financial regulations, troubleshooting issues and advising the IFRC team on financial management issues
   • Support the team to set up systems and tools to regularly to monitor expenditure against project budgets and help facilitate meetings with CVTL on budget variance analysis.
   • Compile, translate and produce meeting reports
   • Support coordination, roll out, monitoring and evaluation of project activities, and ensure that activities are implemented according to the approved proposal, budget, and timeline
   • Support CVTL with financial and procurement capacity building
4. Logistics and Administrative Support
   • Support procurement processes and the recruitment of consultants and temporary staff to support programme implementation
   • Provide basic logistical support to the organisation of meetings, trainings and knowledge sharing events with multiple global, regional, and country partners
   • Provide logistic and administrative support to CVTL on a weekly basis as per required.
   • Preparing supporting documents for taxes and Social Security for IFRC staff in Dili
   • Ensuring stationary and other office needs are stocked
5. Internal Control
   • Ensure Federation Internal Control Systems are in place and complied with in regard to financial transactions undertaken by IFRC office in Timor Leste.
   • Support CVTL to implement and maintain their own Financial Control Systems
   • Look for any irregularities that may lead to potential loss of funding and make practical suggestions for improvements
   • Alert the Budget Holder and Operations Manager of any potential weakness in the implementation of financial procedures that may lead to potential financial loss to Federation if proper action is not taken.
   • Undertake final checks of all financial documentation before sending to CCST Jakarta
   • Provide guidance to CVTL finance staff to ensure that all financial documents are in line with IFRC regulations
6. National Society Development Program
   • Support the national society development programs such as Red Ready Phase II Financial Development through coordination, preparation and implementation of trainings or capacity buildings in National and Branch Levels.
   • Support the development of Financial Sustainable Framework of CVTL Finance Department.
   • Assist with the identification and formation of CVTL Finance personnel capacity building matrix.
   • Assist with the mapping of CVTL financial workflows aligned with project management of each department
   • Support CVTL Accounting System and IT maintenance
   • Provide assistance for the development of CVTL Finance Project such revision of Finance Manual and Branch Financial Guidelines.

Contribute to an effective, high quality IFRC team:

• Be flexible in your work definition according to needs and targets and improve team efficiencies and effectiveness within available resources.
• Be a pro-active team member fostering a customer service-oriented culture that values proactivity, continuous improvement, innovation, high performance and cost effectiveness.
• Foster a co-creative environment with colleagues in the Secretariat, Regions and the National Societies as well actors in the relevant external environment.
• Support the IFRC Program Team in Dili in strengthening financial standards in the team by contributing to: regular reports on use of funds within programme are provided; and ensure budget needs are met and reported upon in a timely and efficient manner.

Some travel within Timor-Leste is required.

Education

1. Finance or administrative degree or equivalent experience (Required)
2. Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Disaster Management or equivalent professional experience (Preferred)

Experience

1. At least 4 year working experience in the humanitarian or development sector, with a focus on organizational development, finance or movement cooperation.
2. Experience working in a RC/RC National Society and/or Federation/ICRC (Preferred)

Knowledge, Skills and Language

1. Programme and project management experience including planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting
2. Results oriented and demand driven individual, entrepreneurial, ability to lead in unprecedented and/or ambiguous situations
3. An ability to be proactive and persuasive
4. Demonstrated track record in innovating, contributing to a learning culture, sharing knowledge and new approaches to engaging partners
5. Professional credibility, able to work effectively at all levels across the organization
6. Proven good judgment and ability to work with complete integrity and confidentiality
7. High degree of discretion, tact and sensitivity in dealing with internal and external clients and stakeholders at all levels
8. Ability to work within a multi-cultural, multilingual, multidisciplinary environment