Finance Manager, Caribbean Resilience Initiative

The Program / Department / Team
Climate change severely and disproportionately impacts US Territories and small island developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean.

Worsening environmental risks like rising and warming seas, volatile dry and wet seasons, and catastrophic storms mean that islands and SIDS bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change, even though their carbon footprint is small relative to the world’s largest carbon producers, and their capacity to cope is constrained by their narrow resource base.

Caribbean islands need flexible tools to make them more resilient through the climate crisis.
Tools that:

• Protect lives
• Protect livelihoods
• Protect food and water security and
• Protect ecosystems and natural resources

Mercy Corps began this work following the historic 2016 hurricane season. Since then, with the help of our donors, more than $34 million has been put toward preparedness, response and climate resilience programming in the Caribbean. Mercy Corps has learned that empowering people and their communities with flexible assets and knowledge is the best way to measurably protect lives and livelihoods.

The Caribbean Resilience Initiative is a sub-regional structure within Mercy Corps which aims to positively impact those communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change across multiple Caribbean jurisdictions. Current funded projects are building centers of community resilience, including solar, water, community gardens, and disaster preparedness, in Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.

The Position
The Finance Manager is a member of the senior management team for the operations of the Caribbean Resilience Initiative (CRI) portfolio, and as such is responsible for all aspects of financial management of (CRI) programs across multiple jurisdictions in the Caribbean, working remotely and collaboratively to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps internal policies and procedures as well as donor regulations. S/he works under the direction of the CRI Director and is responsible for all financial functions, including accounting, payments and banking, budgeting, financial reporting and grant financial management and compliance. The Finance Manager, provides timely reports and assistance to the CRI Director and the Program team to ensure that financial resources are used efficiently and effectively.

Essential Responsibilities
FINANCE OPERATIONS

• Ensure effective, transparent use of financial resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures.
• Maintain banking relations and plan and monitor field cash flow requirements to ensure the smooth implementation of Mercy Corps programs.
• Provide monthly standard accounting submissions to International Finance, including account reconciliations, expenditures by fund/project, required subgrantee reporting, as well as other financial information in a timely and accurate manner.
• Provide monthly management reports to the CRI Director and Program Managers, including expenditures by fund/project, subgrantee reporting and other financial information, in a timely and accurate manner.
• Develop grant budgeting and forecasting systems with Program Managers.
• Develop annual fiscal year budgets and develop and implement grant budgeting and forecasting systems with Program Managers to accurately track project costs.
• Administer award agreement approval and signatures processes with program teams.
• Manage approval authority matrix and keep current as new fund codes are awarded.
• Ensure that all finance transactions are in compliance with Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

ACCOUNTING

• Review of the month end closing including but not limited to :

– Ensuring proper coding of all transactions;
– Posting of transactions daily to Navigator
– Monthly reconciliation of balance sheet accounts;

• Prepare the month end and year end closing reports.
• Set-up and digitally maintain the grant files, maintain and distribute current copies of the approved coded budgets to all relevant parties.
• Maintain partner MOU files, process co-location expense payments, and reconcile to general ledger reports.
• Manage CRI accounts payable processes and procedures including processing programmatic invoices and payments.
• Plan and monitor cash flow requirements to ensure the smooth implementation of CRI programs.
• Provide quarterly forecast reports for all funds to International Finance in a timely and accurate manner

REPORTING:

• Assist in the preparation of the monthly field cash flow projections to be submitted to International Finance.
• Assist in the preparation, maintenance and consolidation of office operational budgets.
• Review and work with Program Managers on each month-end grant spending report (BVAs)
• Consolidate and prepare budget projections.

COMPLIANCE

• Ensure that Mercy Corps contracts and business transactions/relationships are transparent and in compliance with the law and Mercy Corps/donor policies.
• Advise Program Managers in feasibility of projects in compliance with Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Perform the financial review of purchase requests, purchase orders, and payment requests to ensure compliance with MC policies and procedures and donors grants and contracts requirements.
• Perform compliance reviews of processes including procurement, logistics, stock management, and coordinate with the relevant departments as needed.

TEAM MANAGEMENT + COLLABORATION

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Contribute to team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensue the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Be responsible for full and proper implementation of Mercy Corps systems of management, compliance and control as described in Mercy Corps field manuals.
• Mitigate fraud, conflict of interest and legal ramifications of Mercy Corps activities

Supervisory Responsibility
Remotely based Finance Officer(s)

Accountability
Reports Directly To: CRI Director, with dotted-line technical reporting to Regional Finance Manager
Works Directly With: Members of Operations, Program Managers and others

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• At least 4 years of progressive financial and grants management experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Previous supervisory experience required; remote management skills preferred.
• Demonstrated experience and skill with budget preparation and analysis, financial reporting preparation and presentation and the proven ability to translate technical financial data into informative reports.
• Strong accounting skills and experience, including management of the general ledger, journal entries, payroll, payables and balance sheet.
• Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel.
• Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational and prioritization skills.
• Excellent oral and written English skills required.
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.

Success Factors
The successful candidate will have an ability to interact effectively across international and national program and finance teams successfully, both in a managerial as well as training capacity. The candidate will be able to support programmatic objectives with timely and meaningful financial information, have a demonstrated ability to multi-task, and meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. An impeccable professional standard of finance and procurement ethics and the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential. The Finance Manager must be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps project sites in multiple jurisdictions. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position may be based in the US, including USVI and Puerto Rico, or in program locations Saint Lucia or Jamaica, and will require some travel to other locations in program portfolio (currently Puerto Rico, USVI, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Jamaica. Subject to change).