Operational Manager – Colombia and Venezuela

WORK CONTEXT

1. VENEZUELA: Cesvi has been working in Venezuela since 2019, implementing its projects in the field of emergency and protection including child protection and prevention of SGBV. Cesvi is currently implementing projects in Caracas DC and Miranda State, Zulia, and Falcon state, in consortium with local and international partners. The ongoing projects are funded by ECHO and Venezuela Humanitarian Fund (UNOCHA).
2. COLOMBIA: Cesvi has been working in Colombia since 2019 in close coordination with the program in Venezuela, supporting Venezuelan migrants, refugees, and host communities, with a focus on protection and livelihood sectors. Cesvi started a project funded by AICS in Santa Marta and Barranquilla in July to ensure the socio-economic inclusion of Venezuelan migrant and refugee women.

The Venezuela-Colombia mission is managed by a Head of Mission (HoM) based in Caracas (Venezuela) and a Regional Administrator based in Santa Marta (Colombia).

JOB DESCRIPTION

The collaboration will start in January 2023.The primary duty station will be the Country Office in Santa Marta (Colombia) with missions to Venezuela when required.
The Operational Manager (OM) will respond to the Head of Mission (HoM).
The OM will collaborate closely with Colombia and Venezuela Regional Administrator, the Project Managers (both local and international) and the Area Administrative Coordinators (AAC) at the HQ level.

The Operational Manager will be responsible for the following:

– the administration of the AICS project in Colombia;
– the elaboration of internal procedures for the Colombia-Venezuela Mission;
– the support of the financial and operational management of the Colombia-Venezuela Mission.

Main tasks and duties:

– Assist PMs in the preparation of the procurement plan for yearly project management and its update when required;
– Assist PMs in the procurement procedures when required;
– Organize training meetings on administrative procedures (for partners and local staff) in collaboration with the Colombia-Venezuela Regional Administrator;
– Support CESVI mission in drafting new proposals;
– Donors’ Audit and Expenditure verification and Country Audit for registration: Supervise the organization of all Donor’s Audit requests and Expenditure verification in coordination with HQ, according to Cesvi external audit procedure;
– Support efficient office management;
– Elaborate and update Share costs plan on a quarterly basis in strict collaboration with HoM;
– Financial monitoring of AICS projects implemented in Colombia;
– Updating the Prime entry and Balance Forecast Update (BFU) on a monthly basis of the AICS project;
– Every two months, submission of BFU to the HQ in collaboration with the AICS PM and under the supervision of the HoM;
– Supervise local admin staff for the management of petty cash, cash book, and bank books and signed (after verification) the reconciliation for AICS project;
– Prepare a draft of interim financial reports and final financial reports of the AICS project;
– Assist AICS PM in the preparation of the cash flow needed and the Requests for Funds to the HQ or Requests for Payment;
– Assist AICS PM in the preparation of the procurement plan for yearly project management and its update;
– Assist AICS PM in the procurement procedures.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

• University degree in accounting, finance, economics, or related disciplines.
• Minimum 5/6 years experience in the financial and administrative management of cooperation and development projects
• Fluency -written and spoken- in Italian, English, and Spanish
• Experience in reinforcing existing procedures and systems for financial management and control, and reviewing them for efficiency when appropriate;
• Good knowledge of main donors’ administrative rules and procurement procedures, in particular: AICS, ECHO, UNOCHA, UNHCR; Strong budgeting, financial management, and Accountancy skills;
• Ability to prepare financial reports/ new budget proposal/ forecast and financial planning
• Experience in managing grant contracts;
• Communication skills with the ability to work closely and support CESVI local, expatriate staff and partners;
• Solid diplomatic skills: the ability to manage a variety of internal and external relationships, especially with partners;
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills;
• Excellent organizational and time management skills;
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures
• Self-motivated, able to take the initiative, resilient, and able to work independently.
• Cross-cultural awareness, sensitivity, and patience;
• Very flexible and with a positive attitude;
• Computer literacy, particularly in Microsoft Office Programmes such as Word, Excel and TEAMS as well as accounting packages & other database competencies.

DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS

• Good experience working in a senior management role within a complex country programme in an emergency response or fragile state;
• Prior experience in Latin America & Caribbean area;
• Skills in developing, delivering, and evaluating training for staff members
• Highly result-oriented with the ability to manage workload and stress

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GROSS SALARY RANGE € 3.200 – € 3.400 PER MONTH
€ 300 MONTHLY HOUSE ALLOWANCE IN COLOMBIA
FULL HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
1 ROUND TRIP FLIGHT EVERY 12 MONTHS OF COLLABORATION

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SAFEGUARDING

Cesvi has a zero-tolerance approach to any harm to, or exploitation of, a child or a vulnerable adult by any of our staff, related persons or partners.
Cesvi commitment to being a safe organization begins with the staff recruitment process which includes meticulous checks, such as criminal records checks or check disclosure of previous convictions, to ensure children and vulnerable people are safeguarded and abuse is prevented. Safeguarding checks are part of the selection process performance.

HEALTH SAFEGUARDING

Cesvi pays particular attention to safeguarding the health of all the human resources of the Organisation. Therefore, in order to protect its staff, an assessment of their suitability for the position in each mission is carried out before departure. Such assessment is done by the Occupational Doctor of the Organisation, who will also examine the vaccination coverage, including the anti-Covid19 vaccination.

Please note: due to the high number of applications we receive we are unable to provide feedback if unsuccessful at applicant stage. Only short-listed candidates will be updated on the status of their applications.