Country Financial Controller

NEW FORMAT COUNTRY JOB REQUISITION & EMPOWER JOB DESCRIPTION

Date requested:               11.12.2014

Contract Grade:                               

Contract Length:              one year with possible extension

Date Needed By:             1 April 2014

New Post or Replacement:         Replacement

Accompanied / Unaccompanied:              Unaccompanied

Exact Job Location:          Akkar, North Lebanon

Reports To:         Country Director

Responsible For:              Finance Manager and Accountant

Liaises With:      Administrative staff, including HR, Logistics and IT functions, Programme Managers, CMT members

Job Purpose:

The Country Financial Controller is responsible to establish and manage all aspects of the finance function of the Concern Worldwide Lebanon country programme to achieve objectives in line with Concern Worldwide policies, procedures and standards.

The role requires significant resourcefulness and flexibility.

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

Financial System

• Ensure that country financial management systems & records are adequate in order to identify and protect the assets & interest of the organization.
• Put systems in place for efficient  & effective management of assets
• Ensure that the global accounting package is utilized and maintained in an appropriate & effective manner.
• Establish & maintain a donor financial management system in order to optimize funding & to ensure efficient & accurate reporting to donors.
• Ensure adequate controls over cash & bank management are constantly monitored & updated to minimize the risk of fraud or misappropriation.
• Closely monitor all financial activities, and keep the CD/Country Management Team advised of all situations which have the potential for a negative impact on internal controls or financial management performance
• Thoroughly review programme and partner finance reports (if any) in coordination with the respective programme staff.

Financial Control

• Maintain an effective & efficient system of internal controls which comply with Concern Worldwide’s financial guidelines
• Review existing systems on an on-going basis in order to develop and improve internal controls, in compliance with Concern’s policies and procedures
• Oversee compilation of financial records & accounts in a timely and accurate fashion and in line with international accounting standards & donor regulations
• Ensure that the country financial operations comply with legal & statutory requirements e.g. audit & financial reporting to all relevant national authorities.
• Lead the preparation of annual & revised Country budget and donor budgets
• Keep up to date with donor regulations and ensure that all controls are in place to meet donor compliance.
• Manage internal and external audits that are carried out as per Concern requirements; support Country Director to prepare management response; ensure all agreed remedial actions are undertaken in timely manner
• Undergo regular and random checks for compliance and investigations of anomalies against high risk areas within the operations

Financial Reporting

• Oversee timely & accurate preparation of monthly management accounts for budget-holders and Country Management to ensure that they can monitor the budget utilization and take appropriate action on any significant variances
• Manage timely & accurate preparation of financial reports for Dublin
• Manage timely & accurate preparation of donor reports for external donors / agencies.
• Reconcile all balance sheet items on a monthly basis, in accordance with Concern Worldwide policies & procedures
• Finalise year end accounts for external audit and provide any ad-hoc reports for Dublin
• Provide financial analysis where necessary especially on maximizing available funds and advice to CD.

Staff Management & Capacity Building

• Train and develop the capacity of the local finance team to ensure that a good standard of financial management is maintained
• Provide line management to the Finance and Admin and HR Managers
• Undertake financial training of budget-holders, to assist them in enforcing financial controls & making decisions based on financial reports.

Other financial duties

• Facilitate internal, external & donor audits
• Investigate and implement procedures for statutory deductions, social security & taxes are complied with & to liaise with relevant authorities in this respect.
• Assist in the development & implementation of the Country’s Strategic Plan
• Actively participate in the CMT meetings and be proactively involved in the decision making processes

General systems support

• Work with the CD and ACD-S to support development of policies and procedures for procurement, logistics, HR and IT
• Support training of  staff in procurement, budget management and systems policies and procedures as appropriate

• Contribute to organisational accountability initiatives

PERSON SPECIFICATION

ESSENTIAL

Education, Qualifications & Experience Required:

• Accountancy Qualification (e.g. CPA, ACA, ACCA)
• 3 years post qualification experience ideally including previous Concern experience
• Experience in developing staff technical and management capacities

• Experience managing donor grants
• Fluent in English

• Empathy with Concern’s goals and a commitment to capacity building, protection and participation including Concern’ s P4

• Familiarity with broader systems development including procurement, logistics, HR and IT.

DESIRABLE

Education, Qualifications & Experience Required:

• Knowledge of development issues and concepts
• Experience of working/living in insecure and sensitive environments
• Knowledge of Arabic and or French an advantage.

Special Skills, Aptitude or Personality Requirements:

• Ability to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines
• Ability to contribute to a small team environment.

Any Other Special Requirements:

N/A

All applications should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by closing date…. CV’s should be no more than 4 pages in length.

All candidates who are short-listed for a first round interview will be notified via email after the application deadline OR Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer posts before the closing date.

Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Concern has a Staff Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behaviour expected of them.  In this context staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment.   By signing the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct candidates acknowledge that they have understood the contents of both the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and the Programme Participant Protection Policy and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these two documents.

Concern receives a substantial amount of funding from external donors each year.  Increasingly donors are introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on Concern ensuring that the names of any new employee or volunteer do not appear on terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government (Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List).  Any offer of employment (either paid or voluntary) with Concern Worldwide will not be made pending a clearance check being conducted on the applicant.  For additional information please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head Office.

Concern Worldwide is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.