Overview:

War Child works with children who, as a result of conflict, live with a combination of poverty, exclusion and insecurity. These children might include street children, child headed households, children conscripted into armed groups, and children who have been put in prison. Our mission is to support and improve the care and protection of children and young people who live with a combination of insecurity, poverty and exclusion in some of the worse conflict-affected places. We look forward to a world in which the lives of children are no longer torn apart by war. This is a vision that can only be realised through the collective actions of children themselves, communities and their leaders, organisations like War Child, governments and key decision makers. 

Purpose of Post:

In response to the humanitarian situation in CAR, War Child is scaling up its operations to meet the protection and education needs of children throughout the country. We are now recruiting a Finance Specialist who will support the growing team in ensuring sound financial management. S/he will work with work closely with the FOSM and will ensure the implementation of WCUK financial management policies, practices, and procedures. 

The role of the Finance Specialist is to work with the FOSM to ensure the smooth running of the country operations, so as to enable programme staff and other stakeholders to carry out the War Child Programme most effectively and efficiently. In this capacity this role must ensure efficient, transparent and reliable processes and outputs and generate timely and relevant information to facilitate informed decision making by the management and the Programme team. 

A)        Job Specification: Task and responsibilites:

Financial Management & Administration

Manage the month-end process, ensuring good control of expenditure and strong balance sheet management while meeting internal reporting deadlines

Build the capacity of finance staff to better support strong finance management

Identify potential areas of financial compliance vulnerability and risk; develops/implements corrective action plans for resolution of problematic issues, and provides general guidance on how to avoid or deal with similar situations in the future

Advising and supporting the FOSM and CD in maintaining efficient financial control 

Capacity building staff & local partners

Build capacity of the finance staff in the country office through on-the-job training, mentoring, coaching as well as trainings and workshops

Indicate training needs and advise managers on possible trainings for other staff

Build capacity of local partners in finance 

Management of staff

Technical supervision of the finance staff in all office locations

Mentorship of FOSM, providing guidance and coaching in order to develop a high-performing team 

Overall

Advise and support the CD on the above subjects

B)  Person specification – Essential Criteria:

War Child’s office is a lively and fast-paced environment made up of a team of extremely dedicated staff & volunteers. We’re looking for someone who can fit in well and bring their personality, creativity and professionalism to our communications and the wider charity.

Experience and mandatory criteria:

At least 5 years’ experience in finance with an international NGO

Able to work in unpredictable and at times insecure environments, following organisational and wider sector security procedures

Demonstrated experience of capacity building of staff

Understanding of risks and related relevant controls primarily in the overall grant cycle including program, financial and procurement cycles 

Technical Skills/Expertise:

Must be able to communicate effectively in English and French

Wide experience in the use of computer applications; clear understanding on the usage of financial software systems

Supervisory & mentorship skills 

Competencies (Soft Skills):

Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with colleagues from varied cultures and professional backgrounds; high degree of sensitivity toward others

Personal commitment and drive for results, and adaptability in the workplace;

Ability to plan ahead and meet deadlines

Treat information with the confidentiality it deserves

Willingness to roll sleeves and be hands on to manage and complete tasks

Understand and recognise the urgency of tasks and deliver on time

Proactive, able to multi-task and flexible 

Desirable Criteria:

Mature individual with leadership qualities

Experience in central Africa

Good sense of humour

C)        Contract Terms

Working Hours:        Full time (9am – 5pm, 37.5 hours per week)

Probation:                  2 months

Start date:                  ASAP

Salary:                        £34,650 to £36,225 per annum (basic salary) plus daily allowance of USD 35 for cost of living, when in country of post

Leave:                        30 days per annum (pro rata)

Pension:                    Matching contribution to your private pension up to 5% of gross salary

Other:                         As defined in standard War Child contract terms

Application process

Download and complete War Child Application Form from www.warchild.org.uk. All completed applications must reach recruitment@warchild.org.uk by 23:59pm of 30/09/2016. CVs will not be accepted.Please note that if we receive a high level of interest for this position, we may close the application process before the advertised deadline. 

Due to limited resources War Child HR will contact only the shortlisted candidates 

Any offer made post interview will be conditional on receipt of 3 favourable written references, (from your most recent employer, any other previous employer and a character reference). War Child reserves the right to call the referees, in case clarification is required post the receipt of complete reference forms. 

The successful applicant will be expected to undergo a DBS Police check and/or international police check, a medical check, be compliant and sign up to War Child’s Child Safeguarding Policy prior to a final offer being made.