Administration and Finance Officer

Administration and Finance Officer

Dalia Association, Palestine
December 26, 2013

About Dalia

Dalia Association was established in 2007 by members of the Palestinian community from the West Bank, including Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, inside the Green Line, and the Diaspora. We are diverse in terms of age, gender, religion and politics, yet we are united by our vision -- to realize our rights as Palestinians to control our resources and sustain our own development for generations to come. Our mission is to mobilize and properly utilize resources necessary to empower a vibrant, independent and accountable civil society.
 
To achieve our mission, we:
-Make grants to support inspirational and relevant civil society initiatives, especially grassroots efforts that seek to supplement local resources. Community-controlled grantmaking increases the transparency, accountability and professionalism of local initiatives.
-Link resources by introducing people with expertise, ideas, contacts, equipment, and other assets to community activists who can use them to serve their communities. Effectively utilizing resources that already exist in our abundant community helps decrease our dependence on outside resources.
-Encourage giving by locals, companies, refugee and Diaspora Palestinians. We revive local traditions of philanthropy and volunteerism and create new systems that make giving easier, safer and more trustworthy. A permanent endowment will be built over time to ensure sustainable income for current and future generations.
-Advocate for systemic change in the international aid system so that it respects Palestinian rights and responds to local priorities. Advocacy includes constructive engagement with innovative donors who want a local partner to help them improve their policies and maximize their impact.

As the first Palestinian “community foundation,” serving all Palestinians in historic Palestine, Dalia Association seeks to mobilize the abundant resources of the worldwide Palestinian community and their friends—steadfastness, traditions, creativity, faith, expertise, and money—and facilitate community-based decision-making about how these resources should be used. Dalia Association provides an independent, sustainable source of funds with transparent and accountable mechanisms for local control and a vibrant community organization in which Palestinians can themselves be donors and implementers of their own social change and sustainable development agenda. In this way, we promote sustainability of Palestinian civil society and its institutions. Further, we are determined to help shape a dynamic and relevant civil society that is accountable to the people. We develop new traditions of secular philanthropy and social responsibility alongside Islamic and Christian giving. We re-inspire volunteerism not driven by factional politics, and re-inspire people’s hope and trust in self-initiative.

Currently, Dalia Association runs two integrated grantmaking and philanthropy development programs that are controlled by communities. The “Women Supporting Women” (WSW) program has funded 30 women’s associations in six districts and established Women’s Funds for Community Philanthropy in three districts. WSW empowers and trains women, through direct experience, to decide how to use community development resources and mobilize their own capacities – both as individuals and in women’s networks – to strengthen their assets and increase their impact. We contribute to women’s empowerment and leadership within their families and communities, improved development practice, and the long-term sustainability of women’s groups and networks through sharing resources.

The “Village Decides” program has been successfully implemented with 12 community groups in three villages. This program is designed to involve people in decision-making and resource distribution in a democratic, accountable and transparent way. Dalia Association offers the Palestinian community the opportunity to practice their rights to determine their development priorities as well as to enable them to control resources to achieve societal change. The Zawiya Community Philanthropy Fund was established as a follow up to support new projects using local, diaspora and matching funding. A short film showing implementation of the pilot in Saffa village is at http://www.dalia.ps/node/190.

Dalia Association aims to expand and institutionalize creative and effective ways of mobilizing sustainable philanthropy and engagement with local development on the part of local, Diaspora and private sector givers. These include village funds, women’s funds, family funds and company funds. Dalia Association also does advocacy to engage international donors in reforming their aid practices to be more in line with Palestinian rights and priorities. We have published articles about aid in The Guardian, Al-Quds, This Week in Palestine, and took part in a 30-minute panel debate on Al-Jazeera called, “Counting the Cost of Aid.” We utilize community research, films, presentations at international events (including the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness), petitions, local and international media, meetings and consulting opportunities to educate, engage and mobilize community groups in the West Bank, Gaza and inside the Green Line. Dalia Association and Rama Mari won Special Mention in the 2013 Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA) for the film “International Aid Hurts Palestinian Civil Society” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8GGoVjRvAnw).

Dalia Association’s success and potential were recognized when it won the Arcus Global Social Justice Prize in 2013, in part for a 10-minute film that demonstrates Dalia’s innovative, community-led model: http://vimeo.com/64070940.

Description of Position

The Administration and Finance Officer plays a critical role in the efficiency, accountability, professionalism and sustainability of Dalia Association. The position leads, directs and manages day-to-day financial, human resource and administrative operations for the organization. The Administration and Finance Officer ensures that administrative and financial policies and procedures are in place and correctly implemented, including management of assets. S/he contributes to organizational sustainability strategy and ensures compliance in all areas. This position will serve the needs of Dalia as an organization, across all programs and internal activities, and is not tied to one project. A senior position, it requires a person who is proactive and self-structured, but who also has excellent team and communication skills in Arabic and English (written and spoken), including the ability to represent the organization in the community and to donors. The Administration and Finance Officer is a senior staff member and fills in for the director when needed.

Reporting to the Executive Director; starting immediately

Contract type: One-year contract renewable indefinitely pending funding

Responsibilities
Finance
-Lead organizational and project budget development processes and develop systems to ensure activities are implemented in line with approved budgets
-Supervise, analyze, and review financial reports and data, and develop and oversee implementation of plans to increase or decrease spending as needed

Accounting
-Ensure that all income and expenditures are properly prepared, reviewed, approved, and documented, in line with all appropriate policies, procedures, authority levels, and laws, and ensure that this information is properly entered into the accounting system
-Oversee the month-end close and payroll processes, provide and analyze accounting data and reports, ensure all funds are properly safeguarded, oversee the Association’s relationship with local banks and ensure accuracy of the information in the Association’s bank account, and manage the overall cash needs and forecasts of the organization
-Prepare all required financial reports, including monthly, quarterly and annual organizational reports and forecasts and all project/donor reports
-Develop and maintain a system for tracking receivables, including pledges and commitments from individual, corporate and other contributors
-Develop an asset management strategy to identify, track, and account for all organization assets, including physical assets
-Maintain order, up-to-date accuracy, and security of all financial documents
-Support grantees in the preparation of project budgets and reports as needed, including by providing training in the field

Audit/Legal Compliance
-Lead in preparing for, facilitating, and responding to the internal and external auditing activities including taking a leading role in any review on behalf of a donor or governmental organization
-In coordination with the Audit Committee and legal counsel, ensure that contracts (including grant contracts, personnel contracts, fiscal sponsorships, etc.) entered into are in compliance with Palestinian and Belgian law and in accordance with organizational policies
-Ensure compliance with organizational policies and procedures, donor requirements (including reporting deadlines), Palestinian law, Belgian law; promote compliance with international best practices by providing clear guidance to all staff, maintaining up-to-date knowledge of all applicable rules and regulations, and developing and monitoring systems to ensure all activities are implemented and documented in accordance with policies

Procurement
-Oversee all processes for identifying appropriate goods and services to be purchased in order to support the organization’s needs, manage relationships with key vendors and landlords, and ensure all procurement activities are properly documented and all appropriate pre-approvals are obtained.

Human Resources
-Oversee administrative aspects of recruitment processes, contracting of personnel, and orientation of new staff; manage leave, job descriptions, updates to human resource policies, and ensure the accurate and timely submission of all HR reports
-Oversee implementation of the performance management and compensation systems

Administration/Coordination
-Ensure development and maintenance of annual organizational calendar
-Oversee general maintenance, security, and use of the office premise(s), keys, equipment, and supplies and ensures that appropriate procedures are in place for receiving visitors and external phone calls
-Establish local workflows and approval processes for operational staff being supervised, ensure they understand their responsibilities and have the necessary capacity and training to perform and grow in their position
-Ensure efficient coordination of administrative staff in support of organizational programs
-Serve as the Acting Director in the absence of the Director

Information Technology
-Liaise with contractors to ensure all appropriate IT equipment and infrastructure is in place, well-maintained, safeguarded, and properly functioning with minimal downtime, and that staff are properly trained on all IT-related systems, policies, and procedures
-Liaise with contractors to ensure security of physical assets and information in line with organizational policies

Any other tasks as directed by the Executive Director

Qualifications
-Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting is required; Master’s degree in Administration, Business Management, Operations or other relevant field is highly preferred
-Minimum 6-7 yrs. relevant experience in a responsible role required; 3 yrs. experience in a management capacity preferred
-Strong financial/administration and analytical skills; ability to present complex financial details to non-financial staff
-Proficiency in designing policies and application of internal control measures, standards, procedures and techniques
-Training or willingness to get training in human resources required
-Excellent written and oral communication skills in Arabic and English, including ability to work well as a part of a highly diverse team;
-Strong computer skills in Bisan Accounting System, Excel, MS Word, Power Point, databases, internet and email applications
-Ability to work with minimum supervision, under pressure, on time, with attention to detail
-Strong commitment to integrity, professionalism in handling sensitive information
-Willingness to travel to all areas of the country/region where the program is implemented, as needed (Jerusalem ID preferred)

Compensation and Job Benefits

Dalia is a local, Palestinian NGO that pays local salaries. The starting salary established for this post is $1,500/monthly. Dalia has a small staff who work in a comfortable, non-smoking office in Ramallah near Darna Restaurant. Usual working hours are Sunday-Thursday from 8 am to 4 pm, though staff are expected to work as needed to meet deadlines or at times of unusual demand. Benefits are those prescribed by Palestinian law.

How to Apply

Send updated CVs in both Arabic and English. Include a cover letter explaining your specific interest in this position and the name, title and contact information of three references. Email to
 

[email protected]

with your family name and “Admin/Finance” in the subject line. Deadline for receipt of application is January 15, 2014. Please note: In order to promote credibility and hire the best possible staff, Dalia has an open hiring policy. We do not discriminate on any basis. However, because of the high volume of applications, we do not review applications that do not follow the instructions above, and we apologize that we are not able to contact applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications. Direct any questions to [email protected].

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