Country Finance Manager

Location

Palestine – Ramallah   

Job Family and Grade

 On completion of Job Evaluation

Pre hire checks

This role is classified as requiring standard pre-employment checks /enhanced due diligence

About Relief International

Relief International (RI) partners with communities impacted by conflict, climate change, and disaster to save lives, build greater resilience and promote long-term health and wellbeing.

Currently, RI is active in 14 countries around the world, including some of the most fragile: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen.

Relief International includes the four corporate members of the RI Alliance: Relief International Inc., Relief International-UK, Relief International-France and Relief International-Europe Under our alliance agreement, we operate with a single, shared management structure.

Middle East Region

RI operates in six countries in the Middle East region:  Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Yemen, with a focus on the four RI sector pillars: Health, WASH, Education and Economic Opportunity.  We employ more than 4,000 staff (direct and indirect) in the Middle East region and implement a range of humanitarian and development programs valued at approximately $70 million USD on an annual basis.

Job Profile

The Country Finance Manager for RI-Palestine will be responsible for leading and implementing all duties related to financial management of RI’s program in Palestine, taking into account specific project needs, donor compliance, sound financial management practices, and the legal framework of the Government of Palestine. In addition to building, structuring, and strengthening the finance department team. The position reports directly to the Country Director with a technical reporting line to the Regional Finance Manager. The Finance Manager will coordinate closely in the country with the heads of Departments including Operations, HR, and Programs

Key responsibilities

• Financial Reporting, Analysis and Follow-Up
• Preparation of monthly/quarterly RFF requests for projects; Follow up to ensure cash is sent to the country office from Global Support Office (GSO) in accordance with the RFF is required. As Such:
  • The Finance Manager must monitor the amount of cash in the country and alert the Country Director, Regional Finance Manager and GSO in case of foreseen cash shortage that could negatively impact project implementation or country operations.
  • Financial review of all procurement documentation and payment requests to ensure compliance with RI policies and procedures and project budgets; this will include signing those procurement documentations within the threshold per the country-level Authorization Matrix
  • Review detailed BVAs released from GSO on a monthly basis to check for adjustments that may need to take place and follow up accordingly with the Country Director and Regional Finance Manager as necessary.
  • Manage the preparation of all donor reports and review them with the Country Director before submission to the Regional Finance Director for approval.
  • Ensure proper submission of the end-of-month closing report to the RSO office as per the deadline and as per RI procedure.
  • Develop and update the Master budget for the country portfolio to assess the Country Director and SMT on the potential gap.

Budgeting

• Develop budget projection/spend-down plan to execute expenses within the budget spending for each project in coordination with the Regional Finance Manager and share with the Country Director on a monthly basis and/or more frequently as requested. Maintained field project pipelines, including tracking of accruals, and commitments, and update field expenditures on a monthly basis. This task will also include maintaining and updating regularly the Country’s Operational Budget.
• The Finance Manager will lead monthly Spend-Down Plan meetings with each Program Manager for each project and share with the Country Director the updated plan for the entire Palestine portfolio on a monthly basis. This task will also include:
• Assisting management team, including Country Director, Program Managers, Operations Manager, and HR Manager in solution-oriented approaches towards meeting program and operational support needs while remaining within budget and donor compliance limitations.
• Monitoring expenditures per project and following up closely to ensure documenting and spending the project as per budget.
• Working with the Program Team and other relevant staff to prepare modifications and realignments of project budgets when necessary.
• Ensuring clear and well-planned allocations across and within projects.
• Lead on budget development for new proposals and concept notes in coordination with the Country Director and relevant proposal development team (Program Manager, Grants Coordinator, Regional Program Development Manager, etc).

Financial documentation, Compliance, and Audit

• Ensure that financial transactions are regularly classified, recorded, and summarized properly; Ensure accuracy and timeliness of the month-end accounting close process; Make sure that co-finance expense has been identified and booked in appropriate sub-classes in the net suite accounting system. Work out the remaining liability of projects of Co-financing which has not been recovered and propose the recovery plan for all co-finance. projects: Ensure that all financial records and backup documentation have been archived to BOX every month.
• Develop and implement an internal system to check and reinforce accurate documentation within the department.
• In conjunction with the Country Director and supported by the Regional Finance Manager, coordinate and oversee all internal and external audits including ensuring that all financial records and backup documentation are ready and available.
• Ensure compliance with government requirements related to taxes and other financial matters, minimizing risk to RI Country Office for any penalties or non-compliance with the government;
• Ensure compliance with RI Procurement, Field Accounting, Donor and Audit requirements and procedures.
• Alert and advise Country Director on any new or foreseen challenges/issues related to finance and/or compliance, and engage in decision-making process to address challenges/issues; Act as a liaison with program staff to assist in the understanding and compliance of financial policies as applicable;

SOPs, Processes and Systems

• Work closely with the Country Director and other Program staff to implement, improve and maintain financial management policies, systems, structures, and procedures.
• Develop and update SOPs related to the internal Finance tasks for transparency and clarity; Implement and maintain systems to ensure that cash is controlled and accounted for in an accurate and timely manner in accordance with RI, donor and audit requirements.

Employees’ Management

• Finance Manager I am responsible for building and structuring the finance department, updating TORs and developing the capacity-building plan for finance staff. Need to ensure proper segregation of duty, clear roles and responsibilities, and reporting lines.
• Finance Manage needs to equip the finance team with tools and checklists to ensure high quality and on-time completion of tasks.
• In coordination with HR, the Finance manager actively participates in identifying any vacancies and recruiting Finance Staff
• Manage the staff of the Finance Department, including but not limited to employee relations, task delegation, capacity building, teamwork and collaboration, completion of performance evaluations promptly; and leave management. Issues faced in any of the above-mentioned tasks should be reported to the HR Manager and all decisions taken should be in alignment with RI’s policies and procedures.
• Proactively identify and act upon deficiencies and areas for improvement in the in-country Finance team, providing training and other capacity-building where necessary to ensure that finance staff capacity is continuously developing.
• Finance manager to ensure assess the need of training on finance functions for non-finance staff, and to provide training sessions to improve their capacity.

Strategic Management

• Ensure effective resource management and maximize cost effectiveness and value for money throughout the program.
• Participate/ spearhead in-country auditing of program processes that have financial elements to them; for example: payments to volunteers, etc.
• Lead the annual financial operational planning process in close collaboration with the Country Director and supported by the Regional Finance Manager.

Miscellaneous

• Participate and meaningfully contribute to regional and global finance meetings as requested (via skype and in-person).
• Meaningfully participate in internal meetings with the RI-Palestine country team, including but not limited to, Interdepartmental and SMT Meetings
• Accountability and Complexity

Management and leadership

• Ensure the highest standards of behavior inside and outside of work promotes the values in RI’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies.
• Be a model for ethical conduct standards for other team members.
• Embrace diversity, and model inclusive and equitable behavior.
• Ensure your own actions and the actions of the teams’ members they manage do not adversely impact the safety of the RI team and the vulnerable communities we serve.
• Ensure donors, partners and communities are aware of RI conduct and reporting mechanisms.
• Ensure safeguarding is embedded in all the work we do.
• Be responsible for ensuring a culture and systems in place for reporting.
• Report any concerns.

RI Values

Guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as well as “Do No Harm,” Relief International Values:

Integrity, Adaptability, Collaboration, Inclusivity, Sustainability

Due to limited resources, only short-listed candidates will be contacted

Relief International has a zero-tolerance policy for unlawful harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse. Relief International is committed to protecting our staff and the communities we work with from abuse and harm including sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and sexual harassment. All staff are expected to abide by our Code of Conduct.

Recruitment to all roles in Relief International include a criminal records self-declaration, references and other pre-employment checks, which may include police and qualifications checks.

جميع الحقوق محفوظة لموقع جوبس.

Skills, knowledge and expertise required for the role.

• This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast-paced environment.
• Minimum Education: Prefer a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
• Chartered Accountant or CPA equivalent preferred.
• Must have at least five (5) years’ experience at a senior Finance level in NGO or non-profit organizations and familiarity with international donor agencies and Government grants administration. 
• Strong knowledge of BHA, EU regulation.
• Familiarity with accounting software. 

To apply for this post, please send your updated CV and cover letter to [email protected]

Closing date. Please apply immediately we will be reviewing applicants on a rolling basis.

Due to limited resources, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.