CHARITY JOBS IN AFRICA

Organization: Danish Refugee Council
Country: South Sudan
Closing date: 15 Nov 2014

Background

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is looking for an Emergency Finance Manager will oversee financial management for the DRC South Sudan emergency programme and will be under the supervision and direction of emergency response coordinator with close links to the Head of Finance.

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is providing assistance to conflict affected populations, through our presence and operations in most major humanitarian emergencies. In support of our objective to continue delivering high quality assistance, DRC is offering the opportunity for motivated, experienced and dedicated professionals, to join one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGO’s.

Since the outbreak of violence in South Sudan in December 2013, fighting has continued despite several attempts at a peace agreement. Currently 1.4 million people have been displaced from their homes and tens of thousands killed. 95,000 civilians are currently seeking refuge inside UNMISS bases across the country. DRC has been working, since the start of the crisis, providing camp management in three locations, Bentiu in Unity State, Malakal and Melut in Upper Nile states. In addition to this DRC is managing refugee camps in Ajoung Thok, Unity State and Maban, Upper Nile State.

Purpose of the Post

The Finance Manager will oversee all financial functions in Malakal, Melut and Bentiu, including accounting, payments and banking, payroll, budgeting, financial reporting, and grant financial management and compliance. The DRC Finance Manager ensures compliance with donor regulations as well as DRC’s internal policies and procedures and provides support to the program management teams as required.

Key Responsibilities

Budgeting and finance management

• Monitor and provide management information on actual vs. planned income and expenses and recommend and initiate actions for adjusting budgets
• Monitor and react to emerging financial risks related to co-funding
• Ensure compliance with donor guidelines in the allocation of costs and management of funds
• Ensure timely and high quality maintenance of cashbooks and financial reporting to donors
• Implement, maintain and monitor a system for checking eligibility of expenses in relation to donor regulations and DRC regulations
• Maintain a system for high quality verification of expenditures and supporting documentation
• Establish, maintain and monitor a system for accruals and outstandings in accordance with DRC and donor rules and regulations
• Maintain a system for allocating and monitoring expenses that are part of co-funded budgets
• Ensure an efficient and low risk liquidity management in the operation in accordance with DRC rules and regulations
• Prepare all financial reports for grants at periodic intervals and submit them to Head of Finance for review
• Hold monthly finance meetings and work with budget holders and the heads of emergency programme to develop a monitoring system to review the financial status of budget expenditure and to identify and solve any current or potential issues.

Management

• Supervision of emergency finance staff, including technical guidance to program colleagues
• Reviews of finance team as part of performance appraisal process
• Training, mentoring and capacity building of national finance, support, and program staff in good grant management practices and other finance procedures
• Supervise payroll management for emergency staff and ensuring that the salary payments take place in a transparent and coherent manner
• Work closely with Senior Finance Officer and Finance officers in Juba to review emergency-related postings in cash books them each month prior to submission to Headquarter in Copenhagen
• Review cash flow forecast and money request for the Financial Department in Headquarter in Copenhagen and forward it to Head of Finance.

Administration

• Filing and document handling – make sure that all legally binding documentation is filed, scanned and stored according to DRC’s and donor’s guidelines
• Advise and work with the Human Resources and Administration departments concerning issues related to finance to make sure that DRC’s operates in accordance with the legislative framework in country, including tax, VAT, registrations, Labor law, data management/protection etc.
• Ensure that monthly tax reconciliations and payments are processed and cleared within deadlines
• Ensure that a system for file sharing, back up and data safety is implemented and maintained
• Participate in procurement exercises as required, especially in preparation of financial elements.

Other

• Build capacity with finance staff in the field offices including mandatory site visits
• Additional tasks as given by the Head of Finance.

Qualifications/Selection Criteria

• Four or more years of progressive financial management experience is required
• Bachelors degree or equivalent in accounting or finance is required
• Four years experience in grants management as well as an understanding of donor regulations.
• Three years international experience is required; international NGO/UN field office experience is preferred
• Demonstrated experience and skill with budget preparation and analysis, financial reporting preparation and presentation and the proven ability to translate technical financial data into informative reports
• Strong accounting skills and experience, including management of the general ledger, journal entries, payroll, payables and balance sheet
• Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel
• Prior management experience and strong organizational skills
• Demonstrated ability to train and capacity build staff and provide support for the development of financial staff
• Strong team player with ability to maintain positive attitude under pressure
• Excellent oral and written English skills.

We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, irrespective of nationality, race, gender or age.

Conditions

Availability: 1^st December 2014

Duty station: Juba, South Sudan with frequent trips to the field sites

Contract Length: 6 months, renewable dependent on both funding and performance

Salary and conditions in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates; please refer to www.drc.dk under Vacancies. This position is offered at salary level A10.

For general information about the Danish Refugee Council and Danish Demining Group, please consult www.drc.dk and www.danishdemininggroup.dk

About DRC

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private, independent, humanitarian organization working on all aspects of the refugee cause in more than twenty five countries throughout the world. The aim of DRC is to protect refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) against persecution and to promote durable solutions to the problems of forced migration, on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC works in accordance with the UN Conventions on Refugees and the Code of Conduct for the ICRC and NGOs in Disaster Relief.
The protection and assistance to conflict affected population is provided within a long-term, regional and rights-based approach in order to constitute a coherent and effective response to the challenges posed by today’s conflicts. Assistance consists of relief and other humanitarian aid, rehabilitation, support to return and repatriation as well as promotion of long-term solutions to displacement and its causes. In addition, support and capacity building of local and national authorities and NGOs form an integral part of DRC’s work.

How to apply:

Only qualified and motivated applications that address the stipulated duties and meet the selection criteria sent together with a CV will be considered. Please provide references, but do not attach any written recommendations until requested to do so.

Please submit your application and CV in English and marked “**Emergency Finance Manager – South Sudan**” no later than November 15th.

CV-only applications will not be considered. We only accept applications sent via our online recruitment system on www.drc.dk under About DRC/Vacancies/Current vacancies/Emergency Finance Manager – South Sudan.

Problems with on-line application?

Please inform us via job@drc.dk, if you have questions to the application process or experience problems with your on-line application.