Haiti: Finance and Administration Manager

Background

The Lutheran World Federation (hereinafter referred to as LWF), Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (hereinafter referred to as DKH), and Norwegian Church Aid (hereinafter referred to as NCA) have all been present in Haiti for the last decade or more. In 2015, DKH and LWF decided to integrate their organizational structures in Haiti, and in July 2016, NCA joined the process. A new joint Country Director was recruited in October 2016, and the staff of all three organisations will come under joint management from January 2017. An adjusted version of the LWF financial management system (including SAGE accounting system) will be used by the integrated office from January 2017 onwards. The current combined annual turnover of the three organisations in Haiti is approximately EUR 5 mill and the current number of staff is around 40. In addition, staff from Bread for the World (BftW) and the Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is administratively and operationally hosted by the integrated office.

All the five organisations BdfW, DKH, LWF, LWR and NCA are members of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance.

Position type and closing date

This is a one year short-term contract without family benefits, with possibilities for extension.

The closing date for applications is 15 December 2016.

Purpose of the position

The basic purpose of the position is to oversee the introduction/roll-out of the financial management system in the integrated DKH/LWF/NCA office and provide overall leadership and quality control assurance to ensure that the finance function is carried out in a professional and competent manner. More specifically, the role involves assuring responsibility for finance-related aspects, such as administration and control of funding and expenditure, allocation of overheads, and assistance in preparation of budget proposals etc. and administrative aspects, such as overall office management and administration and general services, government liaison and international staff support. The position advises and informs the Country Director and the Management Team on matters relating to budgeting, financial planning, reporting and finance staffing.

A core responsibility is to build up capacity of local finance and administration staff to enable them to better perform their roles and responsibilities. This includes recruiting, training and supporting the relevant Finance and Administrative staff in their roles, including administration and control of funding and financial matters in accordance with the requirements and guidelines of the respective organisations and donors/back-donors.

The position is based in the capital, Port-au-Prince where the Finance and Administration Manager will lead the finance and administration team and be a key member of the county management team.

The position reports to the Joint Representation of DKH/LWF/NCA in Haiti, with technical oversight from the Global Finance Coordinator.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration. CPA or equivalent qualification.
• Applicants are required to be in sympathy with the core values of the Lutheran World Federation and the Action by Churches Together Alliance

Knowledge and Experience

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in international NGO financial management.
• Ability to work strategically, provide relevant information/advice for overall decision-making.
• Proven experience in building finance and administration team in a complex context, coaching and mentoring staff and local partners, and upholding high standards of conduct and performance to build strong capacity.
• Excellent team work and problem solving skills.

Language Skills

• English: advanced written and spoken skills
• French: advanced written and spoken skills
• Spanish: skills would be an asset
• Haitian Creole: skills would be an asset

Main duties

1. To ensure that budgeting, planning and financial reporting is timely, accurate and consistent with established practices, formats and reporting requirements as laid out in the agreements with the respective HQs of the three organisations, and funding agencies;
2. To provide on-going support to the local finance staff in their implementation of the SAGE accounting software and ensure that usage of this application is fully optimized;
3. To ensure that the policies, procedures and practices as expressed in approved Policies, Regulations and Manuals are adapted to the local context, updated regular, and understood and fully implemented by the Country Director, the Program Manager and the relevant finance and administration staff in the office;
4. To identify financial training needs among staff and local partners and recommend practical means in which these needs can be fulfilled;
5. To identify weaknesses in accounting, internal controls and overall administration and address the weaknesses with the help of the management team.
6. To ensure that cash flow projections are accurate and up to date, and that they reflect potential temporary shortfalls in funding;
7. To ensure that the integrated office is prepared for the annual external audit and participate, where required, in ‘exit’ discussions with the audit firm;
8. To be in attendance for all or part of an internal audits and project audits, and contribute to the discussions and the recommendations resulting from the audits;
9. To conduct the annual staff evaluation of the finance and administration employees, the recruitment of new finance staff and termination of currently employed finance staff;
10. To recommend for inclusion in the key Manuals (Finance Manual, Accounting procedures etc) any changes deemed appropriate for the strengthening of the finance or admin functions;
11. To promote close collaboration and teamwork between Finance, Administration and Program, building on synergies to promote efficiency and effectiveness;
12. To undertake any other assignments as called upon by the DKH/LWF/NCA Country Director for the benefit of the integrated office.

Please follow the link to applyhttps://lutheranworld.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk06bcr?cjb_hash=O_MtHI52&apply_now=true