Director of Finance & IT

The Opportunity – Director of Finance and IT

Post location: oPt Country Office located in Ramallah

Contract Duration and Level of Effort: 2 years

***Due to the urgency to fill this role, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Kindly note that the position might be filled before the vacancy announcement is closed; therefore, early applications are encouraged.***

***This role will be contingent upon securing available funds, and we might use this vacancy to fill more than one post.***

ROLE PURPOSE:

As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) in oPt, the Director of Finance and IT shares in the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Country Office (CO). The Director of Finance and IT in his/her capacity will be accountable to the Country Director (CD) for overseeing the Finance Function, responsible for finance administration, fiscal management, financial and grant reporting, IT and co-accountable with other senior leaders for risk management –in both emergencies and development programming contexts.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Country Director

Dotted Line: MENAEE Finance Director

Staff directly reporting to this post:

• Gaza Finance Manager
• CO Control and Compliance Manager
• CO Finance Budgeting Manager
• CO Financial Planning and Reporting Senior Manager
• CO Control and Compliance Coordinator
• IT Coordinator

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

As a member of the Senior Management Team, contribute to:

• Leadership of the oPt Country Office
• Support the development of an organizational culture that reflects our broad-spectrum programming values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our members and donors
• Support the design and implementation of a coherent organizational structure that is consistent with agency practices and appropriate to program needs
• Help establish, maintain, and improve active and regular working relationships with: host government authorities, partner agencies including major institutional donors, and local and international NGOs as requested, delegated, and authorized by the CD
• Ensure oPt Country Office complies with all Save the Children’s Quality Framework Essential Standards and Standard Operating Procedures
• Ensure that the required support is provided promptly, at scale and in line with the rules and principles during emergencies, working closely with the CD and the Regional Office

Planning and Budgeting

• Assist the CD in the management /administration of the Country Office resources and its sub-offices including (a) the formulation of country work program and resource allocation, (b) providing effective support and guidance to the Senior Management Team and other key program staff during planning and allocation exercises; (c) monitoring implementation of donor agreements and resource utilization. Highlight variances, provide analyses and recommend resolution or reallocation of resources
• Perform periodic financial analysis on OPT CO cost base this should include but not limited to staffing and NTC costs also to provide strategic financial recommendations for CD and SMT members on the fit for purpose and CO financial sustainability; this should be done in consultation with business development and with CD, SMT/Counterparts and RO team.
• Work along with the SMT in developing plans to meet funding and programming needs. This includes diversification of funding resources
• Identify and effectively manage financial risks related to delivering the Country Office program. Develop mitigation plans at proposal stage
• Manage the financial aspects of quality budget development for new proposals and budget revisions and review them before they are submitted to Members/Donors
• Manage the financial aspects of the annual planning process and ensure the preparation of a quality and timely master budget and reforecasts. Review the documents and share them with SMT before final submission to the RO and respond/address the comments received from the RO and Members
• Ensure appropriate and adequate emergency finance procedures are detailed in the Country Office Emergency Preparedness Plan in order to enable rapid scale up
• Ensure budget holders understand their responsibilities (e.g. through training)
• Ensure Field Offices receive adequate support to operate efficient accounting systems, including timely receipt of monthly budget variance analysis by budget holders, timely answers to queries and scheduling tasks and deadlines

Financial Accounting, Reporting, and Control

• Oversee the finance function in oPt Country Office, ensuring that planning and budgeting, financial accounting, financial control, international accounting principles, budget monitoring and reporting complies with SCI policies and procedures and donors’ rules and regulations
• Oversee correct level of budget authority exists within Country Office. Own the application of SCI approved scheme of delegation, together with the CD
• Ensure finance dashboard and MFRs are presented in SMT meetings with clear recommendations for improvement plans where applicable
• Ensure Country Office treasury operations are adequately managed
• Responsible for making sure effective systems are put in place, and regularly reviewed, to allow adequate financial management and control over assets, funds, equipment, property, and facilities
• Lead and participate in the development of finance policies and procedures to ensure adequate finance controls are in place according to international accounting principles
• Complete and submit the FCC report, respond to findings and recommend resolutions or action plans
• Ensure Monthly Financial Reviews (MFRs) are prepared, reviewed with CD, and submitted to Regional Office regularly
• Ensure that finance in the main office provide technical support to the finance departments in field offices and continuously testing their internal controls, financial procedures and systems
• Ensure the CO finance work with budget holders and field finance to estimate funds request on a timely basis to ensure resources are in place for carrying project activities
• Ensure statutory audit and project specific audits are conducted and findings are addressed; and assist CD and CQSM during any internal audits
• Review and approve the proper accounting and closing of books upon receipt of completed reports and documents from various sub-offices
• Develop sub-grantees financial management through training and capacity building
• Develop CO budget holder financial management through training and capacity building
• Perform any other responsibilities related to financial management as required

Financial Reporting

• Monitor accurate and timely submission of financial reports and attachments to internal and external stakeholders (SMT, RO/Centre, Members/Donors, government regulatory agencies, etc.)
• Provide guidance to finance and non-finance staff and coordinate efforts to ensure compliance with donor agreement requirements and conditions.
• Work with budget holders to estimate funds request on a timely basis to ensure resources are in place for carrying project activities; and that reporting requirements and deliverables are met
• Ensure that donor financial reports are aligned with donor requirements
• Prepare monthly financial and analytical report and ensure submission of all required reports with RO
• Prepare audited financial statements after the year end organise all statutory and donors audit as per set time frames

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development – Support Services

• Ensure appropriate staffing and competencies within the department.
• Ensure all Finance staff understand and are able to perform their roles in an emergency/non-emergency context
• Lead finance team; define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
• Responsible for the recruitment, training, and promotion of Finance staff as appropriate and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities for them
• Manage the performance of Finance staff through:
  • Effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measurable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations
  • Establishment of a result-based system and regular follow up
  • Coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities.
  • Recognition and rewards for outstanding performance
  • Documentation of performance that is at standard and above and less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvements/work plans.
  • Ensuring succession and staffing development plans are prioritized and communicated with the CD and HR department.

Risk Management

• Support the Country Director (CD), Risk & Compliance Manager (RCM), and Senior management team (SMT) in applying risk management lens to evaluation of growth strategies and opportunities to ensure manageable balance of risk and growth
• Support the CD, RCM, and SMT in developing a risk management policy to maximize financial resource effectiveness
• Identify and effectively manage financial risks related to delivering the Country Office program. Develop mitigation plans at proposal stage
• Participate in the preparation of monthly Risk Management Register in consultation with SMT and RCM in accordance with the SCI Quality Framework Essential Standards
• Undertake the financial risk assessments of all new partners and monitoring of on-going risk in coordination with SMT
• Support CD and SMT in keeping analysis of the internal and external risks and threats and appropriate mitigation measures up to date

Information Technology

• Supervise IT function to ensure the provision of effective IT support across the country office
• Ensure legal compliance with respective Government regulations and laws
• Ensure sophisticated, efficient, cost-effective Information Technology Systems are in place which is also in compliance with SCI Quality Framework – with a specific focus on ensuring sufficient primary and backup connectivity and bandwidth in CO and all Field Offices
• Strive to support programmes with innovative IT solutions to support their work
• Responsible for ensuring CO internal and external communications systems function effectively and efficiently and that sufficient backup communications and redundancies exist

In order to be successful, you will bring/have:

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in finance or accounting or any related field or equivalent professional experience.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• 10+ years demonstrated professional experience in financial management, of which 5+ years of experience in a managerial position in an International NGO environment, including experience in the development of strategic and operational Finance plans and their implementation in a professional work environment over a sustained period of time
• Exceptional customer service focus
• Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• Proven record implementing change and improvement initiatives
• Fluency in Arabic, both verbal and written
• Experience of reviewing and drafting Finance policies, procedures and guidelines and of developing and implementing systems
• Experience in managing IT systems
• Ability to plan and organize a substantial workload that includes complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities in both development and complex emergency contexts
• Willingness and ability to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
• Demonstrated credibility with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels of an organization
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to demonstrate skills in leading a multi- disciplined team through a period of change
• Leadership skills, including the ability to supervise and motivate qualified professional staff with strong personal value systems
• Analytical, decision making and strategic planning skills and the ability to handle multiple priorities
• Ability to coach, mentor, delegate appropriately and provide developmental guidance to supervised staff and proven success in building capacity of staff
• Team building skills
• Competent level skills in core IT applications, particularly MS Office
• Commitment to Save the Children values, including willingness to abide by and enforce the Child Safeguarding policy
• Ability to travel to all programme sites in oPt (West Bank and Gaza Strip

Desirable:

• Qualified finance professional is a plus (recognised accounting qualification such as CIMA, ACCA, CPA) with experience of operating in a global and complex organisation
• Experience working in developing countries

We offer a competitive package in the context of the sector**. This role is offered on the basis of national and international terms and conditions.**

Save the Children promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment, women and people with different abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Organisation

Save the Children works in development and humanitarian contexts with children and partners to help families, communities, and governments identify and use innovations to ensure all children survive, learn and are protected.

We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realize the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.

We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive environment where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.