Finance Manager

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3: the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in- country programs; or are visiting the country programmes; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE:

The Finance Manager is responsible for the primary financial management inputs in the Save the Children country office, working closely with operations, awards, risk/compliance and humanitarian response teams.

The role has two main aspects: accounting and treasury management (including payroll, payables and receivables) and financial controls and monitoring and includes risk management and policy/procedure and systems development and improvement. The Finance Manager leads a team based in large field offices overseeing financial controls and compliance and ensuring the capacity and professional development of finance and non-finance staff.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Strategic financial information and monitoring

· Provide strategic financial support to the Senior Management Team

· Provide a high standard of financial accounting management, ensuring compliance with local statutory law and donors regulations and consistent with Save the Children accounting policies, procedures and tools.

· Ensure that Save the Children’s commitment to improving quality and accountability in humanitarian work is upheld through reference to the Sphere Project Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards, the NGO Code of Conduct, and other relevant tools.

Internal controls

· Ensure that the control framework of the operation is consistent with the situation and ensure that necessary risks are taken knowingly with appropriate mitigating actions.

· Monitor coding of expenditures and ensure timely adjustments when activation of new awards with relevant audit trail

· Support cash transfer programming activities from feasibility assessment to implementation, and ensure accountability by enforcing adequate controls

· Identify, assess, input, and recommend the existing and desired reconciliation process (reporting assurance mechanism) between Finance, Procurement, Supply Chain, Distribution, and M&E to ensure accountable reporting to donors on all humanitarian inputs (items delivered to beneficiaries).

· Work closely with Risk/Compliance in control frameworks, risk assessment and prevention of fraud, bribery and corruption.

Treasury

· Maintain banking relationships and arrangements, monitor and track international transfers, and minimise exchange rate risks.

· Ensure access to cash and banking services by establishing effective banking arrangements or by ensuring safe cash in transit alternatives through the implementation of emergency cash management guidelines

Financial Controls

· Review and consolidate monthly financial reports and prepare control checklists to ensure accuracy and to provide regular feedback to senior management 

· Verify that appropriate segregation of duties exists to ensure effective support of field operations and to protect the integrity of the country office finance and administrative operations 

· Perform financial review of purchase requests, purchase orders, and payment requests to ensure compliance with Save the Children’s policies and procedures and donor grants and contracts requirements 

· Supervise the finance and operations staff, including performance evaluation and revising job descriptions as necessary. Develop the capacity of the team and facilitate their professional growth 

· Prepare and revise finance and operation guidelines in order that they adhere to SC and donor requirements 

· Encourage a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence Resources and capacity building 

· Assess new partner financial capacity and provide financial capacity building when relevant 

· Assess finance surge staff requirements and structure in coordination with existing CO and RO finance team 

· Recruit, train and manage finance staff. 

· Ensure that all new staff recruited into the response are adequately inducted in Save the Children emergencies and financial systems 

· Strengthen the non-finance staff's knowledge and capacity to manage finance by providing training and coaching consistent with their various roles and responsibilities. 

Budgeting

· Prepare and monitor budgets to ascertain that spending occurs as planned and that variances are anticipated, noted, and corrected; ensure that key program personnel are aware of budgetary resources and can monitor their budgets, respectively 

· Prepare quarterly reports, consolidated annual fiscal reports, cumulative life of project reports, and any other required donor submissions 

· Ensure preparation of donor financial reports and proposal budgets 

· Review and consolidate monthly financial reports to ensure accuracy and to provide regular feedback to senior management 

· Ensure full cost recovery is achieved (through strategic financial management and proposal budget development) 

· Ensure all donor financial compliance requirements are complied with, and reports are prepared on time with a complete audit trail.

· Oversee sub-award monitoring and compliance, including organisational assessments, review of financial reports/ advance requests, and financial tracking; develop sub-award monitoring plans; perform and document compliance visits; 

General: 

· Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.

COMPETENCIES FOR THIS ROLE:

1. Delivering Results

Takes personal responsibilities and holds others accountable for delivering our ambitious goals for children, continually improving their own performance or that of the team/organization.

Level required: Leading Edge

2. Networking

Builds and uses sustainable relationships and networks to support the work of Save the Children with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters.

Level Required: Leading Edge

3. Communicating with Impact Communicates clearly and confidently with others to engage and influence; promotes dialogue and ensures timely and appropriate messages, building confidence and trust. Level Required: Leading Edge 

4. Problem solving and Decision Making Takes effective, considered and timely decisions by gathering and evaluating relevant information from within or outside the organisation. 

Level Required: Leading Edge

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential

· Completed undergraduate degree in finance, accounting, business or a related field

· Recognised local or international accounting qualification

· Ten years of progressive experience in financial planning and managing grants in a large country INGO or commercial operation (USD 90M+ annual budget)

· Experience of and well-developed skills in staff management and supervision. Proven coaching and capacity building skills.

· Proven track record of active contribution to an extended senior management team and providing strategic support across multiple sectors and/or regions

· Good attention to detail and analytical skills

· Strong digital skills; MS Office applications, cloud collaboration tools and computerised accounting systems.

· Cultural awareness and the ability to build relationships quickly with a wide variety of people

· Patient, adaptable, flexible, able to improvise and remain responsive and communicate clearly and effectively under pressure

· Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organise a demanding workload comprised of diverse and challenging tasks and responsibilities

· Strong communication (written and spoken), and interpersonal skills in English, with experience in managing multicultural teams

· Personal circumstances and willingness to travel frequently to project offices.

Desirable

· Master's degree in a relevant discipline

· ACCA/CIMA or equivalent accounting qualification

· Experience with Save the Children financial and award management processes, procedures and systems and accounting software (Agresso).

· Experience in emergency response/recovery programmes with NGOs in an international emergency environment or in fragile states with increasing responsibilities, including proven experience in establishing and running a field finance office.

· Local language proficiency