Finance, Grant Management & Compliance Senior Officer - British Red Cross

Organizational context (where the job is located in the organization)

The British Red Cross (BRC) has been working in the MENA region since 2004 with partner national societies, and opened a satellite office in Beirut in 2013. The MENA & Mediterranean region work of the British Red Cross is implemented through and in close cooperation with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners in the region, currently mainly the IFRC, Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Lebanese Red Cross. BRC are currently engaged with programming in, among others, capacity building, relief and logistics-related programs both bilaterally and multilaterally. As a result of the increase in program activities due to the ongoing Syria and refugee crises in the region, strong financial and compliance support is required in order to provide tight financial management of BRC funds.

Job purpose

The focus of this role is to  be responsible for implementation and maintenance of all financial and administrative systems, processes and procedures that relate to the office’s programs, partners and staff.

The post holder is expected to deliver all office financial requirements in a timely manner, and insure compliance to BRC and donor policies, procedures, agreed standards, statutory obligations and grant agreements.

S/he will work with program staff in BRC and partners (mainly SARC finance teams, IFRC and ICRC relevant staff) to insure that systems are in place to be able to provide full assurance of funds spent and transferred.

S/he will follow-up and check together with the program team that financial recommendations have been followed. The role will provide technical support to strengthen/establish financial mechanisms in the relevant national societies (mainly SARC). In particular, it is envisaged that this post will contribute to:

• building program, country office and partners’ capacities in effective financial mechanisms.
• capturing the learning from Syria crisis program and using the learning to improve the interventions.
• developing tighter accountability to donor mechanisms.

Job duties and responsibilities

1. BRC financial management

• Manage all financial processes in the BRC office including bank and cash reconciliations, monthly office cash flow requests, monthly financial reporting and variance analysis in line with BRC and donor requirements, IFRC bills and working advances.
• Insure that all payments are made in an accurate and timely manner, and correctly coded.
• Insure that all BRC corporate financial policies and procedures are followed and that the BRC office has an up-to-date office finance handbook in line with BRC corporate financial policies.
• Insure that BRC procedures are in line with the Integration Agreement with IFRC and that BRC is complying with Lebanese legal requirements for tax/VAT, staff provisions, banking regulations and any other financial matters.
• Support BRC country manager to prepare project budgets and forecasts, coordinating any revisions to insure that the programs are correctly included in the BRC corporate budgeting and forecasting processes.
• In collaboration with International Finance, support internal and external audits and assist the BRC’s organizational year-end and interim external audits, as required.
• Liaise with suppliers, vendors and contractors on support service agreements and contracts to insure compliance, smooth running and delivery of service.
• Manage and maintain both electronic and physical document management systems for all financial, contractual and administrative information and records, translating paperwork e.g. invoices where necessary. 
• Provide financial guidance and advice to program teams through meaningful analysis and interpretation of spend, results and forecasts.

2. Program financial management

• Administer and process grant agreements and grant transfers.
• Together with program team and partners e.g. SARC, ICRC, maintain and improve realistic project monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems and schedules for financial forecasting and reporting for the grants, to insure that BRC complies with donor requirements.
• Work with partners to agree templates, processes and timelines for expenditure reporting, fund transfer requests and budget setting and revisions.
• Check and verify monthly financial reports showing progress against budget for all BRC-supported programs, highlighting any variances as relevant and insuring correct supporting documentation is included.
• Insure that all program expenditure, record keeping and reporting are compliant with BRC and donor policies and procedures, Grant Agreement Documents and donor requirements, and that all reports are appropriately reviewed and fed back on.
• Carry out regular sampling checks, monitoring and compliance visits to partners to insure financial documentation and policies are in line with BRC agreements.
• Finalize consolidated financial reports for BRC and the donor, based on the input and reports received from the program teams.
• Cooperate closely with  BRC International Finance to insure a close linkage between fund disbursement, expenditure on activities, financial reporting and fund replenishment, and insure timely follow-up and monitoring of budgets.
• Support program staff on all issues related to contract management and donor guideline compliance, including for mid-term and final financial reporting, project monitoring, reviews and modifications.
• Follow up and check with the BRC program team that recommendations to partners have been implemented.

3. Capacity building and institutional learning

• Carry out formal financial training for BRC staff and support financial training of partner staff to insure successful implementation and reporting on BRC-funded projects.
• Support BRC wide institutional learning in all financial aspects of proposal writing, contract management and donor compliance.

4. General

• Insure regular communication with relevant BRC teams in Beirut and London offices.
• Produce regular update reports, analysis and statistics as required on financial activities.
• Participate in relevant internal BRC meetings, development forums, workshops, courses, etc.
• Be available and willing to carry out short missions to the Syria crisis-affected countries including Syria to assure quality programming.
• Be willing to work in situations of political insecurity.

Duties applicable to all staff

1. Work towards the achievement of BRC goals in the Syria and refugee crises operation through effective relations and teamwork.
2. Insure understanding of roles, responsibilities, lateral relationships and accountability.
3. To insure that program activities are consistent with the Red Cross Code of Conduct and policies and to uphold the Fundamental Principles of the RC/RC Movement.
4. Perform other work-related duties and responsibilities as requested by line manager.

Education

• Qualified accountant or with relevant experience (Required)

Experience

• Relevant professional experience in financial and grant management (Required)
• Experience working with and reporting to major institutional donors, particularly DfID (Required)
• Experience in humanitarian operations (Preferred)
• Experience in RC/RC movement (Preferred)
• Experience developing and documenting financial, contracting and administrative systems, processes and procedures (Required)
• Experience in budget and forecast preparation using different accounting systems (Required)
• Experience of effective financial and compliance partner capacity building and training remote staff (Required)

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong communication skills, including ability to prepare and present concise oral and written reports, briefings, updates and other documentation to both finance and non-finance stakeholders (Required)
• Strong quantitative data analysis skills and ability to understand complex information quickly and accurately (Required)
• Strong audit and internal controls knowledge with the ability to highlight weaknesses and make appropriate recommendations (Required)
• Strong planning and analytical skills, with proven problem-solving experience (Required)
• Self-sufficient in computers (particularly Excel) and computerised accounts systems (Required)
• Ability to establish priorities, plan, coordinate, implement and monitor work plans (Required)
• Excellent relationship-building skills and willingness to work in a team (Required)
• Strong organizational skills including accuracy, consistency and attention to detail (Required)
• Teamwork: commitment to the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement; integrity & personal conduct; sensitivity to diversity; flexibility & adaptability; interpersonal skills; resilient; friendly. Have a positive attitude, proactive, resourceful, hardworking, trustworthy, mature and able to maintain confidentiality at all times (Required)
• Ability to develop and maintain effective remote working relationships with counterparts in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity (Required)
• Ability to work independently and under pressure (Required)

Languages

• Fluency in English and Arabic (Required)