Administrative and Finance Assistant

Expertise France

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created on 1st January 2015 under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers programme engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance. Carrying out large-scale, multi-stakeholder programmes, EF can ensure the cooperation between individuals, teams and institutions with very different statuses, cultures and specialties. Besides, EF has acquired a sound experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale international programmes. www.expertisefrance.fr

1. Project background

Syria is the scene of a protracted crisis that has forced millions of Syrians to flee their homes and often their country. The settlement of refugees in neighbouring countries puts considerable pressure on essential public services.

The Syrian crisis has significant human, social, and economic impacts on Lebanon. The country hosts 1.5 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, the highest number of refugees per capita in the world. Lebanese municipalities and localities with very limited financial and human resources have been overtaken and severely affected by the influx. Severely strained public services and infrastructure exacerbate social tensions between the Lebanese and the displaced, undermining social cohesion. Economically, Lebanon has suffered from a loss of trade, tourism, and investment; its most vulnerable face many challenges, such as reduced job opportunities and depleted savings.

Lebanese NGOs play an essential role in responding to the challenges Lebanon faces. Their presence in the areas most affected means that they can address a great many of the needs of host and refugee populations, reducing vulnerabilities. Some NGOs help by providing healthcare, education, psychosocial support, and other services when public facilities are overloaded. Other NGOs help improve the well-being and/or social and economic situation of those hit hardest by the crisis.

Lebanon is home to one of the most vibrant and dynamic civil societies in the Middle East. Lebanese NGOs work on vital social and technical issues, ranging from social cohesion to reforestation, through programs that promote long-term development and humanitarian relief. Lebanese civil society organizations are very dynamic; ambitious, new organizations regularly rise to meet new crises while established CSOs switch between thinking long term and resolving periodic crises, such as the influx of Syrian refugees.

However, Lebanese NGOs’ reliance on international donors and INGOs for funding means that most local NGOs suffer from a structural weakness and their agility is not entirely sustainable. This weakness hinders their growth and hampers the development of a robust national civil society that can reliably play a key role in crisis prevention and management.

International donors and aid providers have widely noted that many local NGOs in Lebanon and elsewhere have difficulty accessing the development aid that they depend on. In 2016, the international community agreed to make a “Grand Bargain” in order to increase development-assistance efficiency and bridge the widening financing gap between humanitarian and development needs. Donors and aid providers made a commitment to the "localization of aid", meaning that they will channel a larger share of international aid funding to national and local responders. This will reposition local NGOs at the centre of humanitarian actions, improve the sustainability of their actions, and ensure that crisis-response actions meet local needs.

The Grand Bargain rests on four actions: (i) increasing the visibility of local NGO actions, (ii) providing major support to build on local NGO assets, capacities, and skills in order to increase their effectiveness and ability to rely on local workers, (iii) promoting more direct-to-NGO international funding, and (iv) improving the quality of partnerships with local NGOs by considering them more equal partners.

2. The Shabake project

The Shabake Project was designed in the framework of the localization of aid agenda and the need to strengthen Lebanese NGO capacities so that local recipients can take the lead in responding to crises generally and to the Syrian-refugee crisis in Lebanon specifically. 

The project aims to help local and international Lebanese non-governmental organizations (NGOs) become lasting, key players in mitigating and ameliorating the effects of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon.

The selected beneficiary NGOs will receive funding and expert assistance for their own-capacity-building plan. They will also have an opportunity to put their new institutional changes into practice via a humanitarian project that reduces vulnerabilities. In addition, each NGO partner will be invited to meet and directly interact with donors, aid providers, and public authorities working in the development-aid ecosystem. 

To this end, the Shabake capacity-reinforcement project is divided in three main components:

• Component 1: Building on the strengths, assets, capacities, and skills of the local Lebanese NGOs selected for a grant award.
• Component 2: Having each NGO partner implement a crisis-response project to reduce vulnerabilities.
• Component 3: Improving and/or integrating the participation of NGO partners in the development-aid ecosystem. 

3. Job Description / Assignment

Expertise France is recruiting an Administrative and Finance Assistant (AFA) that can provide accounting, finance and administrative support within the Shabake Project.

Overall purpose of the role: The SHABAKE Administrative and Finance Assistant will ensure that all accounting, finance and administrative processes are followed in line with EF and donor guidelines. The AFA will also support the PM in ensuring that the project’s finances are managed efficiently and are reported on in a timely manner. The AFA will be working under the supervision of the Shabake Project Manager (PM) and the Administrative and Finance Coordinator (AFC).

The position is based in Beirut, within the Expertise France Lebanon coordination office.

Description of the Tasks:

Accounting:

• Ensure that the EF accounting process is compliant with EF guidelines in collaboration with the Administrative and Finance Coordinator
• Record the accounting entries after proceeding with a payment after checking that the supporting documents submitted are compliant to EF rules and regulations
• Assist in the preparation of EF accounts and prepare end of month financial closure package including the bank accounts reconciliations, cash inventories and monthly financial report
• Assist in the preparation of the annual accounting closure pack
• Handle the filing of the supporting documents (i.e.: invoices, receipts, contracts, timesheets) in reference files as per EF filing rules and regulations
• Ensure a systematic electronic filing in addition to the hard copies

Finance:

• Assist the finance department with various tasks, including preparing budgets, monthly and quarterly financial reports and cash forecasts
• Check and ensure that all project invoices are aligned with the contracts’ clauses and terms in coordination with the Administrative and Finance Coordinator
• Assist in the consolidation of the BvA in collaboration with the different departments
• Support in the preparation of the project audits and annual HQ audit and follow up on the recommendations

Cash Management:

• Manage the petty cash and report any discrepancy to the line manager (including but not limited to issuing cash payments, cash inventory, change operations)
• Manage EF bank accounts and prepare the bank reconciliation at the end of each month (including but not limited to preparation of checks and transfers, bank visits, money withdrawal, bank statements request)
• Together with the Administrative and Finance Coordinator, prepare the cash forecasts and cash requests to be submitted to EF – Paris in collaboration with all departments (mainly procurement and program)

Administration:

• Conduct regular support duties (i.e.: English/Arabic translation, project related researches, program logistics support, financial and HR related benchmarks)
• Support the Administrative and Finance Coordinator with HR related tasks according to the needs
• Handle the relevant program administration according to EF Lebanon rules and regulations (i.e.: staff advances, communication

4. Technical Skills, Experience & Knowledge

Education level

• Relevant University degree in Management, Political Science, Social Sciences.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years of experience in the non-profit/NGO sector in administrative, accounting or financial support department
• Excellent MS Office skills, with proficiency using MS Excel is mandatory
• Good knowledge of international donors’ rules and regulations, especially EU regulations is a distinctive advantage
• Professional working knowledge of English & Arabic are required. French is an asset

Personal qualities

• Precision and rigor
• Excellent reporting and writing skills
• Good coordination and teamwork skills
• Diplomacy and negotiating skills are priorities

5. Application process

Applications (detailed resume, cover letter & 3 professional references) are to be sent to the following email address:  info-shabake@expertisefrance.fr; under the title: Administrative and Finance Assistant Shabake – Lebanon.  

Applications must be submitted in English.

The deadline for application is July 28th, 2019