Senior Regional Finance Officer - Danish Red Cross

Organizational context (where the job is located in the Organization) The Danish Red Cross (DRC) has been present in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region since 2002. Currently we work in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), Syria, and Yemen. Each of these counties is directly or indirectly affected by civil war or international conflict, and DRC supports the Red Cross/Red Crescent (RCRC) National Societies (NS) with interventions in the fields of Emergency Relief, Health, Psychosocial Support (PS), Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), and Organisational Development (OD). We emphasize strengthening of our partner NS, both through organisational development and operational capacity building, and we see integrity, transparency, autonomy and sustainable volunteer structures as conditions for building long term effectiveness and efficiency. DRC’s total turnover in the region was DKK 185,000,000 in 2015. The emphasis of DRC’s MENA programme has shifted from more developmental objectives to humanitarian, reflecting the priorities of the NSs we partner with, but we continue to promote OD particularly through branch development and youth and volunteer focused programmes. We will continue to deepen our expertise in the provision of high quality programming in the fields we currently work within. Although we do not envisage an increase in the number of country programmes, the number, scope, scale and value of our projects and programmes continues to expand, including through consortia arrangements with other Partner National Societies (PNS). The DRC MENA Regional Office (RO) supports the six Country Teams in reaching these objectives, particularly focusing on sound project management that builds the confidence of donors and contributes to the sustainability of our projects and programmes.   Job purpose The Senior Regional Finance Officer reports to the DRC MENA Regional Finance Manager and is an integral member of the DRC MENA Regional Office (RO). The Senior Regional Finance Officer has the four distinct purposes and responsibilities of: (i)                   Ensuring effective, timely and compliant financial management of the DRC MENA RO, including DRC country coordinators and in-country delegates, with regards to budgeting, processing of payments/work flows, book-keeping, reporting, and external audit; (ii)                 Supporting and advising DRC MENA Country Coordinators and DRC MENA Country Teams in the financial management necessary to support their day-to-day operations; (iii)                Assisting the DRC MENA Country Teams to prepare project and programme budgets, activity plans, financial reports, and in undertaking external audit processes in compliance with DRC Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and, where applicable, satisfying other specific donor requirements e.g. Europe Aid, ECHO, Danida; and, (iv)                Supporting DRC MENA Country Teams and National Societies (NS) in developing their internal financial management capacity in due recognition of and respect for their capacity, best practices, DRC financial management and administration procedures (SOP), and other specific donor requirements.   Job duties and responsibilities DRC MENA Regional Office (responsibility i) Maintain financial records/documentation and an appropriate and efficient financial filling system. Processing DRC MENA RO and DRC MENA Country Team payments and, if applicable, work flow (internal) invoices. Booking of all DRC MENA RO entries into the DRC accounting system. Manage DRC MENA RO cash flow, including preparing and processing transfer requests from DRC Headquarters (HQ). Prepare and maintain an allocation formula to cover shared resources. Ensure timely monthly reporting on the DRC MENA RO accounts, including reconciliations. Provide inputs to the DRC MENA RO budget, follow-up on and revise it as necessary. Follow-up on time registration on project budgets by staff at DRC HQ and the DRC MENA RO on a monthly basis. Plan, organize and support the external audits of the DRC MENA RO accounts. Support and advise DRC MENA RO staff on following DRC SOPs.   Support to DRC MENA Country Coordinators and in-country delegates (responsibility ii) Ensure transfer of and accounting for delegates’ working advances. Ensure that the country teams’ financial management procedures comply with DRC SOPs and other applicable policies and procedures. Periodically visit countries covered, to provide on-site face-to-face support, monitor project budget and expenditure, and to facilitate, support and ensure compliance with DRC SOPs. Support and advise delegates on following DRC SOPs.   DRC MENA Project and Programme Financial Management (responsibility iii) Proactively support development of and revisions to contracts and agreements, activity plans, and budgets. Coordinate with DRC Controller at DRC HQ, the creation of regional and country-level grants and projects within the DRC accounting system. Scrutinize DRC MENA project and programme financial reports and proactively support the DRC MENA Country Teams and NSs to timely submit complete and compliant reports to the DRC MENA RO in accordance with DRC SOPs. Monitor DRC MENA project and programme budgets and expenditure, ensure compliance and advise on budget performance and, if applicable, suggest budget revisions through the DRC MENA Country Teams. Undertake quality control of cash requests and subsequently facilitate the execution of transfers in accordance with DRC SOPs. Plan, ensure, and support, in close collaboration with the DRC MENA Country Teams and NSs, external audit of DRC MENA projects and programmes that is both timely and in compliance with requirements, including supporting the NS’s tender process to select local auditors, the review of draft audit reports, and follow-up on the findings by the auditor. Provide input to the financial overviews of the DRC MENA project and programme portfolio and follow up on grants allocated to the DRC MENA region. Issue cash pledges to IFRC and ICRC, as determined by DRC HQ and the DRC MENA Head of Region. Contribute to the annual DRC MENA project and programme progress reports in close collaboration with DRC MENA Country Teams, DRC MENA RO colleagues, and DRC HQ. Support and facilitate, in close coordination with the DRC MENA Country Teams, NSs, DRC HQ and partners, the compliant completion/closure of projects and programmes, including, but not limited to, final financial reporting, final external audit, updating of the DRC MENA project and programme portfolio overviews, and recording in the DRC accounting system. Periodically visit countries covered to provide on-site face-to-face support, monitor DRC MENA project budget and expenditure, and to facilitate, support and ensure compliance with DRC SOPs and other donor procedures, where applicable.   Capacity Development (responsibility iv) Identify capacity development needs and subsequently suggest, design and assist DRC MENA Country Teams in building the financial management capacity of NSs, where applicable. Periodically visit countries covered to provide on-site support and financial management capacity development of NSs and, where necessary, also the DRC MENA Country Teams.   General Responsibilities Ensure compliance with DRC financial management and administration procedures (SOPs). Stay abreast of relevant Government rules and regulations relating to financial management, including audit, and inform the DRC MENA Regional and DRC MENA Country Teams accordingly. Stay abreast of new DRC and/or partner guidelines on financial and administrative matters and inform the DRC MENA regional and country teams accordingly. Participate in relevant internal meetings, development forums, workshops, courses, etc. Provide backup for other DRC MENA RO staff, if applicable. Provide suggestions and inputs to the continuous development of the financial administration procedures, routines, and processes at regional and DRC level, e.g. by suggesting revisions the SOPs. Perform any other task assigned by the DRC MENA Head of Region and/or DRC MENA Regional Finance Manager.     Duties applicable to all staff 1. Actively work towards the achievement of the Federation Secretariat’s goals. 2. Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles. 3. Perform any other work related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager.   Position Requirements Education Essential Desirable University Degree in Financial Management, Accounting, Business Administration, Commerce, or any other relevant fields X   Master Degree or MBA X   Experience Essential Desirable Five years or more experience in financial management and reporting, budgeting and accounting, and financial audits X   Experience in developing and executing project and programme budgets and scrutiny of financial reports X   Experience  with donors agencies, e.g. UN, ECHO, Europe Aid, Danida, etc. X   Experience in working for a humanitarian organization, especially the Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement   X Knowledge and Skills Essential Desirable Technical knowledge and experience in facilitating, supporting, monitoring and supervising activity plans, budgets and financial management X   Strong computer skills (Microsoft Office Package, especially Excel) and user knowledge of financial accounting (ERP) systems, ideally AX09 X   Analysis, advise, establishment and enforcement of sound internal financial controls X   Good knowledge of donor requirements X   Ability to support and impart their technical knowledge to colleagues of various ranks   X Languages Essential Desirable Fluency in English with good spoken and written command of the language X   Fluency in Arabic with good spoken and written command of the language X   Competencies (to be filled in by HR)     Able to work in a team Flexible and adaptable to changing working conditions High degree of integrity, proactivity and discretion in personal conduct Self-motivated, with good judgement and initiative Able to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines Communication, coordination, networking and facilitation skills Conversant with and willing to work in volatile environments e.g. Iraq, Yemen or Syria Able to cope with a working environment that could occasionally be stressful due to e.g. fluctuating workloads, unplanned tasks, and personal insecurity Willing to have up to 25% travelling days per year