Finance Manager at International Rescue Committee

Job Description

The Financial Manager has overall responsibility for supporting the finance functions for the country program. The Finance Manager responsibilities include internal control, accounting data base management, reconciliation and verification of payment, staff training, and management, budget and treasury and cash management functions.

Key Responsibilities

• Internal Control
  • Ensures that all policies and procedures are in compliance with IRC and funding source policies, procedures, and requirements.
  • As required establishes finance and supporting function policies, systems and procedures, and directs or performs their development, documentation, and implementation.
  • Manages the finance staff activities and schedules to meet the financial reporting requirements and deadlines specified by New York and donors.
  • Ensure that on a monthly basis balance sheet reconciliations are completed on a timely basis and those final reconciliations and trial balances are reviewed with the Sr. Finance Manager and Finance Controller.
  • Closely monitors all financial activities, and keeps the Sr. Finance Manager advised of all situations which have the potential for a negative impact on internal controls or financial performance.
  • Facilitates and co-ordinates external, internal, donor or government audits
  • Oversees the protection of the country’s assets (cash, inventory, NEP) through the enforcement of internal control policies and procedures.
  • Maintains current knowledge of local government requirements related to financial matters and ensures compliance with tax regulations and other legal requirements.
• Treasury and Cash Flow Management
  • Supervises all country office bank relations and bank account activities including negotiation of fees, interest and currency exchange rates.
  • In compliance with IRC policy establishes country policies regarding cash holding limits, cash movements and foreign currency holdings.
  • Oversees the timely preparation, review and approval of all monthly bank account and cash reconciliation’s.
  • Supervises the preparation of Cash Transfer Requests to New York and ensures that appropriate balances are maintained to facilitate grant implementation.
  • Ensures the development and implementation of a plan to minimize the country’s foreign exchange exposure to currency gains and losses.
  • Supervises the collection of contractual and other receivables.
• Budgets development, Operating budget update and, Prepare Donor Reports
  • When necessary working with program staff to prepare grant budgets to support new proposals or realignments to ensure adequate coverage of country operating costs and NY direct and indirect costs.
  • Identify any shortfalls in shared costs budget coverage and ensure new budgets cover the appropriate percentage of shared costs and review of unrestricted funding versus approved allocation.
  • Assisting in the development and preparation of cost allocation processes for overarching costs that comply with donor regulations on allowable costs.
  • Update quarterly CO operating budget and advise the outcome to the finance controller
  • Attend all Grant Opening and Closing Meetings for all Field Office
  • Preparation of donor financial reports as per the donor agreements & contracts and ensuring donor regulations are adhered to for all aspects of the operations.
  • Active participation in Nairobi BvAs review meeting and providing feedback on all finance related action points and Closely monitor all grants to ensure
• Document Management
  • Review internal system of record retention to ensure compliance with IRC policy and the local laws.
  • Ensure maintenance of uniform standards for documentation; including forms, support documents etc.
  • Ensure sufficient procedures for retention of documents; proper and systematic filing for ease of access;
  • Control access to financial records to authorized staff only.

Key Result Areas

Strengthen and maintain the integrity of finance systems, ensuring smooth financial operations for supporting program work, updating and generating timely financial information to the management, donors, partners and other organizational levels.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Commerce or Finance with a recognized professional certificate in accounting such as CPA, or ACCA.
• Not less than 3 years at a senior level within the Finance Department of an international organization. Experience in the humanitarian sector will be an added advantage
• Extensive experience in working with computerized accounting systems, standard spreadsheet and database programs is an asset

Required Experience & Competencies:

• Good written and verbal skills in the English language.
• Must be comfortable in being a proactive member of the top-management team.  Must seek to identify and communicate potential problems and propose solutions to the level of management appropriate to effect solutions.
• Must be able to function effectively in a loosely structured, but complex work environment and to set appropriate priorities and deal effectively with numerous simultaneous requirements
• Ability to carry out responsibilities independently with minimal technical support from within the program organization.
• Must be a patient and good communicator who can function in an organizational environment involving a diversity of cultures, languages, and personal interests and agendas.
• Good at role of facilitator and team player in solving problems.
• Committed to staff training and development