Job Description - Finance Officer
Scope: Tunisia, and Lebanon
Reports to: Regional Finance Manager (RFM)
Duration: one year, renewable based on funding and performance
Start date : February 2025
Duty Station: Tunis or Beirut
Hours: 4 days per week (32 hours per week)
Deadline : 22 December 2024
Job Context
Hivos is an international development organization guided by humanist values. Together with citizens and their organizations, we aim to contribute towards just, inclusive and life sustaining societies where people have equal access to opportunities, rights and resources. We work in partnership with others in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America on three impact areas: Civic Rights in a Digital Age; Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Climate Justice.
For more information about Hivos’ strategy and impact areas, refer to the following link: https://hivos.org/document/strategic-compass-2021-2024-concise-version/
Main goal of the position
The Finance Officer (FO) supports the program team in delivering program results.
The FO designs and prepares budgets and financial aspects of project plans and reports; administers the donor and partner contracts; keeps track of expenses and payments and manages the related cash flow and reporting schedules. The FO assesses budgets, financial statements and financial reports. They participate in participatory grantmaking processes, bringing their specific financial expertise. They also are able and willing to support partners in strengthening their financial administrative knowledge and capacities. The FO administers and reviews the income statements of projects implemented by Hivos, and supports the overarching Finance Manager, as well as Program Manager and Project Officers, and guides and capacity builds partners in North Africa region with their internal and external reporting obligations.
The FO ensures contracts with partners are signed, progress and deliverables are met, and payments are made timely and orderly.
The FO is responsible for upholding Hivos’ values and principles and translating them into practice. They coordinate the delivery of consolidated and sound country level financial plans and reports, that contain the budgets and reports of partners and Hivos.
Your responsibilities
Budget design:
- Prepares Hivos’ own activity and implementation budgets.
- Supports partners in developing financial plans as needed.
- Provides input and ideas to the overarching management team on financial formats and reporting schemes.
Participatory assessment
- Assesses financial-administrative aspects of organizational level and joint plans, in line with requirements and procedures, and prepares feedback and advice for improvements.
- Participates in participatory assessment teams, bringing in their specific financial-administrative knowledge.
- Share and Review partner assessment with RFM and discuss a capacity building plan if needed.
Capacity strengthening
- Conduct start up/inception sessions with partners to ensure contractual responsibilities are understood, and develop capacity building plan as required.
- Supports, guides and coaches partners in strengthening their financial-administrative capacities.
- In regular communication with partners to respond to questions relevant to funded programs.
Partner contract management & financial monitoring
- Prepares contracts with partners, in coordination with the project officer and in line with agreed plans
- Administers funding-streams, and monitors implementation of budgets contracts in terms of ‘rights and obligations’ to comply with.
- Follows-up on reporting cycles and prepares internal and external financial program and project statements.
- Assesses financial reports and supporting documentation of partners, and ensures compliance with donor guidelines and requirements
- Holds regular meetings with partners to ensure financial requirements and other risk-based grant management procedures are being met, and any project-affected issues are discussed and resolved.
Income statements
- Reviews and administers revenue and expenditure and income statements for individual implementation contracts assigned to Hivos, according to donor and Hivos regulations and procedures
Quality improvement
- Advises and supports the overarching management team about the improvement of formats and ways of working, in order to enhance accounting and reporting methods and capabilities on both the organization and the individual level.
- Participates or leads queries or investigations related to identified cases of irregularities or fraud.
Donor Reporting & Audit Support
- Prepares financial reports for external auditors and donors and coordinates project audits from start to finish, including being available to answer questions and communicate directly with partners on requests.
Local Compliance
- Liaise with relevant authorities and financial institutions to ensure Hivos is compliant with local tax and legal regulations.
Systems support (All Solutions)
- Enters all relevant financial data into the project administration system
Office management & other support
- Support office set-up, oversee petty cash management and liaise with relevant Tunisian authorities and financial institutions to ensure Hivos is compliant with local tax and legal regulations.
- Supports/leads on other programs when there is work overload and covers absences for other finance staff within MENA as needed.
- Supports non-program related tasks as may be requested by GO Finance if required
- Other tasks as requested by RFM and project FM.
Your profile
This position is for nationals or residents of Tunisia or Lebanon only:
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business economics or related / similar field.
- At least 5 years of relevant working experience, several years of which with international organizations.
- Knowledge and previous/current experience working on programs funded by US government, EU, SIDA, and Dutch Ministry.
- Extensive experience working with partner grant-management, project financial monitoring & management and compliance experience.
- Previous experience with supporting or leading an audit required.
- Previous experience with supporting or leading a project closure.
- Capacity building experience vis-à-vis local & national partners required.
- Work experience in complex operational environments and with a range of external stakeholders.
- Previous/current work experience in an international environment, with an international organization is a must.
- Able to work with colleagues and stakeholders from a diverse background, and cultures.
- Fluent in spoken and written English, Arabic, and French required.
- High level of computer literacy with sound knowledge of financial accounting software and spreadsheet packages
- Able to travel both internationally and domestically as requested.
- Job skills: collaborative & communicative, proactive, structured and organized, flexible, can work independently & remotely with teams, able to meet deadlines, able to multi-task, strong team player & culturally sensitive.
What we offer
We offer a one-year commitment in stimulating work environment in a professional international organization with very dedicated staff. We offer a national contract based on Hivos local labor conditions, with remuneration commensurate with the experience and expertise. Contract renewable depending on performance and funding.
