Finance Officer at Oxfam

Internal Job Grade: D2
Contract type: 1 Year fixed term
Reporting to: Finance Administrator
Staff reporting directly to this post: None
Key relationships/interactions: Project Monitoring Unit (PMU)

Team Purpose

• To promote agriculture-driven economic growth and improve the living conditions for 10,000 rural farmer households (60% women) with a specific focus on women and youth.

Job Purpose

• To implement and monitor all financial aspects of the project, including the management of financial risks, to ensure that financial procedures are adhered to and non-compliance challenged, to provide financial information and monitoring to project staff and partners. To work closely with the Country Finance Teams to provide quality financial information, process payments and maintain comprehensive accounting records.

Job Responsibilities
Financial Planning, Budgeting and reporting:

• Assist in preparation of the budget for the project.
• Support in review of budgets, activity plans and partnership agreements to ensure compliance with donor requirements and Oxfam policies and procedures.
• Assist with regular forecasting of project budget utilisation and in effectively managing the resources for the respective projects.
• Prepare accurate, complete, and consistent financial accounts, comments and supporting documentation.
• Supports on the finance implementation of projects.
• Support the preparation of monthly financial progress reports (budget monitoring reports)
• Support and guide programme team on all relevant finance issues regarding project management.

Financial Transaction and Cash Management:

• Ensure the management of cash and treasury including timely and accurate payments of suppliers and locally hired short and long-term staff.
• Ensure cash and banks accounts are regularly reconciled.
• Support logistics on maintenance of project’s inventory, capital equipment and issues related to office management
• Ensure detailed and accurate records of all financial transactions are maintained physically and electronically (Pastel, SAP, Box) in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
• Check accuracy, completeness and validity of financial data before payment and posting into Finance system.
• Review payment vouchers to ensure that correct budget codes are charged and also approvals have been made with appropriate delegated authority.

Financial Control & Risk Management:   

• Support the implementation of risk mitigation strategies in order to mitigate loss or fraud.
• Carry out financial/ compliance risk assessment of financial and organisational systems of partner organisations according to Oxfam’s partner assessment tools, in line with donor requirements.
• Proactively review and identify any potential issues which would interfere with reporting requirements and/or meeting compliance standards and take appropriate action to resolve them.
• Maintain an effective reports monitoring system, ensuring adherence to Oxfam policies and procedures on partner management.

Donor and Partner Management:

• Proactively review and identify any potential issues which would interfere with reporting requirements and/or meeting compliance standards and take appropriate action to resolve them.
• Visit partner organisations to fully understand the context and operating environment they work in to ensure effective support is provided.
• Review partner financial reports monthly and ensure application of appropriate standards for financial accountability on a monthly basis, flagging any issues/ challenges in due time for management information and action.
• Participate in regular meetings with partner organisations to ensure that the working relationship between them and Oxfam is positive, open and conducive to the successful achievement of agreed objectives.

Other:

• Eager and required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values (click here) as well as the promotion of gender justice and women's rights (click here).
• Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles.

Job Requirements
Education:

• A Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or any relevant equivalent degree.
• ICAN or ACCA qualification will be an added advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible and directly relevant professional experience, such as finance, accounting, grants management - ideally with at least three (3) years with an International NGO.
• Ability to understand and implement the government tax & VAT laws.
• Proven knowledge of computerised systems and demonstrable experience of working with computerized accounting packages and spreadsheets.

Skills & Abilities:

• Excellent organization skills and flexible approach to planning comprehensively, managing and prioritizing effectively a high workload and multiple tasks and deadline
• Ability to adjust to constantly changing situations while maintaining focus on delivery and follow-through
• Good analytical and conceptual thinking skills with a proven proactive approach to identifying and resolving problems and suggesting improvements that continuously seek to provide a better service to Oxfam.
• Excellent personal communication skills, in written and verbal English and  at least one main local language widely spoken in Northern Nigeria.
• Ability to represent Oxfam in a professional and competent manner with external individuals and organisations
• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities.
• Ability to demonstrate an openness and willingness to learn about the application of gender/gender mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity for all aspects of development work.
• Commitment to Oxfam’s safeguarding policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible.

Organisational Values:

• Accountability – Our purpose-driven, results-focused approach means we take responsibility for our actions and hold ourselves accountable. We believe that others should also be held accountable for their actions.
• Empowerment – Our approach means that everyone involved with Oxfam, from our staff and supporters to people living in poverty, should feel they can make change happen.
• Inclusiveness – We are open to everyone and embrace diversity. We believe everyone has a contribution to make, regardless of visible and invisible differences.

Key Behavioral Competencies

• Decisiveness: We are comfortable to make transparent decisions and to adapt decision making modes to the context and needs.
• Influencing: We have the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders in a way that leads to increased impact for the organization We spot opportunities to influence effectively and where there are no opportunities, we have the ability to create them in a respectful and impactful manner.
• Humility: We put ‘we’ before ‘me’ and place an emphasis on the power of the collective, nurture the team and play to the strengths of each individual. We are not concerned with hierarchical power, and we engage with, trust and value the knowledge and expertise of others across all levels of the organization.
• Relationship Building: We understand the importance of building relationship, within and outside the organization. We have the ability to engage with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders in ways that lead to increased impact for the organization.
• Listening: We are good listeners who can see where deeper levels of thoughts and tacit assumptions differ. Our messages to others are clear and consider different preferences.
• Mutual Accountability: We can explain our decisions and how we have taken them based on our organizational values.  We are ready to be held to account for what we do and how we behave, as we are also holding others to account in a consistent manner.
• Agility, Complexity, and Ambiguity:  We scan the environment, anticipate changes, are comfortable with lack of clarity and deal with a large number of elements interacting in diverse and unpredictable ways.
• Systems Thinking: We view problems as parts of an overall system and in their relation to the whole system, rather than reacting to a specific part, outcome or event in isolation. We focus on cyclical rather than linear cause and effect. By consistently practicing systems thinking we are aware of and manage well unintended consequences of organizational decisions and actions.
• Strategic Thinking and Judgment: We use judgment, weighing risk against the imperative to act. We make decisions consistent with organizational strategies and values.
• Vision Setting: We have the ability to identify and lead visionary initiatives that are beneficial for our organization and we set high-level direction through a visioning process that engages the organization and diverse external stakeholders.
• Self-Awareness: We are able to develop a high degree of self-awareness around our own strengths and weaknesses and our impact on others. Our self-awareness enables us to moderate and self-regulate our behaviors to control and channel our impulses for good purposes.
• Enabling: We all work to effectively empower and enable others to deliver the organizations goals through creating conditions of success. We passionately invest in others by developing their careers, not only their skills for the job.  We provide freedom; demonstrate belief and trust provide appropriate support.