Finance and Admin Officer at Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (Cordaid)

Post:  Finance and administration officer (Nigerian national)
 Organization:   Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (Cordaid)
 Duty station:   Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Organizational Background
Cordaid believes in a world without poverty and exclusion. We strive for a just and sustainable society where every person counts. We stand for knowledge and talent sharing between North and South, between farmers and businesses, between activists and policymakers. Where poverty, conflict and exclusion tear up societies, we connect people and communities. We also stand for professionalism, expertise and solidarity across borders, to make a difference where it is most needed. Together with more than 400 partner organizations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America we structurally improve the living conditions of the poorest and most excluded populations - the bottom billion. Our programmes focus on, among others, health, disaster response, entrepreneurship, investments, food security, women’s leadership, security & justice, and extractives.
 
Extractives programme
The objective of Cordaid’s Extractives programme is to ensure that the exploitation of extractives (oil, gas and minerals) contributes positively to local community development, to increase the number of companies operating as responsible corporate citizens and to increase good national and transnational governance of the benefits of extractives. To this end, Cordaid supports local communities and civil society to become informed, legitimate and capacitated partners in negotiations with international oil, gas and mining companies and governments. Our work is centered around four main product areas: contextualization, stakeholder engagement, community development agreements, and monitoring and evaluation. We provide grant management, project management, advocacy, training and education, as well as technical advice and consultancy.
Cordaid has been active in Nigeria since 2004 with a variety of programmes. Since January 2013, Cordaid’s activities in Nigeria focus exclusively on extractives with a strong focus on civil society capacity-building via technical advice, accompaniment, lobby & advocacy, linking & learning as well as strategic financing. We work with a broad range of local partner organisations primarily in the Niger Delta states, supported by a team of advisors, project officers and a programme manager based at Cordaid Headquarters (HQ) in The Hague, the Netherlands. To better support this programme, Cordaid is now opening an office in Port Harcourt and is currently seeking to recruit a finance and administration officer.
General objective of the position
The incumbent of the post is directly responsible for all financial and administrative tasks and procedures as well as the logistics of the office in Port Harcourt, and is required to perform the following specific duties and
 
Responsibilities:
Finance
To prepare regular finance reports on budget performance (income and expenditures overviews) and position of liquidity (bank and cash balances);
To prepare budgets in coordination with management;
To record and maintain financial transactions (accounting) including recording receipts and disbursements such as ledgers, cash books, vouchers and the like;
To safeguard proper use of internal control procedures including the monthly reconciliation and control of bank and cash balances and reconciling data for recurring or special reports;
To draft the annual accounts of the office;
To liaise with the independent auditor(s);
To manage all petty cash transactions and maintain records of these disbursements and balance accounts as required;
To maintain contacts with local banks for verifying accounts status, collecting bank statements, verifying currency exchange rates and similar direct transactions;
To process payments by issuing payment vouchers and checks.

Administration
To arrange and maintain proper filing system and archive;
To ensure the local tax matters, including income tax, payroll taxes and other taxes are adequately handled in compliance with the laws of Nigeria.
 
Logistics
To undertake office administrative and logistical tasks such as visa applications, work permit, tax exemption applications, domestic and international flights arrangements, accommodation, bookings, airport pick-ups, office purchases and transport/ logistics of Cordaid staff and consultants as required;
To keep record of documentation of vehicles of the office;
To check the logbooks of the vehicles;
To procure and supply of daily needs for the office and programmes.
 
Competencies
Knowledge and use of accounting software;
Computer literate, thorough knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook);
Ability to establish priorities according to workload, to plan and be able to deliver to deadlines;
Ability to work in a small multicultural team environment;
Knowledge of NGO/INGO financial rules and regulations will be considered an asset.
 
Qualifications
Academic degree (bachelor’s or higher) or equivalent in accounting and/or finance; certification such as ACCA, CPA or any other relevant education is a must;
Experience working with GAAP or IFRS and knowledge of Nigerian statutory accounting standards is a must;
Minimum of 6 years experience in accounting and administration tasks and responsibilities;
Fluency in written and spoken English;
Experience working with a local or international NGO is desirable;
Proven experience in office management, logistics and procurement work;
Proven experience with ICT and relevant accounting software packages such as AccountView or Pastel;
Communicative, analytical and problem solving personality;
Be diplomatic, culturally sensitive, result-oriented and a team player.
 
 
 Specifics of duty station
The finance and administration officer will be based at Cordaid’s new office in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. You will be part of a professional and dedicated small team that works to make a difference.The officer will report to the programme manager in Port Harcourt, and receive advice and practical support from the financial advisor at Cordaid HQ in the Netherlands. The position is to be filled by a Nigerian national.
 
Contract information
Initial contract for 12 months, renewable, with a 3-month probation period. Starting date early/mid-September 2013. We offer a Cordaid contract with a competitive salary and a benefit package which includes comprehensive insurance cover, social security, pension contribution and a travel allowance.
 
Further information & how to apply
For additional information, please contact Josée van der Beek, Recruiter. Phone: +31 70 3136 300.
Applications including a motivation letter and extensive CV in English, including the contact details of at least three professional references, should be submitted before 11 August 2013.. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.  An assessment might be part of the procedure.
 
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