Finance Team Leader - Borno State at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Overall purpose of the role:

Focal person for finance in office. Supports the preparation of financial statements and maintenance of cash controls. Works within the financial procedures of DRC, municipal policies, and procedures and in compliance with all national acts and legislation. The Finance Team leader support the Area Office and Finance Manager with reports for senior management in country.

Responsibilities:

Cash Management

• Ensure biweekly cash forecast are compiled for all departments and share with Support Services Manager and finance Manager before Thursday of the submission week (no supervision required).
• Anticipate the cash need for Maiduguri and communicate to finance Manager at least one week before the cash is needed (no supervision required; Coordination with field office Finance staff)
• Ensure adequate Petty cash is kept in Maiduguri office to cater small time expenditures as per the Finance procedures (no supervision required).
• Follow up on the bank liquidity to ensure compliance with DRC procedures.

Finance and Accounting Management:

• Follow up with staff and ensure the cash advances are settled within two weeks (Coordination with field office Finance staff and Support Services Manager/Finance Manager) and update the advances trackers which must be shared at monthly basis.
• Reconcile various pending advances in the ledger and ensure proper and timely settlement and reports to be submitted to Support Services Manager and Finance Manager by 10th of following month.
• Conduct weekly cash counts for Maiduguri office and submit cash count sheets by 4pm on Fridays to Support Services Manager, Finance specialist, Finance Manager (no supervision required)
• Prepare monthly cash counts for Maiduguri office on last working day of the month and submit to Support Services Manager and Finance Manager by 4pm on last working day of the month. (No supervision required)
• Prepare bank and cash reconciliation for Maiduguri for accuracy and completeness and send to Finance Manager by 4th of following month.
• Collect the commitments from the Procurement at monthly basis for budget availability monitoring purpose.
• Prepare or call over cash book for Maiduguri office as per the finance calendar (submission on 3rd of the following month) to Finance specialist and Finance Manager.
• Ensure payment request/documents are reviewed to ensure DRC/Donor documentation guidelines (Including checking of project code/budget line, availability of funds) are adhered, payments are finalized within three working days.
• Ensure payment documents and vouchers are scanned and sent to Country Office on or before June 30th and December 30 twice a year (Coordination with field office Finance staff and Support Services Manager/Finance Manager supervision)
• Ensure that statutory deductions are paid to relevant authorities monthly to avoid any penalties. (PAYE, Pension, NHF, NSITF, WHT, and others as applicable) and report to Finance specialist, Finance Manager and Support Services Manager after payments (no supervision required)
• Review all Order Request/Purchase Orders for proper coding and budget adequacy before approval. (No supervision required)
• In liaison with Logistics department, prepare commitment lists every month for financial obligations already entered but not captured in financial reports.
• Ensure the presence and compliance of the required supporting documentation for financial audits, in cooperation with the ERP finance specialist in Nigeria Mission.
• Assist the Finance Manager and Support Services Manager in the verification of the resources scheduling performed in the System in the state Offices of DRC under his/her responsibility.
• Coordinate the archiving on the share drive of all related dynamics supporting documents of the monthly accountancy in relation with the ERP Finance Specialist.
• Upload the offline G/L or PEX journals for non-Purchase Orders (POs) transactions of the Finance team of the base after reviewing the transactions in the journals against those in the cash books.
• Participate in audits preparation/execution (compilation of audit requirements)
• Provides feedback and enhances internal controls to satisfy audit requirements; takes part of providing data and records during the audit process; reports immediately on irregular spending to Finance/accounting specialist or Finance Manager as deemed appropriate.
• Contribute significantly to the Month End Reconciliation (MER) for the base entries in Dynamics

Budgetary management:

• Review Budget Follow Up/Transaction details for Maiduguri office in coordination with the relevant program managers to ensure postings are done correctly, overspendings are rebooked on monthly basis. Budget monitoring Status report to be submitted to Support Services Manager within seven working days from receipt of BFU/TDL (Support/Supervision from Finance specialist, Head of Base, Program/Project Managers)
• Review project work plan against finance forecast in coordination with the program staff on quarterly basis.
• Compile and prepare the finance details (analyse expenditure progress) for Maiduguri office for Quarterly/Annual review meetings.
• Assist Support Services Manager on budget preparations. (Training from Finance Manager)

Other:

• Serve as technical resource person for the Finance department and programme team for the base and subbases.
• Produce monthly and quarterly reports as required by management as and when required.
• Report to the Finance Manager/Support Services Manager any irregularities that occur within the DRC office, staff compound and sites on DRC policy and procedures.
• Follow any new procedures and guidelines designated in circulars from Country Director/Finance Manager/RO and HQ.
• Identify the technical problems encountered on the base of Maiduguri to be addressed by the management.
• Takes part of regular staff meeting and respects to the weekly task report in line with performance management.

Experience and technical competencies:

Essential:

• At least four years’ work experience in field of finance/accounting/bookkeeping in an NGO or the commercial sector.
• Excellent Computer Skills (MS Office, Internet) and an advanced proficiency in Excel are required.

Desirable:

• Excellent organizational skills, self-motivated, proactive, and able to accomplish set deadlines.
• Willing to meet deadlines with minimum supervision.
• Ability to prepare basic training modules on Dynamics, accounting, and finance management.

Education: University degree in Finance/Accounting/Commerce/Business Administration

Languages:Fluency in written and spoken English. Fluency in local spoken languages.