Finance Team Leader at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Location: Mubi, Adamawa
Type of Contract (Expat/National/Trainee): National
Employment Period: 1 year
Department/Country: Nigeria
Reporting to: Area Manager Adamawa
Supervised by: Finance Coordinator

Background

• Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has had an operational presence in Nigeria since 2015. DRC Nigeria is the largest DRC country mission in the West Africa region and one of the largest DRC country missions globally.
• Currently, DRC delivers life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable, conflict-affected populations including internally displaced persons, returnees, and host communities in the areas of armed violence reduction, humanitarian mine action, livelihoods, nutrition and food security, protection, shelter and non-food items (NFI) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in 30+ Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in northeast Nigeria.

Purpose

• The Finance Team Leader will be the focal point for finance in the Mubi office, supporting the preparation of financial statements and maintaining cash controls through direct implementation, delegation of duties, and oversight of the Finance team distributed in Mubi, Yola, and Abuja offices.
• S/He works within the financial procedures of DRC, municipal policies, and procedures and in compliance with national acts and legislation. The Finance Team leader reports to the Area Manager, with strong technical links with the country-level Finance Coordinator.
• The below tasks should be able to be conducted with little or no supervision required.

Key Responsibilities
Cash Management:

• Ensure weekly cash forecast/requirements are compiled for departments and shared with Area Manager by 3pm on Fridays (no supervision required)
• Follow up with the bank on receipt of funds from Yola Office in coordination with field office and Finance staff.
• Coordinate the cash needs for Mubi, Yola and Abuja with program and support teams, and communicate to the Finance Coordinator at least one week prior to receipt.
• Ensure adequate petty cash is kept in Mubi, Yola and Abuja offices to cater to small-time expenditures as per Finance procedures.
• Ensure weekly cash counts are conducted for Mubi, Yola and Abuja, and submit cash count sheets on Friday afternoons to the Area Manager and Finance Coordinator.
• Prepare monthly cash counts for Mubi, Yola, and Abuja offices on the last working day of the month and submit to Area Manager and Finance Coordinator by 4 pm on the last working day of the month.

Accounting Management:

• Ensure cash advances are settled within two weeks and that the cash advance tracker is updated in coordination with Finance staff. Reconcile pending advances in ledger and ensure proper and timely settlement and reports to be submitted to Area Manger and Finance Coordinator by 10th of the following month.
• Prepare bank reconciliations for Mubi, Yola and Abuja offices for accuracy and completeness, and send to Finance Coordinator by 3rd of the following month.
• Update commitment cash book in coordination with HR/Administration, Procurement/Logistics departments, bi-weekly to ensure all Finance obligations are entered. 
• Ensure preparation of cash book for Mubi, Yola and Abuja offices as per the finance calendar to Finance Coordinator.
• Ensure payment requests/documents are reviewed to ensure DRC/Donor documentation guidelines (project code/budget line, availability of funds) are adhered to, and that payments are finalized within three working days.
• Ensure that all supporting documents or vouchers are attached to transactions recorded in Dynamics.
• Ensure payment documents and vouchers are scanned, sent to Country Office on or before 15th of the following month, and that vouchers or other supporting documentation is uploaded onto the shared drive.
• Ensure that statutory monthly deductions are paid to relevant authorities (PAYE, Pension, NHF, NSITF, WHT, and others as applicable) and report to Finance Coordinator and Area Manager after payments
• Review order requests/purchase orders for proper coding and budget adequacy before approval.
• In liaison with the logistics department, prepare commitment lists every month for financial obligations already entered but not captured in financial reports.
• Ensure that Adamawa annual return taxes are filled, with supporting documentation archived for Tax verificatory review when needed.

Budget Management:

• Review Budget Follow Up/Transaction details for Mubi, Yola and Abuja offices and in case of incorrect postings, conduct monthly rebooking. Submit Budget Monitoring Status reports to the Area Manager within seven working days from receipt of BFU/TDL
• Review project work plans against finance forecast in coordination with program staff on a quarterly basis.
• Compile and prepare the finance details (analyze expenditure progress) for Mubi, Yola and Abuja offices for Quarterly/Annual review meetings.
• Assist the Area Manager on budget preparations.
• Support the Area Manager in regular budget monitoring the ensure that the budget lines in Adamawa are not under- or over-spent.

Audit and Compliance:

• Contribute to field and HQ audit preparation in Adamawa.
• Ensure that payment documents are adequately vetted as per DRC internal procedures and the finance checklist. Flag compliance concerns to the Area Manager and Finance Coordinator.
• Update the tax remittance tracker on a monthly basis and share it with Area Manager and Finance Coordinator. 
• Ensure that the self-compliance check for Adamawa and Abuja are updated on a quarterly basis.

Staff Management:

• Supervise Finance Team in Mubi, Yola, and Abuja offices (Finance Officers and Assistants).
• Provide technical and programmatic leadership for Finance Officers and Assistants, and other stakeholders as necessary.
• Set performance objectives and annual appraisal for Finance Team.
• Promote financial concepts such as Value for Money and other positive budget management ideals with teams.

Other:

• Act as the focal point for Finance in the office
• Serve as a technical resource person for the Finance department.
• Produce monthly and quarterly reports as required by Finance Coordinator/Management as required.
• Assist in budget preparation at the field level.
• Report to the Finance Coordinator and Area 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 Coordinator/RO and HQ. 
• The responsibilities listed in the JD are not exhaustive and may be readjusted according to operational needs but will remain in line with the overall purpose of the role.
• The responsibilities listed in the JD are not exhaustive and may be readjusted according to operational needs, but will remain in line with the overall purpose of the role.

Experience and Technical Competencies
Include years of experience:

Essential:

• University Degree in Finance/Accounting/Commerce/Business Administration.
• Four (4) or more years' experience in the field of finance/accounting/bookkeeping management in an INGO or the commercial sector.
• Hands-on experience/skills in MS Excel, with demonstrated experience in working with formulas
• Good experience in accounting software, with ERP Dynamics a distinct advantage.
• Detail-oriented, highly organized and practices strict adherence to timelines
• Excellent analytical, team management skills and a problem-solving attitude
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Possessing a strong degree of honesty and integrity, and a solid sense of ethics including the ability to appropriately handle confidential information.

Desirable:

• Two (2) years of work experience in people supervision and leadership skills in an INGO.
• Excellent organizational skills, self-motivated, proactive, and able to accomplish set deadlines.
• Able to meet deadlines with minimum supervision
• Ability to prepare basic training modules on Dynamics, accounting, and finance management.
• Ability to work collaboratively with supply chain and other departments for compliance issues identified.

Required Skills & Qualities:

• Core Competencies of DRC:
  • Striving for excellence
  • Collaboration
  • Taking the lead
  • Communication
  • Demonstrating Integrity
• Ability to work in a multinational and multicultural environment
• Proactivity, with a sound commitment to teamwork and with a spirit of genuine collaboration
• Excellent communication skills, as well as patience and politeness, are required
• Multi-tasking and Organizational skills is a must
• Adaptable and Flexible
• Proven analytical and critical thinking skills
• Exemplary sense of ethics in the workplace
• Team-oriented & good sense of humor.

Salary and Conditions

• Salary: M-G Step 0
• In accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment.
• The income will be subject to statutory deductions as per applicable Nigeria laws. The employee is responsible for the tax returns.