Humanitarian Action/IPD Finance Advisor at SOS Children Villages

The eligible candidate is required to possess the under listed skills in addition to role specific requirements.

• Understanding the NGO/INGO sector is preferred.
• Excellent understanding of children's rights and child protection issues.
• Awareness and basic understanding of issues affecting orphans & vulnerable children, such as the causes of vulnerability (e.g. HIV & AIDS, gender discrimination, poverty, etc.), local and national responses, etc.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English – other languages, an asset.
• Strong analytical and reporting skills, including ability to identify problems and possible solutions, and ability to clearly reflect these in a report.
• Good communication skills and People development skills, including facilitation, coaching and mentoring skills, to build the capacities of co-workers from partner organizations; as well as of children and their caregivers, and other community members.
• Collaboration skills, being driven to work with others and able to build strong working relationships with community members and groups.
• Fluent in at least one of the local languages spoken in the Programme’s target communities.
• Ability and willingness to travel as required within and between project/programme locations.
• Ability to work successfully in a cross-cultural, team-based environment.
• Strong use of MS Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Office 365.

Role and Responsibilities

• Financial, budgetary and accounting management: He/she will manage under the supervision of the Finance and Controlling Manager all aspects of financial, budgetary and accounting management for grants of the MA.
• Coordination: under the supervision of the Finance and Controlling Manager he/she centralizes and diffuses information within the MA for financial aspects of the MA, and consolidates the internal and external reporting for this domain.
• Technical supervision: He/she will provide technical support and supervision to the Finance team within the MA as required.
• Administration and Legal management: In line with HR policy, he/she supervises the administrative records and guarantee that the status and functioning of the MA are in accordance with the legislation and requirement of applicable laws of Nigeria.

Specific Objectives and Activities
Accounting:

• To check all spending commitments and any purchase of the grant projects before forwarding it to the Finance and Controlling Manager for validation.
• To follow up all transactions and posted appropriately in Dynamics 365 system
• To make recommendations for the update of financial policy & procedures where required.
• To be responsible for documentation(i.e. update written procedures) and dissemination among the relevant staff(training), in collaboration with Finance and Controlling Manager.
• Ensure that existing financial procedures are followed in MA.
• Under Finance and Controlling Manager  supervision, He/she ensures that all resources of the MA are allocated on the projects.
• Accountable for the MA’s financial documentation on grants and sending to IOR.
• To prepare monthly accounting and sending to IOR.

Finance:

• He/she will manage the monthly budget follow-up process at MA level for grants, under the supervision of the Finance and Controlling Manager.
• He/she will ensure that all Managers (Budget line holders) manage their budgets correctly, that the budget forecasts are up-to-date and donor rules respected.
• He/she will participate at the monthly budget verse actuals update on all grant and at National office and at Locations.
• He/she will provide advice and technical assistance in cost analysis and budget preparation.
• Based on the analysis he/she will suggest adjustments to the budgets as needed.
• He/she will review project budgets developed by the bases within the framework for proposed operations and ensure that they follow the procedures of each donor and implementation partner.
• He/She will ensure throughout each project/grant that funds are allocated correctly and in respect of the contractual framework as regards rules of eligibility (date, purchasing procedures, etc.).
• He/she will prepare the external financial reports which he/she sends for validation to the Finance and Controlling Manager.
• He/ She will be in charge of updating the Budget Monitoring tool for National office and of reviewing the one related to each Location.
• He/She will be in charge of the financial follow-up for procurement for grants under the supervision of the Finance and Controlling Manager and of the update of the Budget monitoring tool.

Audits and Compliance:

• Coordinate with the internal audit unit in strengthening compliance.
• Support preparations for external audit, ensuring all queries are properly attended in a timely manner.
• Follow-up to ensure that all audit exceptions are implemented to further strengthen  internal control in compliance with SOS Children’s villages in Nigeria’s procedures.

Cash Flow:

• He/She establishes the provisional cash flow/RFT with the teams at location and transmits the requests to the Finance and Controlling Manager.
• He/She ensures that the amount of cash flow for the MA is sufficient for the requirements in the various projects/grants over the period, taking into account possible donor payments carried out locally in these transfer requests via STS.

Coordination:

• He/She ensures an efficient circulation of information to NO and location teams.
• He/She drafts or participates in the drafting of internal activity reports for everything dealing with financial, budgetary, issues for the MA.
• He/She ensures the finance coordination at MA level by periodic visits to the locations for controls, monitoring, training, etc

Training Capacity Building & team Management:

• He/she will carry out training for the finance departments.
• Coaching for the finance and program departments on budget.
• Coaching for the finance and program departments on Budget monitoring
• Capacity building of finance team on Budget monitoring tool update.
• Follow up and ensure Budget Monitoring meeting is done every month at all levels within the MA.
• Training and coaching of finance team on budget management issues.
• Review and formalize MA-specific finance procedures.
• Under the overall support of the Chief Finance Officer and in collaboration with the Finance and HR Managers take part in monitoring the administrative and legal aspects of project.
• The tasks and responsibilities defined in this job description are non-exhaustive and can evolve depending on the project’s needs.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

The ideal candidate should have the following qualifications;

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or other related management field. Master’s degree is a plus.
• Certification: Chartered Accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CPA) desired.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in humanitarian program finance, with at least 1 year in a leadership role. 
• Strong understanding of humanitarian principles, standards, and practices
• Proven ability to manage complex task in high-pressure environments
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools.
• Data Confidentiality: Understanding data confidentiality principles is compulsory.
• Safeguarding Policy: The HUMANITARIAN ACTION/IPD FINANCE ADVISOR ensures that all tasks are in compliance with the Safeguarding Policy Implementation in the Organization.

Other qualities include.

• Strategic thinker with analytical problem-solving abilities.
• Comfortable approaching and engaging with people.
• Strong commitment to ethical administrative practices.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Reliable and responsible with a strong sense of accountability.
• Energetic and vibrant, with a warm friendly disposition.
• Enthusiasm for the SOSCVN’s mission and values.

Key Competences

• Leadership and decision-Making
• Strategic Planning and Execution
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity
• Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution
• Teamwork and Collaboration