Senior Administrators, Country Offices Cordaid

Cordaid believes in a world without poverty and exclusion. We strive for just and sustainable societies 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 divide societies, we connect people and communities. We stand for professionalism, expertise and solidarity across borders. We aim at maximizing our social impact and contributing to systemic change. We operate where natural disasters strike, where conflicts tear up communities and where lack of opportunities and service delivery keep families in extreme poverty.

Cordaid is one of the leading CSO’s in the Netherlands, working in fragile contexts on Health, Resilience, Economic opportunities, Humanitarian aid and Security & Justice. Apart from our work abroad we also contribute to new forms of job creation and social innovation in The Netherlands.

Cordaid is a member of the international Catholic networks Caritas and CIDSE and we are active in worldwide civil society networks.

For several Country Offices in stressful complex and fragile settings Cordaid is looking for

Senior Administrators

Introduction

We work in around 20 countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia. In 10 of those countries we have program and project offices. Cordaid is optimizing subsidiarity between Head and Country offices. In the shift from grant giving to grant seeking organisation operations in the countries become more and more complex. Consortia with different stakeholders plus a multitude of donors and formats and rules and regulations need to be monitored. Reinforcing the capacity in the offices in view of taking on more responsibilities requires high level qualified senior financial staff willing and able to work in difficult fragile contexts were Cordaid works with own staff in DR Congo, South Sudan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Iraq Philippines and Ethiopia.

Position and responsibility

The Senior Administrator, as Head of the Finance unit, is responsible for all aspects of overall financial management, as well as administration for all operations of Cordaid in one of those countries.

The Administrator is part of the Country Management Team and reports to the Director Country Office.

He/she will work closely with colleagues based in the office and in some countries sub offices as well as with Cordaid HQ in The Netherlands, including the HQ-based Financial Controllers. He/she will also liaise with representatives and financial officers of counterpart partner organizations. Cordaid is optimizing working in a project organization. Therefor on some projects also directly link with different project leaders.

General objective of the posting

The Senior Administrator is responsible for managing the accounts receivables and payables of the organization. He also develops the organization’s budget, prepares financial reports and is involved in directing its investment activities. The administrator is also responsible for planning the organization’s long-term financial goals and protecting assets.

Specific objectives

Budgets

In collaboration with relevant Program Staff, project leaders and Country Director:

• Prepare budgets, both for (externally financed) projects as well as support units, on annual basis or other frequency, as may be appropriate;

• On basis of budget performance, prepare budget revisions for approval to relevant parties;

• Carry out regular budget monitoring (budget vs expenditure) and advice relevant staff and Country Director, pro-actively and on request, on all areas of attention on budget performance and the office’s cost recovery;

• Prepare and maintain cash flow forecast based on the various budgets.

Daily financial management

• Coordinates the activities of, and provides advice and guidance to, the financial staff in the Cordaid offices elsewhere in the country;

• Ensures that cash- and bank balances are sufficient at all times, which will include complete and timely cash requests to the head offices in the Netherlands;

• Ensures that procurement requests meet with financial requirements and are supported by provision in the (relevant) budgets;

• Reviews all requests for payment and verifies that these are compliant with regulations before signing off;

• Ensures that invoices are paid timely and correctly;

• Maintains an up-to-date overview of outstanding liabilities (including services and/or goods provided but not yet paid) at all times;

• Monitors and manages balance accounts including suspense accounts, advances, etc.;

• Ensures that the finance officer responsible for maintaining petty cash has a sufficient balance and that all transactions are supported by supporting documentation;

• Is first point of contact with the Bank and maintains regular contact;

• Reviews all draft contracts for financial correctness;

• Facilitates the activities of internal and external auditors when reviewing the accounts of Cordaid office.

Reporting

• Prepares timely monthly financial reports in accordance with internal procedures, for approval to the Director Country Offices, which includes cash- and bank reconciliation, budget depletion overviews, balance accounts, transaction sheets, and cash request for the forthcoming period;

• Prepares financial reports for external donors in accordance with donor agreements, ensures that these are complete and compatible with narrative reporting;

• Provides staff with budget or financial information upon request;

• Prepares any other financial report as may be required.

Other

• Is responsible, in close collaboration with the Director Country Offices and program heads, for the financial wellbeing (stability, liquidity, sustainability) of Cordaid office;

• Maintains a solid understanding of all Cordaid financial rules and regulations, as laid down in the Field Manuel and other official documentation, and ensures that all Cordaid staff acts in accordance with these;

• Pro-actively provides advice to Management on areas of suggested improvement in financial management;

• Provides advice to partner organisations on financial matters in relation to Cordaid support;

• Develops partner capacity building programmes;

• Any other assignment that can reasonably be asked from the position.

Qualifications

• Degree in financial management;

• At least seven years’ experience in working with an INGO, of which at least five in a senior

  financial position;

• Good and proven experience with working with various external (institutional) donors like UN, EC, Global Fund, Worldbank;

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;

• Strong organiser of one’s own work (knowing how to prioritise);

• Strong communication skills;

• Be diplomatic, culturally sensitive, result-oriented, innovative and a strong team player;

• Excellent English and or French writing and communication skills;

• Computer skills to include a solid working knowledge of Excel, including the usage of complex formulas;

• Work experience in fragile, stressful, settings;

• Proficiency in financial software, including Pastel/Sage and Dynamics will be desirable; Experience in managing finance teams of over 5 people;

• Experience in managing partner organisations.

Specifics of duty station

The Senior Administrator will be based in one of the Cordaid offices. Occasional travel to other project areas, security permitting, will occasionally be required. Most of the duty stations are non-accompanied posting.

Contract information

The contract period is for 12 months starting as soon as possible, with the intention to extend for a longer period. We offer a Cordaid contract with a competitive salary and a benefit package which includes R&R, a comprehensive insurance cover, social security and pension contribution, a holiday allowance, 13^th month, hardship allowance and cost of living allowance (if applicable).

Further information & how to apply

Applications including a motivation letter and extensive CV in English, including the contact details of at least three professional references, should be forwarded on attn. of mr. Remco van der Veen before 15 March 2017**.** An assessment might be part of the procedure.

Please note that we accept applications through our website only, https://www.cordaid.org/en/about-us/working-cordaid/vacancy-overview/international/?cd_job_id=76738