Partnership Finance Coordinator

Job Description

Terms of reference (TOR)

Position: Partnership Finance Coordinator

Reports To: Country Finance Manager

Location: Juba – South Sudan, with travels to field Offices

ABOUT RI

Relief International is a leading nonprofit organization working in 16 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty.

Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach — which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships, and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

RI believes that gender equality is a basic right for all people, and it is critical to directly address gender-based discrimination and promote gender equality in order to ensure sustainable development.

Position Summary:

The Partnership Finance Coordinator is responsible for effective periodical review of records for Local and International partners’ adherence to Sub-grant agreement terms and conditions. Review and consolidate partner’s financial reports, fund requests and budget in a timely and up to a high standard.

Position Responsibilities and Duties:

Key responsibilities

· Ensure an effective periodical review of records for Local and International partners’ adherence to Sub-grant agreement terms and conditions.

· Consolidate UNICEF financial reports, fund requests and budget of partners in a timely and up to a high standard.

· Ensure the maintenance of high standard filing of all financial and accounting deliverables to ensure ease of access during internal/external audit

· Support RI and Sub-grantee staff in financial compliance matters.

· Provide capacity building for all partner’s finance staff

· Monitor budget utilization (BVA) of the partners pertaining to the relevant grant and take appropriate action on any significant variances with support from programs department.

· Ensure partner transactions are booked monthly and timely on NetSuite before period close out.

Manage partnership Compliance System:

• Ensure the proper systems (process and tools) for monitoring of compliance are set up during the planning, implementation and close-out stage of the grant.
• Managing the financial aspects of RI’s role as implementing partner in the partnership delivering the program in line with donor requirements and partnerships’ agreed policies & procedures with support from the Finance manager.
• Ensure that financial, logistics and HR management systems & records from all the partners are adequate in order to identify and protect the assets & interest of the partnership.
• Undertake regular compliance visits in order to assess the compliance of financial, HR and logistics systems of partners & put forward recommendation for improvements where appropriate with support from HR and Operations department.
• Participate in the review, monitoring and capacity building of partners.
• Ensure that local partner finance reports are thoroughly reviewed in coordination with the level of risk assessed in the respective agency.
• Check the maintenance of a good filing system for all financial and accounting deliverables to ensure ease of access during internal/external audit.

Financial Control/Risk Management

• Contribute to the development of risk register on financial, logistics and HR points, and review it on an ongoing basis developing and improving appropriate controls to mitigate the risk as appropriate in compliance with donor policies and procedures.
• Maintain an effective & efficient system of internal controls which comply with the partnership financial guidelines to minimize the risk of fraud or misappropriation.
• Ensure that all financial records & accounts are compiled timely, accurately and in line with international accounting standards & donor regulations.
• Ensure that sub-grant related processes and procedures are standardized and consistently implemented throughout the program, including pre-award compliance checks, agreements, disbursements, reporting and partner capacity-building.
• Work with partners to ensure that relevant donor procurement rules are followed for the grants with periodical reviews of the procurement plans.
• Provide support to partners to ensure consistent compliance with the terms of sub-grant agreements, including financial management and compliance with donor regulations, as needed.

Financial Reporting

• Review and consolidate UNICEF financial reports, fund requests and budget of partners in a timely and up to a high standard.
• Monitor budget utilization of the partners and take appropriate action on any significant variances.
• Manage budget and maintain accounting records for the RI and partner financial reports for the project.
• Provide financial analysis where necessary especially on maximizing available funds and value for money.

Other

• Supervise finance operations to ensure adequate support is provided to field teams, ensure adequate structure and capacity in field offices to provide effective support to programs.
• Proactively identifies and acts upon deficiencies and areas for improvement in the Finance team, providing training and other capacity building where necessary to ensure that capacity is continuously developing.
• In coordination with operational team, supports the tracking and monitoring of procurements and expenditures, office purchasing, inventory, and requisition system.

· Support in the implementation of RI’s systems and procedures, including donor requirements amongst the partners.

• Support the RI’s finance team in month end closure routines in close coordination with Finance Manager.
• Assist in the coordination and management of internal and external donor audit procedures.
• Undertake verification of budget and disbursement requests for the partners of the UNICEF grant as may be agreed with the Finance Manager.
• Other duties as may be assigned by the line manager

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment.

· Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting/Business or Finance.Professional accounting qualifications. E.g. ACCA, CIMA, CPA or CA would be an asset

· Experience of working on projects funded by major international donors such as EU, USAID and the UN

· Complete familiarity with ERP accounting software.

· At least 2 years of post-qualification experience in a finance/accounting role, in the International NGO sector. Auditing experience with NGOs would be an advantage

· Computer literacy, particularly in Microsoft Office programmes such as Word and Excel as well accounting packages & other database competencies

· Must be able to prioritize and have excellent time management & multitasking.

· Good problem-solving skills, diplomatic and self-directed.

· Proven communication, interpersonal, representation, negotiation and leadership skills

· Excellent financial and analytical skills;

· Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting on program financial performance;

· Ability to manage a financial/monitoring team and demonstrate leadership;

· Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;

· Familiarity with the aid system, and understanding of donor and governmental requirements;

· Experience managing consortium grants will be an asset;

· The candidate must be detail-oriented and able to work independently;

RI Values:

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities. We value:

· Inclusiveness

· Transparency and Accountability

· Agility and Innovation

· Collaboration

· Sustainability

How to Apply:

For consideration please submit a detailed CV and cover letter by March 1, 2023. Due to the urgency of this role, we will be reviewing CVs and interviewing candidate in advance of the closing date.

About the Organization

Relief International (RI) is a leading non-profit organization working in 16 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty.

Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach — which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

RI includes the four corporate members of the RI Alliance: RI-US, RI-UK, MRCA/RI-France and RI-Europe. Under our alliance agreement, we operate as a single, shared management structure.

About our Programs

RI is active in 16 countries around the world, including some of the most fragile: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen. Often, RI is the only organization providing assistance to highly vulnerable communities.

· RI employs 7,000+ staff and auxiliary workers

· 97% of staff are local nationals

· We only have some 90 ex-pat staff out of 7,000+

· RI spent $125 million in 2021 on our programs