Roving Finance and Compliance Officer – national contract
Position type and closing date
The closing date for applications is 16 April 2020
Contract duration: 3 years with possibility for extension
Location: negotiable, but must be based in a country where LWF World Service already has an office
( please see www.lutheranworld.org/WorldService)
Starting date: as soon as possible
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) World Service
LWF World Service is the humanitarian and development arm of the Lutheran World Federation. We are a widely recognized, international, faith-based organization working in over 20 countries. We seek to bring people of all backgrounds together in the common quest for justice, peace, and reconciliation in an increasingly complex and fragmented world.
A commitment to the human rights of every individual, regardless of their status, guides our work, actions, and operations. We are particularly known for our timely, compassionate, and professional humanitarian work, and for our field presence in hard-to-reach areas. Our work is people-centered and community- based. Above all, we work with the most vulnerable, and in order to claim and uphold their rights, we engage proactively with local government and community structures.
For additional information please see www.lutheranworld.org/WorldService.
Basic purpose
The Finance Unit in World Service is responsible for section 6.3 of the World Service strategy, Robust Financial Management that requires strategic use of modern systems to control and monitor the financial risks and to use the available resources to achieve the best value for money.
The Roving Finance and Compliance officer is required to ensure the LWF World Service country programs comply with World Service financial and procurement regulations alongside the regulations agreed with donors through the funding Agreements.
A large part of the time will be spent on carrying out spot check audits, reviews and capacity building of the finance teams in order to ensure a full understanding of the finance manual, finance procedures, audit recommendations and specific donor regulations
Required Qualifications
Professional qualification such as ACCA, CMA, CPA or equivalent
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or Business administration
Knowledge and Experience
Minimum 5 years of experience as a Finance manager or Finance controller
Practical Knowledge of Sage accounting software
Language Skills
English - advanced written and oral skills required
French or Spanish - advanced written and oral skills required in one of these languages
Arabic - would be an additional asset
LWF Core Skills
Analytical thinking Level 3 – Expert level
Achieving results Level 3 – Expert level
Initiative Level 2 – Advanced level
Accountability Level 2 – Advanced level
Working effectively with others Level 3 – Expert level
Leadership Level 1 – Basic level
Required Skills
Financial management/audits Level 3 – Expert level
Regulatory Compliance Level 3 – Expert level
Attention to detail Level 3 – Expert level
Capacity building/training Level 3 – Expert level
Confidential management Level 1 – Basic level
Communication Level 1 – Basic level
Position Environment and Dimensions
Internally, as a member of the Finance Team, reporting to the Global Finance Coordinator, mainly interacts with Finance team in Geneva, Regional Program Coordinators, Finance staff in the assigned Country programs, Office of Finance in Geneva and other World Service staff in Geneva.
Externally, interacts and relates with LWF auditors in Geneva and country programs and other partners during travels to LWF field programs.
Main duties
Strengthening internal controls and compliance
- Performing comprehensive detailed review and analysis of Country Program financial reports and providing feedback on observations and corrective actions to the country programs.
- Ensure that all countries programs strictly apply the internal control requirements spelt out in the World Service Finance manual, Procurement manual, Finance manual checklist and the financial management checklist.
- Use a problem solving approach in capacitating the finance staff to proactively comply wth and work towards contineous improvement of internal controls and pocesses. The role focusses less on audits and more on strengthening of systems and capacity of staff to comply.
- Provide input in the development of of internal control tools, templates, procedures and processes that are aimed at ensuring that LWF World Service meets its objective of having a robust financial management.
Systems improvement and capacity support
- Adapt a problem solving approach to assist the finance staff to understand and comply with LWF World Service financial regulations and other regulations donor policies and procedures including awards and contracts.
- Advise the Global Finance Coordinator on the status of compliance to internal controls drawing attention to shortfalls, risks, inconsistencies and related issues that require actions required to improve the systems.
- Be available to support the financial systems development as a member of the project team with input on internal controls.
Spot-check audits and audit follow-ups
- Travel to the field programs (eight or ten times a year) to carry out spot-check audits in order to assess Country Program compliance with the donor rules as well as World Service policies and procedures.
- Keep a tracker on the issues management observations made by auditors on the country programs, and support the field program teams to follow-up on required actions.
- Analyze the status of compliance to the LWF World Service internal controls and provide regular updates. Each spot-check audit should be supported by a detailed internal audit report.
Financial management support in the Field programs and Geneva
- Occasionally support to field programs on financial reporting and to sit in in the country program as the finance manager for limited periods (2-3 months) during times of capacity gaps or during scale up due to increased operational response.
- Work alongside the Global Funding Unit to review budgets during times of new calls for proposals and to perform quality control on financial reports prior to submission by the GFT.
- Support other units in World Service in times of specific processes such as systems discussions, investigations, special reports to donors and unforeseen requests for financial information
Major Challenges
The incumbent is required to travel extensively to the LWFWorld Service field programs (8-10 programs in a year). There will be need to stay in a field program as an acting finance manager for limited periods ( 1-2 months), thereby requiring the incumbent to be adaptable and to have financial management skills and skills necessary to work in a Sage software environment.
Applicants are required to uphold the core values of our organization.
How to apply:
To apply, please click on the following link:https://lutheranworld.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0q3jj?cjb_hash=O_JdJu21&apply_now=true