Finance Specialist At Danish Refugee Council

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for a highly qualified Finance Specialist to be based in Warsaw, Poland.

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to promote and protect durable solutions to conflict and displacement affected populations on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC is implementing a multi-sector response to support Ukraine refugees, IDPs and host populations both within Ukraine and in the neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania and Moldova and wider Europe. Since late February 2022, nearly 4 million Ukrainians and third-country nationals have crossed the border to Poland. As part of its neighboring country response, DRC is establishing an operational presence in Poland to support displaced populations through partnership with civil society organizations and national NGOs, duty bearers and other actors.

About the job

As Finance Specialist you will function as the specialist in Finance within Poland, Moldova, and Romania (PMR) region. You will provide overall advice, coordination, and technical support to the Finance Officers in the region and ensure compliance with the finance chapters of DRC’s Operations Handbook. Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Support

• Support the development and implementation of financial management capacity building of staff
• Provide technical support and advice to the country finance teams

Financial Management

• In close cooperation with Managers in geographical area reinforce existing procedures and systems for financial management and control in compliance with guidelines of DRC’s Operations Handbook, internal guidelines and donor requirements
• Support timely delivery of quality financial reports to donors and internal reports to colleagues and HQ
• Ensure compliance with relevant country statutory and other financial obligations such as tax, levies, and statutory returns
• Monthly financial briefings to relevant Managers
• Ensure thorough and effective budgetary control in the country programs
• Liaise with relevant Managers on key financial issues for all programs in the country, including co-funding, financial reporting, key variances, and any remedial action.
• Collecting cash forecasts from all Program Managers and requesting funds in a timely manner
• Maintain a continuous overview of funding levels and pay particular attention to shared support costs, including staff salaries
• Ensure all required documentation for financial audits in cooperation with Coordination staff and HQ
• Ensure monthly meetings are held with project managers to discuss key variances, reasons for these, and any remedial action that is required
• Prepare for local audits
• Contribute to the development of proposals with regards to budgeting in cooperation with Managers

As Specialist the post-holder is responsible for the following:

• Responsible for providing specialized knowledge and operational know-how within a specific discipline
• May also have technical line responsibilities, but generally on technical or operational matters

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to have at least 4 years of experience in a similar role in an international NGO managing large budgets. Moreover, we also expect the following:

• Master’s degree in Finance/Accounting or Business Administration
• Proven experience in working with national partners, local/government authorities
• Working experience with relevant donors (e.g. UNHCR, ECHO, OFDA, WFP, DFID or BPRM guidelines)
• Understanding of the countries in which DRC operates and sensitive to the cultural context
• Experience working in an ERP system, including supply chain, finance and HR systems
• Desirable: experience working with Microsoft Dynamics 365
• Strong Word and Excel skills
• Fluent in English and Polish
• Interest and dedication to administrative procedures
• Accuracy and effectiveness in all aspects of work
• Absolute and proven reliability in financial matters
• Team player
• Ability to work independently

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: 6 months (extension depending on funding availability)

Band: Non-Management, G

Designation of Duty Station: Warsaw with occasional travel to Moldova and Romania

Start date: 1 July

We offer competitive salary and benefits in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for National Staff.