Finance Assistant for the Middle East – PIN Volunteer At People in Need

Description

Starting date: ASAP

Contract duration: 6 months with the possibility of extension

Country Programme: Syria and Iraq

Base: Erbil, Iraq, the main regional office

About PIN Syria and Iraq:

People in Need (PIN) is an international, non-profit organization providing humanitarian and development assistance in over 20 countries worldwide. Formed in 1992 in the Czech Republic, PIN has grown to be the biggest organization of its kind in post-communist Europe, providing relief where it is needed, and empowering civil society at home and abroad.

PIN began its work in Iraq in 2003 focusing on reconstruction and renovation of schools and health centres. After a short break, PIN decided to re-establish its presence in the country in January 2015, mainly in response to deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country and massive displacement of people from conflict-affected areas. Since then, PIN has maintained a strong presence in Iraq, and has gradually extended its activities across the Governorates of Ninewa, Salah Al-din, Kirkuk and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Typical recipients of our aid are internally displaced persons, returnees, and people who survived the fighting near their homes and meet the pre-defined criteria of vulnerability.

Apart from humanitarian aid, PIN is currently working on long-term programmes supporting restoring livelihoods, education, access to water and hygiene. These programmes should facilitate people´s return to their original homes and support the stabilisation process after the defeat and removal of IS.

PIN has been working in Northern Syria since 2012, providing emergency relief and early recovery support to conflict-affected communities. Programmes for conflict-affected communities in Syria focus mainly on Emergency Food Assistance, WASH, and Education, in addition to Early Recovery activities. PIN’s contribution to the Syria humanitarian response is amongst the largest, with an annual turnover of over $75 million, engaging over 900 full time staff members across Northern Syria and cross-border response hubs in neighboring countries.

About the role:

The Finance Assistant (FA) is a member of country program support team and under the direct supervision of the Senior Finance Officer (SFO) ensures that financial data are up to date within People in Need (PIN) systems, ensures the smoothness of forecasting process, supports the SFO with the financial reporting and increases the capacities of fellow colleagues in the area of finance and administration. FA is also supporting Finance Manager (FM) in Erbil as per his/her capacities and as per the needs.

The position should prepare the FA for future work in other Relief and Development Department (RDD) positions.

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Keeping the data within PIN financial and archiving systems up to date
• Keeping and updating the overview of reporting deadlines across the country program
• Creation, maintenance and regular updating of forecast files under the supervision of SFO
• Supporting the SFO with the review of financial data and preparation of the financial reports and proposals
• Supporting the SFO with data collection and updating regionally used financial tools and data analysis
• Monitoring donor instalments and coordinating with HQ colleagues
• Supporting FM with reporting, audits, budget preparation and regular allocation of costs into projects (as per the needs and capacity)
• Supporting country program and HQ teams in case of understaffing and unexpected workload

Suitable candidates for this position should possess:

• Advanced level of English
• Good knowledge of MS Excel
• Technical / Analytical thinking
• Keen eye on details and passion for working with numbers
• Cultural sensitivity and good communication skills
• Desire to work for an NGO on finance position
• Previous finance experience / relevant education is advantageous
• Interest in the middle east context is advantageous

People in Need offers:

• Working environment in a well-established and growing humanitarian organization;
• 25 days of paid leave per 1 calendar year;
• Subsistence allowance 1350 EUR monthly to cover living expenses in the country (no salary is provided since this is a PIN Volunteer position but the allowance is sufficient to cover all common living expenses in the duty station);
• Reimbursement of travel expenses with travel to the country of deployment and back to the country of residence; an additional regional flight ticket allowance after 3 months spent on the country programme;
• Reimbursement of costs of visas and vaccinations; assistance with visa application procedure;
• Free medical helpdesk and psychological consultation available online;
• Travel health insurance fully covered by PIN and 24/7 medical assistance
• Housing in PIN guesthouse covered by PIN
• Work laptop and mobile phone
• Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT)
• 2-week long online HQ Induction, e-learning platform and in-country induction