Regional Finance and Administration Manager At Interpeace

Background

Interpeace is an international peacebuilding organisation that strengthens the ability of societies to manage conflict themselves in sustainable and non-violent ways. Interpeace designs and delivers its work tailored to each situation in partnership with local partners and communities, based on extensive consultation and research. Interpeace also ensures that the processes of conflict management and change that it supports are integrated at all levels of society including local communities, civil society, government, and the international community (we call it a ‘Track 6’ approach).

Interpeace was originally established by the United Nations and remains its strategic partner. Beyond field-based peacebuilding, Interpeace also assists the international community – particularly the UN – to be more effective in supporting peacebuilding efforts worldwide. This includes contributing innovative thought leadership on peacebuilding policies and practices.

Interpeace is headquartered in Geneva and has offices around the world. For more information about Interpeace, please visit www.interpeace.org

Purpose and Position within the Organisation

The Finance and Administration Manager is a member of the Global Operations Unit. Under the direction of the Head of Finance s/he conducts efficiently and effectively all financial management and administrative tasks of the Brussels office.

The Finance and Administration Manager also has a financial monitoring and accounting responsibility for all European Commission grants received by Interpeace as well as for a portfolio of grants received from other donors and which managing office is Geneva.

The Finance and Administration Manager works closely with the Head of Finance to deliver coordinated, coherent, and compliant financial management, with direct responsibility for ensuring that the accounting, auditing, and other key financial management processes are delivered for Interpeace-Europe AISBL in Belgium as well as for registered Interpeace entities in several other countries.

The position interacts frequently with auditors and other compliance actors, providing information and justification for financial management. S/he may also work closely with implementing partners (delivering peacebuilding activities with Interpeace in other countries) to oversee, monitor and build their capacity for financial management.

The Finance and Administration Manager travels internationally as necessary, mainly to Geneva with possible additional travel to field office.

The Finance and Administration Manager leads and directs remotely the performance of Finance Officers managing a selected number of Interpeace’s portfolio of grants for peacebuilding policy and in-country implementation.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the guidance of the Head of Finance and in coordination with the other members of the Brussels office, the Finance and Administration Manager accomplishes in an autonomous manner the day-to-day administrative operations for the Brussels office, deputises for the Head of Finance from time to time, and oversees financial management – including accounting and auditing – for a portfolio of grants as well as the financial and administrative management aspects of a number of registered Interpeace entities.

Key objectives

§ The Interpeace office in Brussels is fully supported from a financial management and administration perspective

§ The grants received by Interpeace are implemented in full compliance with the Eligibility rules of the donors, with especial focus on the ones received from the European Commission

§ The accounting of selected registered entities (Interpeace – Europe AISBL, Interpeace US, Interpeace Guatemala, Interpeace UK and Interpeace Ukraine) is up to date and accurate and in line with global Interpeace systems requirements. Audits for these entities are completed on time and without issues and all filings required under Belgium law is completed within the required timeframe.

§ Practical financial management is provided to the teams in Guatemala, New York, and Kiev

§ Review of new donor budgets is done in a timely manner and the review checks that adequate staff coverage is built in and that costs are eligible according to the donors’ rules.

§ Review and submission of donor financial reports is done in a timely manner

§ Partner organisations involved in project implementation are supported to report in line with agreed formats and on time

§ Financial reporting including budget variances is produced, analysed, and discussed with programme/project implementation teams as well as management

§ Internal control processes are performed and the overall control framework in areas of responsibility is coordinated with the Global Compliance Officer

More specifically, the position is responsible for:

§ The accounting for Interpeace Europe and other representation offices in line with Interpeace procedures and following internal control guidelines

§ Revenue management for Interpeace – Europe including ensuring compliance with EC contractual requirements

§ Promoting compliance by all Interpeace teams worldwide where relevant with regulations on EC financing, donor guidelines, auditing, and internal policies

§ Ensuring that donor reporting is completed accurately and on time for Interpeace – Europe grants as well as for other specified grants.

§ Organising and coordinating institutional and project audits for registered Interpeace entities and projects under her/his supervision, as required.

§ Support in reviewing and enhancing of the existing financial systems and procedures and for making recommendations for their improvement/enhancement.

§ Making operational decisions. This includes a mixture of routine operational decisions relate to the day-to-day work that are taken repetitively and as part of routine work; but also, strategic decisions relating to EC compliance requirements, as guided by external expert advice.

§ Contributing to Interpeace’s institutional finance strategy

§ Providing performance management, functional guidance and human resources support to two direct report Finance Officers (now only one)

§ Producing financial outputs related to Interpeace – Europe that meet the requirements of the Belgian authorities and the European Commission

Interpeace – Europe AISBL

§ Interpeace – Europe AISBL was established in 2005. This post, in coordination with the Chief Finance Officer and Head of Finance, is responsible for ensuring that Interpeace is globally compliant with European Commission (EC) requirements. This applies specifically to cash management, inter-office expense billing between Interpeace entities and financial reporting (including conversion of non-euro expenditure back to Euro in line with EC guidelines).

§ In charge of Interpeace – Europe accounting using the Interpeace Group accounting software (Sun), including payroll management and Interpeace – Europe annual audit and statutory filings as required by Belgian law

§ Coordination of the audit of EC funded projects that are contracted through Interpeace – Europe

§ Overseeing the administrative needs for the Brussels office (serviced office)

Deputising for the Head of Finance

§ Standing in for the Head of Finance in her/his absence or during peak workload periods, particularly during the audit of the consolidated accounts. This will entail familiarity with the key processes under the oversight of the Head of Finance (including budget development and import to Sun, Sun maintenance, import of forecast data to Sun, journal review and posting), as well as interim human resources/performance management of staff

§ Participating in the review and improvement of processes and in some cases leading these reviews

§ Development of reports in Q&A, drawing data directly from Sun, as required and participating in the development and maintenance of new standard format report templates.

§ With the Head of Finance, consolidate the annual Interpeace consolidated budget that is presented to the Interpeace Governing Board for approval.

Planning and implementation

§ Defines, plans, and coordinates financial management of Interpeace Europe, in line with the strategic direction defined by the CFO and Head of Finance.

§ Informs and supports the design and planning of the global finance strategy and plan

§ Monitors, oversees, and executes streamlined processes, practices and working methods to maintain high standards of financial management

Management of Personnel and Resources

§ Oversight of the Finance Officers, ensuring they produce and submit donor financial reports within donor reporting deadlines and check that these are compliant with donor reporting formats and that final versions are filed on Sharepoint, together with workpapers

§ Organise project audits, when these are required, within the timeframe stipulated in donor contracts and in accordance with donor specifications

§ Review Budget Variance reports monthly for Geneva office-managed projects, in particular expenditure variances and expenditure levels against contracted income, particularly when this is impacted by exchange rate fluctuations

§ Review financial reports prepared by the Finance Officers prior to submission to the donors

§ Review new project budgets, and budget revision requests, prior to submission to potential donors, including the review of staff coverage included within project budgets

§ Convene weekly meetings with the Finance Officers to discuss current issues, workloads, upcoming deliverables, and other issues as they arise.

§ Train and coach Finance Officers on Interpeace financial rules and procedures and on specific contractual requirements imposed by donors, as needed

§ Provide recommendations to the Head of Finance on optimal staff professional development options

§ Create an enabling work environment that fosters learning and innovation, where staff members can achieve their potential, demonstrating gender-responsive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes

§ Monitor, evaluate and document the individual performance of direct reports through a staff development lens

Qualifications:

Education

§ University degree and a professional qualification in finance such as Chartered Accountant, Certified Public Accountant, Business Administration or equivalent.

Experience

§ At least 8 years of experience in financial management within the context of a Brussels based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO),

§ Knowledge and practical experience of working with EC regulations and requirements.

Competencies

§ Excellent knowledge of financial and fiduciary concepts, including an ability to develop and manage complex budgets; create and interpret financial statements and reports; and develop/manage cash flow projections.

§ Excellent knowledge and understanding of management principles as they relate to multi-cultural and complex organisations.

§ Demonstrated understanding of Belgium tax and payroll laws and comfortable developing and maintaining a payroll system.

§ Strong accounting knowledge and capacity to operate Sun Systems, QuickBooks, and other financial interface systems such as Q & A.

§ Good working knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards as they apply to NGOs

§ Strong written and oral communication skills in English and French.

§ Strong computer literacy in all MS Office applications.

§ Ability to work to tight deadlines.

§ Strong commitment to supporting local peace building initiatives.

Interpeace Competencies

§ Collaboration and Weaving

§ Communication

§ Drive for results

§ Adaptability and Continuous Learning

§ Respect for Diversity

Success factors

§ Identifies with and is committed to Interpeace’s core values and working principles

§ Commitment to inclusiveness

§ An innovative, critical thinker with extensive problem-solving skills

§ A manager who is accountable, leads by example, mentors, and empowers a team and works to create work-life balance