About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps Liberia began operations in 2002 in response to the humanitarian crisis brought about by the two Liberian civil wars which took place from 1989-1997 and 1999–2003. Since then, Mercy Corps’ interventions have evolved based on the context and needs of the Liberian people. With funding from the European Commission, French Development Agency, Swedish Embassy, Irish Aid, and US Department of Agriculture, among others, Mercy Corps Liberia has implemented a range of programs focused on renewable energy, food security, agricultural livelihoods, financial inclusion, nutrition, water and sanitation, infrastructure, and youth economic empowerment. Mercy Corps Liberia works closely with the Government of Liberia (especially the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Health, Labor and Education), the private sector, civil society, international and local NGOs to implement its programs from three offices/sub-offices (Monrovia, Buchanan, River Cess). Mercy Corps is one of the foremost development actors in Liberia implementing strategic and systems driven programming in youth employment and entrepreneurship, market systems development and good governance.
General Position Summary
The Country Finance Manager is a member of the Senior Management Team and leads the Mercy Corps Finance Department. As such, the Finance Manager is responsible for all aspects of financial management of the country programs, working collaboratively to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps internal policies and procedures as well as donor regulations. S/he works under the direction of the Country Director and is responsible for all financial functions, including accounting, payments and banking, payroll, budgeting including master budgeting, financial reporting and grant financial management and compliance. The Finance Manager, in support of the Program Department, provides timely reports and assistance to the Country Director and the Program team to ensure that financial resources are used efficiently and effectively.
Essential Job Responsibilities:
Strategy & Vision
● Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment of empowerment.
● Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives and contribute to country-wide strategy development.
● Actively contribute to Senior Management Team discussions and priorities.
● As a member of the national COVID Taskforce, ensure appropriate measures are enacted and maintained around emergency preparedness planning.
● As a member of the Risk Management Committee, ensure appropriate measures are enacted and maintained to ensure financial and related risks are mitigated.
Personal Leadership
● Consistently demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
● Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
● Demonstrate an awareness of his/her own strengths and development needs.
Representation
● Interface with in-country donor representatives to convey information about programs as appropriate.
● Communicate with our international and national partners, including subgrantees, to verify their systems and that they understand and follow all appropriate procedures and archiving.
● Participate in sharing best practices with NGOs and governmental agencies, through the LINGO (Liberia INGO) Forum and informal mechanisms.
Team Management
● Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
● Promote accountability, team member agency, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
● Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary.
● Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
● Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
Operations – Financial
● Ensure effective, transparent use of financial resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures.
● Maintain banking relations and plan and monitor country cash flow requirements to ensure the smooth implementation of Mercy Corps programs.
● Maintain appropriate local insurance coverage in coordination with the Operations and Human Resources departments, to protect Mercy Corps.
● Provide monthly standard accounting submissions to Mercy Corps Headquarters, including general ledger files, account reconciliations, expenditures by cost center/project, required subgrantee reporting, as well as other financial information in a timely and accurate manner.
● Provide monthly management reports to the Country Director and Senior Management Team, including expenditures by cost center/project, subgrantee reporting and other financial information, in a timely and accurate manner.
● Develop annual fiscal year master budgets with the Country Director and develop and implement grant budgeting and forecasting systems with Senior Management Team/Program Managers.
● Review programmatic standard operating procedures to ensure they allow for sound financial management in line with our organizational and donor policies and procedures, especially with cash transfer programming and distributions. Ensure appropriate finance team staffing to support program teams in any planning, implementation, monitoring and reconciliation process to proactively mitigate risks of poor implementation or other risks.
Security
● Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
● Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
Organizational Learning
● As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Beneficiaries
● Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
● Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Supervisory Responsibility
All Finance Department staff; Direct (Senior Finance Officer, Grants and Compliance Officer, Grants & Finance training Lead in Monrovia, Finance and Administration Officers (Buchanan) locations.
Indirect: Finance officer, Finance Assistant, Finance Assistant in Buchanan
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Country Director
Works Directly With: HQ Regional Finance Officer and International Finance Officer (with authority for technical financial matters); members of Operations, Program Director, Program Managers, MEL Manager, Team Leader, TSU team members, and others**.**
Knowledge and Experience
● BA/S or equivalent in accounting or finance required; advanced degree preferred.
● At least 4 years of progressive financial management experience, including supervisory experience required.
● At least 4 years of experience in grants management as well as an understanding of major institutional and other donors. Direct experience with the following donors preferred: EU, Irishaid, SIDA/Swedish Embassy, US Government and AFD.
● International/expatriate experience preferred and can be replaced through relevant national level experience.
● Demonstrated experience and skill with budget preparation and analysis, financial reporting preparation and presentation and the proven ability to translate technical financial data into informative reports.
● Strong accounting skills and experience, including management of the general ledger, journal entries, payroll, payables and balance sheet.
● Excellent attention to detail.
● Demonstrated commitment to ethics and integrity.
● Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel.
● Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational and prioritization skills.
● Excellent oral and written English skills required.
● Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
● Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
● Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.
Success Factors
The successful candidate will have an ability to interact effectively across international and national program and finance teams successfully, both in a managerial as well as professional development capacity.
They will demonstrate personal agency and be able to spread a culture of accountability across their team.
They will be able to support programmatic objectives with timely and meaningful financial information, have a demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities.
They will demonstrate a level of urgency to ensure program teams are supported in a timely manner and disseminate this culture across the finance team. An impeccable professional standard of finance and procurement ethics and the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential.
The Finance Manager must be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites. The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The Finance Manager is based in Monrovia and it requires up to 20% travel to field offices. The location is accompanied and secure. Housing is individual accommodation with unlimited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. There are international schools in Liberia. Team members have good degree of access to services – medical, electricity, and water, among others, with limited disruption in Monrovia. Field offices have more basic accommodations with limited access to services, and are located in moderate security environments.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.