Country Finance Manager At Polish Humanitarian Action – Polska Akcja Humanitarna

Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH) is currently looking for a Country Finance Manager to manage Finance and Accounting Teams of PAH Country Office in Madagascar.

General information:

• Organization: Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH), Warsaw-based international non-governmental organization with representation office in Madagascar
• Position: Country Finance Manager
• Location: Antananarivo
• Job terms: Full-time
• Type of job: Employment contract
• Starting date: ASAP

We encourage qualified candidates to apply as soon as it is possible as the applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

PAH has been present in Madagascar since May 2022 delivering humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable population affected by catastrophic drought in southern part of the country. PAH provides assistance in sectors of WASH, Nutrition, and Livelihoods with elements of Agriculture.

For more information, please refer to www.pah.org.pl

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Finance Team Management and SMT role:

• Report directly to Country Director in country, maintaining oversight of the PAH Madagascar finances. Work closely with the Finance Coordinators and other Finance team members in HQ and other SMT members in country to provide guidance and oversight of the finance function. Actively participate in the Senior Management Team, providing strategic input and advice for the country programme;
• Management of Finance and Accounting Team at the Country Office level (country and field offices);
• Providing leadership, direction and capacity building support for the in-country and Field office Finance Team;
• Providing training and support to financial and non-financial staff regarding PAH’s financial procedures and internal controls, and budget management tools. Travel frequently to all sites to oversee financial capacity and support as needed;
• Ensuring PAH’s values and policies, including accountability and compliance, are reflected in the work of the Finance Team.

Financial Management:

• Preparation and regular updates of the budget of the Country Office;
• Preparation of cash flow forecasts and fund transfers requests;
• Monitoring of costs, preparation of cost analyses, ensuring cost optimization;
• Overseeing cash management, including cash transfers to field sites and partners in cooperation with the Programme & Logistics team ensuring that Madagascar Country Office is in compliance with all relevant donor and internal guidelines;
• Financial management of program and support activities in cooperation with project coordinators;
• Preparation of monthly management accounts for approval by CD for submission to HQ and donors adhering to the strict reporting deadlines as set by HQ Finance and donors;
• Ensuring complete and accurate financial documentation of all processes and its proper registration and storage;
• Continuous improvement of financial and accounting processes, implementing procedures and policies adopted by the HQ; Maintain and keep updated Country Office level Finance Manual to cover local and contextual policy and practices;
• Ensuring compliance with PAH’s standard accounting procedures and policies and actively monitoring internal controls to minimize risk to the organization. In particular, ensuring appropriate cash management procedures are in place and operating effectively;
• Participation in the process of timely payments of salaries and related public liabilities;
• Cooperating with external auditors and supervision bodies.

Donor Finance:

• Ensuring compliance with internal procedures, donors requirements, local and international laws and regulations and sectoral standards;
• Preparing monthly/quarterly/annual reports compatible with the donor guidelines and regular reporting to Country Director and HQ;
• Ensuring cost allocations basis among donors are reasonable in line with PAH recommended methods;
• Monitoring and assisting programme coordinators with the financial management of programme budgets including expenditure forecasting and ensuring the Budget Monitoring Tool (BMT) is completed in a timely manner;
• Solving financial issues CD reported by stakeholders (e.g. HQ, donors, program teams).

Improving Financial Capacity:

• Managing and building capacity on financial systems for PAH partners and Mission’s staff;
• Managing current optimization projects of the department; participation in the optimization projects run by the HQ;
• Supporting project proposal development;
• Reviewing MOUs and contracts for suppliers and vendors engaged with the programme and logistics;
• Provide support to human resources on personnel and staff issues which have financial implications.
• Performing any other tasks as assigned by the Supervisor

Qualification and skills required:

• 5+ years’ experience in Finance and Accounting at a senior management level, at least 2 years overseas experience will be an asset;
• Highly proficient in spoken and written English and French; Malagasy will be an asset
• Higher education in Finance and Accounting or Master’s level with significant relevant experience in Financial Management;
• Excellent understanding of key donor rules and regulations and implementation of strong financial management and control systems. Willingness and ability to work in a pressurized environment, producing work of high quality to strict deadlines;
• Trainings in the humanitarian field will be an asset, especially related to humanitarian operations;
• Strong IT skills and systems experience – advanced Excel and NAV/BC experience is highly desirable;
• Flexible and reliable, with excellent interpersonal, motivational and management skills (handling insecure environments), be culturally sensitive and empathic to others, with a ‘can do’ attitude.

What PAH offers:

• Work experience with professional and flexible international NGO, which is one of the largest NGOs in the Central-Eastern Europe;
• Work in a dynamic and motivated team;
• Medical insurance.

For expatriate Staff, PAH offers the following additional benefits:

• Free accommodation;
• Flights home covered at the beginning and at the end of the deployments;
• Annual leave of 26 working days and 5 additional days of free leave;
• Medical insurance (including Emergency Evacuation);
• Psychological Support Package.