Finance Manager At Catholic Relief Services

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

CRS Philippines, established in 1945, is the longest running, continuous CRS country program in the world with extensive programming in peacebuilding, governance, homes and communities, emergency response and recovery, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The Philippines country program has over 120 staff members in Manila, Davao and Cotabato offices. CRS programs are implemented through a national network of partners, in close coordination with local, municipal and national government agencies. The Country Program also provides support to CRS’s work in the Federated States of Micronesia, Indonesia, Timor Leste, and Pacific outreach, and has drawn international recognition for the impact, timeliness, and innovation of its programs and approaches. CRS Philippines is committed to collaborate with our strong network of church partners, national and subnational government agencies and secular NGOs throughout the country, strategically advancing local leadership to achieve sustainable development goals in the Philippines.

Job Summary:

You will ensure a high level of resource stewardship, strict financial accountability and financial risk management while ensuring the effectiveness and robustness of the Philippines Country Program (CP) and relevant partners’ financial management systems, processes, and practices in support of high-quality programs serving the poor and vulnerable. You will anticipate and manage financial management services needs and delivery challenges, and identify and implement improvement solutions, as needed, to minimize CP and partners’ exposure to financial risk. You will also provide remote support and guidance to FSM Country Manager and finance staff in FSM country program to ensure full application of finance policies and processes, financial accountability and financial risk management in FSM.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage financial processes in accordance with policies and provide proactive service delivery, advice, and support to managers, staff, and subrecipients in relation to managing the whole project cycle (Design, Start-up, Implementation, Close-out), ensuring efficiency and compliance with CRS’ policies and procedures, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), donors’ rules and regulations, and legal requirements.
• Provide direction and coordination of effective budget development and management (Annual Program Plans and project budgets), ensuring accuracy and consistency of financial data and safeguarding of resources.
• Ensure integrity of accounting information by reviewing account issues for compliance and establishing quality control over accounting transactions and financial reporting. Oversee maintenance of supporting documentation for a reliable and easy to follow audit trail.
• Lead the preparation of accurate financial data, analysis and projections and support the Senior Management Team and Program/Project Managers in interpreting data for decision-making and effectively managing financial risks.
• Effectively manage talent and supervise. Manage team dynamics and staff well-being. Provide coaching, strategically tailor individual development plans, and complete performance management for direct reports. In line with agency, regional and CP commitment to work toward greater diversity and leadership opportunities for national staff, you will prioritize training and mentoring of Philippines’ finance staff to ensure staff development opportunities in line with their career aspirations.
• Oversee the performance of accurate reporting procedures and timely submission of reports to relevant stakeholders (CP managers, Regional Office, HQ/Finance, donors, local government entities).
• Lead assessment of staff and subrecipients’ financial management capacity, ensure capacity strengthening on finance policies and regulations, as needed, and monitor and measure impact.
• Lead efforts to close audit financial management findings in a timely and sustainable way.
• Provide support and guidance to FSM Country Manager (CM) and finance staff in FSM to complete APP process and requirements, focusing on programmatic investments of discretionary funds, and on shared investments (indirect and allocated direct costs) that support the entire CP portfolio.
• Support FSM CM to timely complete expense and cash forecasts, review BCRs and ensure compliance with agency and donors’ financial rules and regulations. Support FSM to complete Internal Control Questionnaire (ICQ) and related improvement plan as required, to mitigate financial and operational risks in FSM.

Basic Qualifications

• B.A. degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business Administration with courses in accounting, or a qualification in accounting (CPA/ACCA or equivalent). MBA or Master’s degree in related field with a focus on Accounting preferred. A professional certification in Accounting or a related field highly preferred.
• Minimum of five years of experience in a similar position, preferably with an International NGO.
• Additional education may substitute for some experience.

Required Languages – Fluent in written and spoken English and Tagalog

Travel– Must be willing and able to travel up to 25 %.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent analytical skills with ability to make sound judgment and decisions
• Very good planning, monitoring and organizational skills
• Ethical conduct in accordance with recognized professional and organizational codes of ethics
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions oriented and results-oriented
• Ability to work collaboratively

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of the relevant public donors’ regulations highly preferred.
• Substantial budgeting, budget/expense analysis, and accounting experience.
• Knowledge of local law in taxation and local regulatory reporting procedures.
• Staff management experience.
• Strong experience in presenting and facilitating on financial management topics.
• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio), Web Conferencing Applications. Knowledge of SunSystems financial accounting package or similar financial reporting software highly preferred.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Integrity
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation
• Builds Relationships
• Develops Talent
• Strategic Mindset
• Accountability & Stewardship

Supervisory Responsibilities: Deputy FM, Finance Supervisor in Davao office, Finance Supervisor-Payroll and Senior FO. You will also provide mentoring support to FO in FSM Country Program

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: CR, HoP, OM, Finance staff , HoOs/OICs, Budget Managers; FSM Country Manager, FSM FO, RFO, DRFO, DRDMQ, HQ finance

External: Partner finance staff, Auditors

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.