Finance Officer – Tautua At Palladium International

Position Title

Finance Officer

Duration / Term

Full time until 15 November 2025

Location

Apia, Samoa

Travel

Not required

Reporting to

Senior Finance Coordinator

About the Tautua Program

The Tautua prioritises five interconnected pillars of human development: Education, Health, Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Protection. Guided by the Government of Samoa (GoS), Tautua provides opportunity to create transformative change in human development by addressing complex development needs though multi-sectoral, innovative approaches that identify and focus on the underlying issues. Simultaneously, Tautua intends to be able to respond to emergency, short-term needs, build capacity and through research, monitoring and evaluation, apply lessons learned and evidence-based decision making to continuously improve delivery.

Scope of Services

This position is responsible for supporting the efficient operations of the program finance systems and providing support in the day-to-day management of the office. Required tasks include (but are not restricted to) the following ac tivities:

1. Financial Management

• Maintain an efficient and organised financial filing system adhering to established financial records management standards.
• Ensure and verify proper and accurate coding and accounting treatment of all financial transactions, in consultation with the
• Senior Finance Coordinator, Operations Manager and Palladium Corporate team.
• Prepare and manage program field voucher compilation for integration into corporate finance.
• Support the corporate team with preparation of supporting financial documentation for DFAT invoices.
• Manage the petty cash function ensuring procedures are followed and documentation is in order.
• Prepare cashbooks and bank reconciliations.
• Verify and support submission of Payment Approval Forms (PAF) and ensure all corresponding documents are submitted with the PAF.
• Support the monitoring of expenditure against budgets and forecasts and provide status reports to the Senior Finance
• Coordinator on a regular basis.
• Assist the Technical team with procurement requests and quotations.
• Assist with the processing of payments of reimbursable items for program staff ensuring proper approvals and reimbursement procedures.
• Support the Senior Finance Coordinator and the Palladium corporate team to ensure company policies, SOPs and guidelines for financial management are implemented and are compliant with DFAT’s rules and regulations.
• Support the Senior Finance Coordinator, Operations Manager and Program Manager to monitor all Tautua program expenditure costs.

2. Human Resources and Payroll

• Assist the Senior Finance Coordinator to process salary payments for locally engaged staff and National Advisers, including managing the tax and superannuation withholding requirements.
• Draft fortnightly payroll summaries for program staff.
• Assist the Operations Manager with staff onboarding and maintenance of records, including HR compass updates, payroll memos, leave management trackers and STA input and reimbursable expense trackers.
• Support the Operations Manager with program recruitment, including organising placement of job advertisements, scheduling of interviews, and undertaking due diligence.

3. Office Administration Support and Logistics

• Monitor and ensure payment of office utilities including electricity, rent, fumigation etc. are carried out in a timely manner.
• Assist Senior Finance Coordinator and Operations Manager with the day-to-day office management both physical office environment and of corporate systems and processes.
• Assist with logistical arrangements for program events and activities including meeting preparation and booking of venues.
• Assist with the preparation of the Tautua office conference room for meetings and other activities, including catering arrangements and cleaning of cutlery and utensils.

4. Other Duties

• Contribute actively to a dynamic and collaborative team culture in line with organizational and team values.
• Assist the Senior Finance Coordinator and Operations Manager with program Records Management.
• Perform other functions that may be required by and agreed with the Senior Finance Coordinator, Operations Manager and/or Palladium’s Program Manager.

Selection Criteria

Qualifications and Experience

• A Diploma in Accounting, finance or related field.
• Minimum four years’ experience in similar role.

Competencies

• Demonstrated experience in financial, human resources management, project planning and administration, and administrative procedures and systems.
• Demonstrated experience working in similar roles on international donor-funded projects.
• Strong interpersonal, intercultural skills and customer service skills; and the ability to work effectively with individuals and teams at all levels of an organisation.
• An understanding of the social, cultural, political and institutional factors affecting development in Samoa including gender and disability inequalities.
• Demonstrated capacity for work planning and prioritisation, including the ability to implement several activities concurrently and support team priorities outside the roles’ specific portfolio of work.
• Demonstrated ability to show initiative, to be adaptable and dependable.
• Demonstrated analytical, reporting, problem-solving and risk management skills.
• Demonstrated proficiency in written and spoken English
• Demonstrated proficiency in MS Excel, MS Office suite of programs and data management systems.
• Demonstrated ability to work with a low level of supervision and as a part of a team when required.

How to Apply

• Applications must include 1) a written response addressing the selection criteria; and 2) an updated CV
• Submit applications to internal@tautuapartnership.org or through the Palladium Career Site
• Deadline for submissions: 5pm Sunday 15th September 2024