Senior FLAT Manager At IMPACT Initiatives

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two International NGOs (IMPACT Initiatives and ACTED) and the United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). REACH’s purpose is to promote and facilitate the development of information products that enhance the humanitarian community’s decision making and planning capacity for emergency, reconstruction and development contexts. REACH facilitates information management for aid actors through three complementary services: (a) need and situation assessments facilitated by REACH teams; (b) situation analysis using satellite imagery; (c) provision of related database and (web)-mapping facilities and expertise.

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, enabling IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

We are currently looking for a Senior Finance, Logistics, and Administrative (FLAT) Manager to oversee support functions for the REACH team in Somalia and Kenya. The position is based in Mogadishu.

PositionSenior FLAT Manager

Contract duration:12 months

Location: Somalia, Mogadishu

Starting Date: ASAP

The ideal candidate for this position will have experience working across the humanitarian-development nexus, implementing, overseeing, and/or supporting projects of varying sizes for a variety of different humanitarian and development donors. As the context in Ken/Som continues to evolve, the FLAT Manager will be charged to work in close partnership with ACTED to ensure the operational structures required to support IMPACT’s work in Somalia and Kenya are in place, including establishing new policies and procedures to meet growing needs. They will report to the IMPACT Ken/Som Country Coordinator (CC), and directly line manage all the finance, administrative, and logistics staff that support IMPACT operations in Kenya and Somalia. The Senior FLAT Manager will also reinforce current procedures and the quality of IMPACT and ACTED’s internal control based on international best practices, donors’ requirements, and results of internal & external audits while proactively identifying key risks to be shared with CC and IMPACT HQ. As such, this position requires someone with experience in audit and compliance, standard operating procedures, financial management, and other operations-related tasks.

Country Profile

Somalia has been experiencing a multi-layered, complex, and protracted crisis over the past three decades, in particular, due to periodic disasters and climate-driven shocks, such as droughts and flooding. This has led to much internal displacement resulting in large IDP populations in urban areas. IMPACT began working in Somalia/Somaliland in 2012 in order to fill information gaps and provide timely data on the humanitarian needs of displaced and vulnerable populations. The compound and complex nature of the crisis continues to influence displacement patterns and constrain the availability of resources, while the presence of armed groups severely impedes the level of access and support provided by humanitarian actors.

In 2016 REACH was deployed in Kenya and has since then been providing information on the needs and intentions of refugees residing in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps. Beyond the multi-sectoral focused work, IMPACT has become the go-to partner of the Kenya and Somali Cash Consortia, covering the post-distribution monitoring in a variety of contexts and multi-purpose cash programs

Currently, the Horn of Africa is experiencing the third drought episode in a decade, following three consecutive failed rainy seasons. The drought is compounding existing food insecurity among both pastoral and farming populations, and needs are spiking across the region – between 12 and 14 million people are currently estimated to be facing high levels of food insecurity and water shortages. Historically rare climate variability, climate change, vulnerability, and exposure are creating an exceptional and extremely concerning level of risk for food security and livelihoods, which could drive rising levels of acute malnutrition and mortality through mid-to-late 2022.

FUNCTIONS

IMPACT is currently recruiting for a Senior FLAT Manager to oversee the finance, administration, and logistics of Somalia and Kenya by enforcing current procedures and the quality of IMPACT and ACTED’s internal control based on international best practices, donors’ requirements, and results of internal & external audits while proactively identifying key risks to be shared with CC and IMPACT HQ. The role will involve oversight of all IMPACT Ken/Som financial, logistics, and administrative processes alongside providing support for staff in external bases across Somalia, Somaliland and Kenya to strengthen and maintain an operational setup that allows the programme teams to achieve program excellence and ensure the highest level of impact and accountability while ensuring compliance to both IMPACT and ACTED’s guidelines and standards. This person will be a key member of the IMPACT Ken/Som Senior Management Team (SMT), which includes the IMPACT Ken/Som Research Managers, Field Coordinator, Deputy Country Coordinator, and Country Coordinator. The position will be based in Mogadishu, Somalia, with travel anticipated in the region.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities of the Senior FLAT Manager are wide-ranging and require someone flexible, adaptable, and able to think on their feet. Broadly, these responsibilities include:

Financial oversight

  1. Support the Finance Officer (FO) with ensuring all Budget Follow-Ups (BFUs) remain on track and developing solutions for identified challenges.
  2. In coordination with the ACTED Country Finance Manager (CFM), ensure the accurate management, presentation, and circulation of IMPACT accountancy in Ken/Som and ensure compliance with ACTED and IMPACT’s FLAT and financial procedures.
  3. Follow established processes to manage operational spending, particularly international and national staff allocation tables. This will include reviewing and improvising existing processes, highlighting risks to CC and IMPACT HQ, and identifying opportunities for the strategic expansion of coverage.
  4. Support the FO in training project focal points on how to conduct expense forecasting and engage in budget follow-up.
  5. Support CC and DCC in developing proposal budgeting and ensuring adequate resources are allocated from a finance perspective, including the development of standardised documentation and templates for calculating costs.
  6. Together with ACTED, contribute to the overall mission-wide systems strengthening of finance procedures.

LOGISTICS OVERSIGHT

  1. In coordination with ACTED CLM, provide support to the country’s procurement plan and coordinate with relevant stakeholders (program, finance, coordination, suppliers) to build sourcing capacity and maintain a supplier database accordingly for IMPACT program needs
  2. Support the Senior Logistics Officer (SLO) in ensuring all IMPACT program related procurement needs (including assets, communication, and IT) are anticipated, planned, and executed in line with IMPACT, ACTED, and donor’s procurement guidelines.
  3. Support the SLO in maintaining an up-to-date IMPACT asset inventory, including proper asset labelling; investigate and document any loss or damage.
  4. In coordination with ACTED, identify & settle premises (offices, guesthouses) for IMPACT operations based on geographical, operational, security, and financial criteria
  5. Deploy an efficient IT plan across the country based on ACTED and IMPACT’S global standards; guarantee that IT security standards are applied, and lead crisis management in the country in close liaison with the CC and IMPACT HQ if required
  6. In coordination with ACTED, support the SLO in ensuring proper working & living conditions for all staff in each premise, at all times, by maintaining efficient general services
  7. Support CC and DCC in developing proposal budgeting and ensuring adequate resources are allocated from a logistics perspective, including the development of standardised documentation and templates for calculating costs.
  8. Together with ACTED, contribute to the overall mission-wide systems strengthening of logistic procedures.

Human Resource Management and Administration

  1. Together with the CC, DCC, REACH Human Resources Officer (HRO) and ACTED HR department, ensure that appraisals, contract renewals, and recruitments for relevant staff are done on time to minimise gaps in the team.
  2. In coordination with ACTED HR, support the HRO and ensure that both national and international IMPACT staff has correct and valid visas and work permits to operate in the country; Ensure effective follow-up with ACTED to minimize any reputational and financial risk
  3. In close coordination with the ACTED HR, support the HRO to ensure that contracts of staff dedicated by ACTED for REACH are in line with ACTED standard salary grid, available budgets, and regulations; propose salary grids revisions based on benchmarks, national legislation, competency, and budget constraint.
  4. Support field operations team and ACTED HR to develop and implement processes and systems for enumerator contract management and ensure performance analyses are in line with ACTED and IMPACT’s policies.
  5. Support the HRO to ensure administrative requirements are met toward customs and any other local/national authority when transporting goods/staff.
  6. Together with the CC and DCC, maintain team morale, a strong team spirit, and monitor staff welfare, as well as help ensure team cohesion between Mogadishu, Hargaies, Nairobi and all field bases, and within and across units. In particular, support the relationship between international and national staff.
  7. Support CC and DCC in developing proposal budgeting and ensuring adequate resources are allocated from an HR and administrative perspective, including the development of standardised documentation and templates for calculating costs.
  8. Together with ACTED, contribute to the overall mission-wide systems strengthening of HR and administrative procedures.

Transparency, Audit and compliance Management

  1. Ensure that all procedures are conducted in compliance with donor requirements and that required paperwork and record keeping are in place to support the IMPACT and ACTED T&C team in responding to audit requests.
  2. Ensure adherence to IMPACT and ACTED FLAT procedures, Code of Conduct, and Anti-Fraud Policy to minimize the risk of fraud and corruption
  3. Proactively identify any audit and compliance risks in the day-to-day delivery of IMPACT programmes, and ensure that these are highlighted to the CC, DCC and HQ to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures can be put in place.
  4. Provide practical training and capacity building for all in-country IMPACT staff on specific areas of IMPACT and ACTED procedures.
  5. Contribute to proactive dissemination and use of knowledge gained through audit activities (internal and external audits) among international and national staff.
  6. Together with ACTED, contribute to the overall mission-wide systems strengthening of transparency, audit, and compliance procedures.

Mission-wide systems strengthening

  1. Alongside the CC and DCC, lead the design and implementation of SOPs and systems to support increasing the ability of IMPACT Ken/Som to directly manage its resources.
  2. In coordination with ACTED, support the CC, DCC, and the rest of the SMT in reviewing and improving existing finance, logistics, transparency and compliance, and HR and administrative processes, particularly as related to in-country operations to ensure IMPACT Ken/Som is well placed to execute the country and unit strategies
  3. Proactively identify systems and processes which are not serving the current needs of the mission and develop plans to modify and/or replace these as needed.
  4. Ensure effective communication between support departments in all bases and the IMPACT and ACTED focal points in each field base.
  5. Support the roll-out of HQ initiatives at the mission level, ensuring the timely and proper implementation of new systems, policies, and processes.

Team Leadership and other tasks

  1. Provide line management of all the finance, administrative, and logistics staff that are dedicated by ACTED to support IMPACT operations in Ken/Som, including effective delegation of day-to-day tasks and ensuring all team members are fully aware of their job description, duties, and responsibilities.
  2. Ensure that team members are provided with the training, support, and resources required to independently manage their responsibilities without day-to-day intervention.
  3. Conduct regular check-ins with staff under the position’s line management to identify skills and interests on the team, as well as any issues influencing team/staff welfare.
  4. Provide additional support as required relating to the operations of the IMPACT Ken/Som mission, as requested by your line manager
  5. Be an active member of the IMPACT SMT, providing inputs into the strategic and operational planning for the IMPACT Ken/Som mission.

Accountability to Communities and Beneficiaries

The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities we work in are conducted in a respectful and consultative manner. Due attention must be paid to ensuring that communities are adequately consulted and informed about IMPACT’s programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies. This is the responsibility of every IMPACT staff member.

Data confidentiality and Data Protection

The IMPACT Senior FLAT Manager will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. S/he will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorised sharing of any information belonging to IMPACT and its partners or collected during his/her assignment with IMPACT.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Academic Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (Finance, Business, Audit, Law, International Relations, etc.)
  • Work experience At least 5 years of relevant work experience or proven progression within IMPACT, including at least 2 years in a management role
  • Management experience Excellent team management, coordination, organisational and planning skills required, including the ability to manage large workloads, oversee multiple teams and effectively meet deadlines through an excellent ability to multi-task and prioritise
  • Aid system Familiarity with the humanitarian and development systems, and the research community
  • Communication/reporting skills Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting, including proven experience contributing to high level presentations/briefings
  • External engagement Experience with external engagement (donors, partners, and other key stakeholders) is required; experience with development actors is strongly preferred
  • Financial management Experience managing multiple budgets is an asset
  • Multi-tasking skills Ability to multitask and manage multiple deadlines in a complex environment
  • Level of independence Ability to work independently and manage people remotely required
  • Work environment Solution-oriented, flexible, and open-minded, including the ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment required;
  • Geographical experience Knowledge of the Ken/Som context – experience in the HoA region is desirable
  • Language skills Fluency in English required, competency in Somali and/or Kiswahili asset
  • Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment

Conditions

  • Salary defined by the IMPACT salary grid; educational level, expertise, hardship, security, and performance are considered for pay bonus
  • Additional monthly living allowance provided in the country by IMPACT’s partner ACTED
  • Food and lodging provided at the organisation’s guesthouse/or housing allowance (depending on contract length and country of assignment)
  • Transportation costs covered, including additional return ticket + luggage allowance
  • Provision of medical, life, and repatriation insurance + retirement package

How to apply

Please apply directly on IMPACT’s website: Senior FLAT Manager | Impact (impact-initiatives.org)

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