Senior Regional Finance Officer At Spark

SPARK is looking for a Senior Regional Finance Officer (SRFO) who has excellent knowledge of Financial Accounting, Project Accounting, and Management Reporting. With excellent people leadership capabilities, this senior is expected to be service-oriented, calm under pressure, an independent planner with good communication skills. He should have experience and knowledge to build the capacity of the finance team in the region.
The Senior Regional Finance Officer is based in Gaziantep or Istanbul, and he/she is working under the supervision of the Regional Finance Manager (RFM). SRFO will be working closely with Projects Leads and Country Managers and also providing support to Finance and Admin officers (FAOs) in the region. He/she should ensure that the finance team is working based on SPARK policies and procedures and in compliance with Donor’s requirements.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for month-end accounting process, following up with Finance teams FAOs in the region like as an example, Bank & cash Rec, B.S Rec, Reconciliation of Intercompany account between HQ and all countries in the region.
• Based on a delegation from RFM, being a finance lead for some projects with close coordination with project leads (PLs) to achieve the overall goal of the projects.
• Prepares budget versus spending, performs analysis and informs RFM & PLs for any (potential) over/underspent, and suggests solutions to overcome these variances.
• Assists RFM with annual budgets and ensure financial resources are available in the country offices.
• Work closely with Program Managers for program extensions and budget revision.
• Submitting all donor’s instalment requests on time with having a full track for all pending donor’s instalment requests.
• Under the supervision of RFM and in close coordination with Project leads and country managers prepare a cash flow reporting quarterly.
• Replacement of the RFM in his/her absence based on the request of the Finance Director and the Regional Program Director.
• Monitors and conducts frequent country field financial staff training needs and coordinates the design and implementation of appropriate training programs in consultation with the RFM.
• Regularly review and assess country compliance with donor and SPARK financial policies and procedures.
• Arranges Kick-off meetings with local implementing partners after signing agreements.
• Reviews financial reports and supporting documents of our implementing partners monthly and follows up with all FAOs in the region for balance confirmation with implementing partners every quarter.
• Reviews all potential implementing partners’ proposals (mainly budgets) and be part of any selection committee for partner selection.
• Coordination between controllers at HQ and FAOs in the region for regional projects audit.
• Reviews analyze, and monitors all balances related to vendors, implementing partners, and all B.S accounts monthly.
• Support of the Regional Procurement Manager, work closely with the country teams for any upcoming procurement.
• Other tasks based on RFM requests.

Requirements and Skills

• BA and/or Master Finance/Accounting or Business, or a professional accounting qualification from an internationally recognized institute of accountancy;
• A minimum of 7 years of experience in general in Finance and accounting, however at least 4 years of Experience in financial management and project management in the NGO sector, especially in drawing up activity budgets and reporting to donors.
• Knowledge of audit tracking, accounting and budgetary procedures and techniques, procurement of goods and services.
• Excellent verbal and written language skills in English (Arabic is a plus).
• Organizational skills and the ability to work independently;
• Ability to work under pressure and to travel;
• Proactively solving problems;
• High energy, pro-active and service-minded;
• Hands-on attitude and willing to help out flexibly if required.
• Turkish nationality only.

SPARK Offers

• A challenging and exciting position in an international environment;
• Remuneration based on experience between 1,400-1,700 EUR net per month;
• Full-time contract with 2 months’ probation period;
• Generous leave of 32 days (including the national and religious holidays);
• Training opportunities.