Sudan – Country Administrator at COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale

COOPI is looking for a Country Administrator in Sudan

COOPI has been present in Sudan since 2004. The recent history of Sudan is marked by strong disorders and violence, expressions of a civil war that on several occasions has shaken the country since its independence.
COOPI’s interventions focused in the Darfur region that for a long time has been the scene of armed clashes and particularly hit by periods of severe drought. Since 2019, COOPI’s interventions focused also in the Kassala region. To allow the management of these activities and to ensure access to basic services for the population, different interventions were carried out, in the field of water-hygiene and food security both on humanitarian and development perspective.

Purpose of the role

He/She ensures the correct administrative/financial management and the sustainability of the Country Coordination, and Area Coordination if available, by preparing the coordination budget and by controlling the projects’ budgets preparation. He/She controls all final balances and monitors the correct predisposition of all financial reports, in compliance with COOPI and the donors’ procedures. He/She guarantees the information correctness and completeness to the headquarters.

Responsabilities

Planning and coordination budget control

• Prepare, in cooperation with the Head of Mission, and regularly verify the trend of the general coordination and any area coordination’s budget;
• Monitor the sustainability of all coordination and field offices under the country coordination responsibility and verify the correct distribution of fixed costs to the projects;
• Monitor the coordination and projects’ non deductible costs.

Budget preparation and projects’ economic-financial control

• Supervise the new project’s budgets in conformity with the programming and the Country Coordination/Milan’s Headquarters sustainability;
• In cooperation with the Project Managers, Area Administrators and the Head of Mission, regularly identify the economic and financial engagements, which are necessary to carry out the project activities.

Goods managements

• Verify the sustainability and correct management of all goods owned by COOPI, in collaboration with the country’s logistic function (“CAMELOT” and inventories);
• Verify the correct application of the organization’s procedures in relation to purchases and goods management.

Financial management

• Supervise and control the cash management (safes and bank accounts) and the cash flow to the projects according to the requests;
• Manage and supervise all funding by donors to the projects (anticipations and tranches reception), updating the information for transmission to the central Headquarters;
• In agreement with the Head of Mission to guarantee the correct timing of tranches reception;
• In agreement with the central headquarters’ Administrative Desk, propose the priorities for the financial reports submission schedule to the Head of Mission;
• Ensure the correct management and the general coordination/field offices/area coordination cash control and related costs;
• He/she has the right to signature on all the organization’s bank accounts.

Projects’ economic-financial monitoring

• In collaboration with the Project Managers and/or Administrative Coordinators and Head of Mission/Area Coordinators, he/she regularly checks the economic-financial performance of projects: final balance, expenditure excess, expenditure projections, and financial forecast.

Financial reporting and audit

• Finalize and control all intermediate and final financial reports to be transmitted to the donors, before transmitting them to the central headquarters;
• To be responsible for the correct financial reporting and she ensures the correct filing of all projects’ data;
• To be responsible for the preparation and carry out of audits conducted in the country, and for the transmission to the central headquarters of all project documents to be audited in Italy;
• To be responsible for the preparation of annual audits, if expected;
• Guarantee the correct functioning of the field offices, coordination and areas, also by going on verification missions on field.

Local staff management and local and expatriate staff administration

• Manages and supervise the administrators/local accountants who work in the Coordination;
• Ensures the training for the Field office/Area Administrators under the Country Coordination responsibility, and for all the expatriate staff involved in the administrative process (ex. Logisticians, Project Managers, Area Coordinators);
• Regularly monitor the work done (remotely or through missions on field);
• Support the Head of Mission in the elaboration of local staff management standards (local staff regulation) and guarantees the correct management of all documents related to staff management.

Procedures

• Provides technical support to the Project Managers and to the Project Administrators/Administrative Coordinator and control the correct application of COOPI and the donor’s administrative procedures.

Data elaboration and transmission

• Regularly produce and transmit information and data requested by the Milan’s Headquarters, according to the planned schedule.

Administrative documents filing

• Ensure the correct filing of the country’s administrative documents (central and peripheral level), in compliance with the organization’s procedures.

Institutional relations

• In cooperation with the Head of Mission, manage all relations and related bureaucratic practices, with public administrative agencies in the country (work inspectorate, taxes general directorate, banks etc.) and with the administrative-financial offices of the donors’ decentralized delegations and any other task needed for the good realization of his work, agreed with country coordination.

Requirements

Essentials

• University degree in Financial/Administrative subjects;
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant working experience;
• At least 3 years of demonstrated successful experience in international relief and development in a similar position;
• Experience in liaising with governmental/local authorities, IOs and NGOs;
• Demonstrated ability to work in stressful environments and under pressure;
• Proven capacity to work in a team is essential.
• Demonstrated effective verbal and written communication, negotiation skills, multi-tasking and organizational skills;
• Fluency in English language;
• Computer literacy;

Desired

• Previous work experience in Sudan is a plus;
• Experience in logistics, procurement and security matters is a strong advantage;
• Experience in managing staff is an advantage;
• Experience in working in conflict-prone environments.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the application closing date, once a sufficient number of applications have been received.
Please note that only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Interviews will be conducted on rolling basis and the vacancy will be closed when filled, thanks for understanding.