Assistant Finance Controller

Background:

The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian international NGOs, provides relief, rehabilitation and development support to vulnerable people and communities over 30 countries. We began work in Ethiopia in 2000 in response to severe drought in Ethiopia’s Somali region and are currently providing assistance to Ethiopians and refugees in six regions in Ethiopia, implementing emergency and development programs in health, water and sanitation, economic recovery and development (ERD), women’s protection and empowerment, education, child protection, and multi-sectoral emergency response.

Scope of Work:

The Assistant Finance Controller has overall policy and management responsibility for the finance and accounting functions. The Assistant Finance Controller’s responsibilities include general controllership, staff training and capacity building, management, treasury, and budget functions. You will be responsible for working with various local and international implementing partners. The assistant finance controller reports to Deputy director for finance (DDF)

Responsibilities:

Specific Responsibility: Controllership

• Ensures that all policies and procedures follow IRC and funding source policies.
• Establishes finance and supporting function policies, systems, and procedures, as required.
• Meets all financial reporting requirements and deadlines specified by New York and donors.
• Ensures balance sheet reconciliations are reviewed.
• Closely monitors all financial activities and keeps the Deputy director for finance (DDF) of all situations which have the potential for a negative impact on internal controls or financial performance.
• Directs the preparation of and approves all donor financial reports in respect to accounting, legal and contractual requirements. Facilitates and co-ordinates external, internal, donor or government audits. Develops schedules and performs or supervises the completion of country internal control audits, and initiates actions necessary to correct internal control weaknesses.
• Maintains current knowledge of local government requirements related to financial matters and ensures compliance with tax regulations and other legal requirements efficiently.

Specific Responsibility: Staff Training, Capacity Building & Management

• Develops and implements a training program for the country’s national finance staff to ensure staff development.
• Ensures comprehensive and constructive performance reviews are completed on a timely basis and facilitates discussion of performance and career options with staff under supervision.

Specific responsibility: Treasury

• Supervises all country office bank relations and bank account activities including negotiation of fees, interest, and currency exchange rates.
• In compliance with IRC policy establishes country policies regarding cash holding limits, cash movements and foreign currency holdings.
• Oversees the timely preparation, review and approval of all monthly bank account and cash reconciliations.
• Create, implements, and monitors systems, procedures and reporting necessary to maintain on current basis accurate forecasts of cash requirements for meeting future spending, including commitments entered and which obligate IRC to future spending.
• Supervises the preparation of Cash Transfer Requests to New York and ensures that appropriate balances are maintained to facilitate grant implementation.
• Ensures the development and implementation of a plan to minimize the country’s foreign exchange exposure to currency gains and losses.

Specific Responsibility: Budgeting and Budget monitoring

• Assists with the preparation and revision of program and grant proposals and budgets including operating budget with budget guidelines to assist program/grants managers in formulating budgets.
• In compliance with donor requirements and IRC policy develops the “Field Operations/Overhead” budget and recommends a methodology for allocation of overhead to grant budgets.
• Prepares the annual and monthly cash budgets based on approved funding.
• Presents and facilitates the review of actual to budget expenditures timely bases.

Specific Responsibilities: Sub-grantees/Partners

• Work with operation, grant and program on sub grantee/partner pre award assessment.
• Develop training plan for sub grantees/partner on grant financial management and donor specific requirements.
• Review sub grantees/partners book of accounts and financial documents as per the grant.
• Ensure transfer of fund, reporting requirement, and liquidations are as per sub-Grant agreement.

Specific Responsibility: Cash and Risk management

• Oversees the timely preparation, review and approval of all monthly bank account and cash reconciliations.
• Ensure IRC policy and procedures are consistently applied and understood well by finance and non-finance.
• Supervise the preparation of cash transfer requests to New York and ensures that appropriate balances are maintained to facilitate grant implementation.
• Ensures the development and implementation of a plan to minimize the country’s foreign exchange exposure to currency gains and losses.

Specific Responsibility: Field office support

• The assistant finance controller provides technical and managerial support to the field offices in the day today financial activities.

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Business Administration, Commerce or Finance with a recognized institution or a master’s degree in Accounting, CPA/ACCA;
• Minimum six years of non-profit managerial financial experience.
• Requires extensive experience in working with computerized accounting systems preferably in SUN and Microsoft 360 dynamics, standard spreadsheet and database programs.
• Ability to carry out responsibilities independently with minimal technical support from within the program organization.
• Must be a patient and good communicator who can function in an organizational environment involving a diversity of cultures, languages, and personal interests and agendas. Good at role of facilitator and team player in solving problems.
• Committed to staff training and development.