Commodity/ Transfer Officer -Yabello, Oromia

FH Ethiopia is a non-governmental organization engaged in relief and development activities. At FH, we operate under a set of guiding principles we call the “The Heartbeat”. This includes our Values, Vision and Purpose, which serve as the explanation of who we are and how we work as organization. Together we follow God’s call responding to human suffering and graduating communities from extreme poverty. FH Ethiopia would like to invite potential internal and external candidates to apply for the following position:

Position:                                      Commodity/ Transfer Officer

Duty Stations:                             Yabello, Borena (Oromia Region)

Duration of Contract:                Six Months (Temporary)

Salary:                                          As per the salary scale of the organization

Closing date:                               December 17, 2022

Job Summary

Review projects commodity reports and their supporting documents; prepare monthly/quarterly commodity reports to donors/regional offices.  Responsible to reconcile commodity records of the project with with each store sites. He/she will advise project Commodity Storekeepers on monthly commodity reporting, donor’s policy and procedure in handling food aid commodity. He/she is responsible to keep track of commodity movement records FDP to final distribution.

Principal Responsibilities

Key Result #1 – Process commodity payments, Commodity receipts/collections, and management 

1. Checks all payment commodity documents, payment for allocation and other related issues prior to the project manager’s approval.
2. Receive information on the food allocation of the woreda for the year from the Commodity team in Addis Ababa.
3. Manage any warehouse or food stock in the designated area under FH control to ensure safe, orderly, clean, and vermin-free storage.
4. Maintain inventory control and conduct at least monthly physical inventories to ensure that losses are controlled in storage.
5. Prepare distribution plans in coordination with the project partners to ensure the timely delivery of the required commodities at each distribution site
6. Maintain complete lists of all program beneficiaries; including, types, quantities, and dates of rations received by each (as verified by signature or thumbprint of the beneficiary) and reconcile with original consignments
7. Set up complaint and response mechanisms in all final Distribution points.
8. Establish post Monitoring and Distribution systems in FDP, and ensure the activities are conducted with M&E.
9. Conduct field trips to ensure compliance of commodity and warehouse management standards and provide on the site capacity building.
10. Do reconciliation of warehouse and other commodity records and take timely corrective actions if there exist discrepancies.
11. Manage Field to verify that distribution has occurred according to the intentions of the donor and FHE, noting anomalies and taking swift action to notify the Commodities coordinator/Manager when abuses are suspected.

Key Result #2: E-payment 

1. Actively engage in participants’ selection and verification process. He/she should liaise with the woreda DRM and kebele leaders in targeting beneficiaries as per the agreed selection criteria
2. Receive MBL list from the government and undertake verification.
3. Communicate the Area Project Manager in case of any inconsistencies between the MBL and the woreda allocation.
4. Produce payroll based on the corrected information and get checked by the Project Admin and Finance Officer.
5. Monitor cash disbursements to ensure that disbursement is conducted in accordance to the established procedure after verifying clients and clients are receiving their entitlements;
6. Send weekly and monthly cash disbursement updates to E-Payment and Partnership Advisor on a timely manner and with quality
7. Conduct timely supervision to verify reasons for those who failed to take their cash on time and produce timely report to be submitted to the Area Project manager and E-Payment and Partnership Advisor

Key Result #3 – Recording commodity movements, produces commodity reports for Addis office review

1. Actively engage in participants’ selection and verification process. He/she should liaise with the woreda DRM and kebele leaders in targeting participants as per the agreed selection criteria
2. Receive MBL from the Kebeles and liaise with the woreda DRM office for verification of the lists.
3. Obtains monthly commodity status report from the storekeepers, supervisor and reconciles with the ledger and stock record and sends it to senior commodity officer.
4. Record commodity movements by commodity type and distribution site
5. With the consultation of the Administrative and Finance Officer the Commodity Officer arranges the transportation of commodities from the main warehouse to the specific distribution sites.
6. Prepares monthly commodity movement summaries for the project and submit them to the Head Office on time.
7. Advice the Area Project Manager with regard to commodity management.
8. Prepares monthly, quarterly, and annual project commodity and other regular reports.
9. Keep attendance sheet, payroll of commodity transfer.
10. Responsibility or commodity accounting and reporting for the FH Ethiopia in emergency programs.
11. In the event the CTS system is deployed in the centralized locations where the project information is consolidated, working with the project warehouse keeper to make sure field information is transferred from the project offices to the main office in a timely manner and with quality.
12. Submission of data packages and reports on a monthly basis to the Area Project Manager.

Key Result #4 – Supervises administrative and commodity staff; assist area project manager in administrative matters

1. Conduct regular supervision cleaning, security and warehouse management activities
2. In consultation with the immediate supervisor, schedules staff annual leaves, keep and update personnel files.
3. Assists the Area Project Manager in commodity management and related matters.
4. Evaluate performance of commodity transfer related staff.
5. Ensure commodity staff at all levels are well equipped with necessary skills, and provide on job training when necessary.

Key Result #5 – Make sure internal control is in place, commodity inventory management 

1. Ensure timely and right commodities allocation.
2. Ensure organizational/donor standards are met.
3. Checks inventory and commodity records of the entire distribution sites monthly.
4. Makes sure accurate stock record is in place and reconciles on a monthly basis as appropriate
5. Checks all commodity movement reports for project manager approval.

Makes sure the internal control system of the organization is in place and is observed by all staff members of the project.SAFEGUARDING POLICY

FH strives to provide an environment free from sexual exploitation and abuse and harassment in all places where relief and development programs are implemented. FH holds a zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and abuse and harassment. FH expects its employees to maintain high ethical standards, protect organizational integrity and reputation, and ensure that FH work is carried out in honest and fair methods, in alignment with the FH Heartbeat and safeguarding and associated policies. Violations to stated policies will be subject to corrective action up to and including termination of employment.

GENDER RESPONSIBILITY

• Provide adequate time to staff to participate in gender sensitivity workshops and related events.
• Through observation, interviews, and spot-checks, ensure that the staff planning process is gender sensitive.
• Build a better gender balance in staffing through affirmative action.
• Observe if women staff are as involved as men in high-profile activities such as interaction with visitors and chairing meetings, and take corrective action if warranted.
• Encourage female staff to participate in external networks (local and regional), as well as seminars and cross visits.
• Facilitate open and regular discussions with staff on about the work environment, policies, and values convenient to gender

SAFETY & SECURITY RESPONSIBILITY

• Encourages compliance of Safety and Security principles and policies of the organization by all staffs;
• Visiting project Offices and operational areas periodically to meet staff and making sure that all staff members are aware of the safety and security procedures;
• Explains to staffs the reasoning behind the organization’s safety and security policies and procedures
• Organizing local training sessions, such as First Aid, Fire Safety, and Defensive Driving for staff members.  If possible, he/she should conduct briefing and training sessions himself/herself;
• Ensures that safety and security objectives are added to performance reviews and evaluations of all staff members;
• Encourages staff to adopt safe and secure practices. Ensuring that updated personnel information related to safety (Record of Emergency Data) and security management are kept in Human resources.

Job Level Specifications

• Full agreement with FH’s Christian foundation and beliefs as expressed in The Heartbeat: our Values, Vision, and Purpose.
• Strong Interpersonal skills,
• Emotional maturity,
• Cross-cultural Sensitivity,
• Ability to work effectively under pressure

Education and Experience

• B.A Degree in Agriculture, Agricultural economics, business administration or related field of study and at least 3 Year experience in a similar position preferably in an NGO setting. Previous experience in Commodity Management is preferred.

Distinguishing Competencies 

• Strong computer skill and knowledge in the area of MS word, MS Excel, MS Access, PowerPoint and email communication.
• High level of initiative taking.
• Training on gender mainstreaming, gender analysis, community dialogue facilitation skills is an added advantage

Language

• Proficiency in both spoken and written English. Ability to write reports and business correspondence. Knowledge of the context in Borena and local language of the intervention area is preferred.

Supervisory Responsibility

• The position holder supervises Commodity Storekeepers, Commodity Distributors.