Senior Officer, Finance

Organizational Context

Job Purpose

This post is responsible to ensure the provision of effective and efficient accounting and treasury services at the Armenia delegation. This post will be responsible also for the provision of financial services to project managers within delegation.

Financial Polices and Processes, Budgeting, Validation of transactions, Treasury, Supplementary Services, Shared Office and Service Costs, Accounting verification, Balance Sheet items review and reconciliation, Month end close routines, Financial Analysis and donor reporting, Capacity Review and Risk Assessment – Fund Transfer to Armenia RC

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Financial Policies and Procedures
•    Have a deep understanding of the financial federation procedures that will allow validating the transactions accordingly (e.g. Supplementary Services, Shared Office and Service Costs, etc.)
•    Advice project staff in the appropriate interpretation of the financial procedures so the transactions to be performed are in compliance with them.
•    Provide feedback to project managers on documentation submitted with incorrect coding or inadequate supporting documentation

Budgeting
•    Provide technical support and advice to the project managers and / or programme staff during the preparation and/or revision of budgets
•    Provide analysis of actual expenditures vs. budgets with its respective analysis of the variances (if there is any) and recommendations
•    Coordinate the expenditure reallocations when it is necessary to align planned expenditures vs. the budget lines
•    Do consolidations of budgets of the respective portfolio
•    Prepare outlooks in terms of the estimated expenditures of a project to complement the information provided to the project manager

Validation of transactions
•    Ensure that all the transactions related to his/her portfolio are validated following the expenditure authorization procedure and others
•    Ensure all accounting transactions are properly authorized and documented by original and valid supporting documentation.  Provide feedback to the project managers when findings have been identified in terms of documentation that does not meet the requirements or transactions that are not within the approved budget
•    Follow up with the project manager or unit staff that the forecasts, journal of expenditures, working advance and travel per-diem claim forms and other documents are presented within the established deadlines in order to validate them
•    Provide monthly account statements to staff to reconcile the balances and obtain the reimbursement or the settlement of the liability

Treasury
•    The post will be responsible for the monthly cash request analysis submission
•    Ensure there are sufficient funds at the delegation level
•    Manage appropriately the transfers of funds between bank accounts to minimize foreign exchange risks due to currency revaluations
•    Prepare periodic cash flows and ensure monthly petty cash reconciliation is completed.
•    Preparation of bank account reconciliations
•    Ensure that daily, weekly and monthly petty cash counts are being done

Supplementary Services
•    Validate the PNS transactions related to the provision of supplementary services
•    Ensure the accuracy of the booking of these transactions
•    Prepare the draft invoice and ensure the content matches with the supplementary services report
•    Ensure all the bookings related to services provided have been reflected in the accounting

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Shared Office and Service Costs
•    Provide technical support to the project managers during the preparation of the shared office and service costs budgets
•    Gather the required information to fill in the calculation spreadsheet
•    Explain to each project manager of the related function the results of the analysis
•    Do the booking on a monthly basis
•    Coordinate revisions when it is required
•    Provide interpretation of the SOSC management report to each related project manager

Accounting verification
•    Review the accounting transactions booked in the accounting at least on a weekly basis to ensure that they reflect adequate coding, clear descriptions, document codes are the correct ones, document dates are correct, duplications of the same entries do not exist, etc.

Balance Sheet items review and reconciliations
•    Conduct emergency funds counts (surprise or planned)
•    Ensure the same amount that was counted match with the amount reflected in the accounting system
•    Validate the transactions in the petty cash
•    Reconciled account statements of the outstanding balances of staff
•    Ensure that other balance sheet items are reconciled (e.g. prepayments, guarantee deposits, supplier balances, etc.)
•    Coordinate that corrections are done if required

 Month end closed routines
•    This post will be responsible to run all the routines related for the closing of the month (e.g. currency revaluation, allocation, booking of provisions, etc.)
•    This post is responsible that the accounting team confirms the closing of the month within the established dates
•    This position will conduct the preparation of the CODA checklist

Financial Analysis & donor reporting
•    Prepare ad-hoc financial analysis as per demand of the projects under his/her portfolio
•    Interpret financial indicators to project managers and provide quality advice to increase the performance or minimize or mitigate risks
•    Ensure timely preparation and submission of donor financial report

Capacity Review Risk Assessment (CRRA) – Fund Transfer to NS
•    Ensure transfer of funds are within signed project agreement
•    Provide finance validation on e-contract work flow
•    Provide training to NS on funds transfer budgeting and reporting template
•    Perform verification on supporting documents at NS premises once reports are submitted.
•    Prepare spot check reports accordingly.

Relationships with other stakeholders
•    Liaise with project managers and unit staff to provide effective services with the aim to contribute to the achievements of the plans and results
•    Support auditors in terms of clarification or providing supporting documentation
•    Conduct briefing and debriefings to unit staff under his/her portfolio

Others
•    Provide assistance in case of long term vacancies, absence or illness to ensure continuity of the finance function
•    Be prepare to deliver training to IFRC finance, IFRC non finance or National Society Staff (if it is required)

Education

Required:

• Relevant University or Master’s Degree in Administration, financial management accounting
• Professional qualification in finance or accounting (Chartered accountant, CPA or equivalent)

Experience

Required:

• At least 3 years of professional experience in a finance or accounting department
• Experience of managing and supporting staff

Preferred:

• At least 2 years of field experience in a humanitarian organisation
• Experience of working with the Red Cross / Red Crescent movement

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Required

• Self-supported in computing systems (e.g. accounting software package and MS Office)
• Excellent communication skills
• Time Management Skills
• Fluent spoken and written English
• Fluent spoken and written Armenian

Preferred

• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic)

Competencies, Values and Comments

• Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability.
• Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and Teamwork; Pro-activity; National Societies and Customer Relations; Creativity and Innovation; Building Trust