International Finance Manager - Weapons and Ammunition Management (WAM)

Role: International Finance Manager – Weapons and Ammunition Management Directorate

Location: Based in Guatemala, with frequent travel to El Salvador and Honduras required.

Contract: Permanent, full-time

Salary: Competitive, based on experience

Start Date: 10th January 2025

Reporting to: Weapons and Ammunition Management Programme Manager (West)

About us

The HALO Trust began work in weapons and ammunition management (WAM) in 2011, in Côte d’Ivoire. Since then, work has expanded into 16 countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras (Central America). The WAM Directorate currently operates 18 contracts from institutional and private donors for projects across two of HALO’s Strategic Goals.

To date, HALO’s global WAM projects have built and refurbished 344 armouries and explosive storage facilities, marked and registered over 61,000 weapons, and trained nearly 1,500 national security force personnel in safe storage and disposal of at-risk weapons and ammunition.

This is a great opportunity to join or progress in the WAM directorate with a dynamic group of technical specialists, project management and delivery staff.

About the role

HALO is seeking to recruit a dynamic and proactive International Finance Manager (IFM) who will support the country and regional managers in delivering financial outputs, as well as legal and compliance obligations. The postholder must have proven accounting experience, and ideally possess an accompanying qualification.

The IFM will be based in the HALO office/guest house in Guatemala City, but will also cover El Salvador and Honduras. The postholder will be required to make visits to all three Central America projects, as well as occasionally to other global locations, such as the United Kingdom and Türkiye.

*Please note that this role is based in Guatemala, and cannot be conducted remotely*

Job responsibilities

Financial planning and monitoring

• Support the Programme Managers in the three Programmes in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of annual business plans and project budgets.
• Analyse and report on the programme funding position, working collaboratively to produce scenarios that ensure ongoing financial stability.
• Lead the financial monitoring and review of grants/contracts, working closely with operations to forecast and report on project costs to completion.
• Collaboratively produce project/programme budgets and forecasts utilising HALO’s financial planning system (Adaptive Insights).
• Support the Programme Managers in the management of financial risk in the programme, escalating and addressing any emerging risks.

Accounting and financial control

• Provide financial oversight and support to the local finance teams at all programme locations, ensuring transactions are fully reconciled and discrepancies identified and corrected.
• Ensure implementation of HALO’s financial and logistics policies and procedures, reviewing and reporting on compliance against the same.
• Oversee all financial accounting matters, including month end, in accordance with agreed deadlines.
• Ensure that direct and indirect costs are allocated appropriately to projects, identifying and reporting on any shortfalls in both direct and indirect cost coverage.
• Oversee the financial management of delivery partner contracts, ensuring compliance with HALO’s contractual obligations.
• Review local salary calculations to ensure accuracy, and ensure calculations for salary, income tax, social security, severance, and other government levies are in accordance with local legislations.
• Support the Programme Managers in ensuring compliance with all statutory legislation (e.g., tax, registration, labour law), including the review of regulatory requirements in all operational territories.

Cash management

• Ensure that adequate banking and cash provisions are in place, set up in accordance with HALOs financial policies and that delegations of authority enable the programme to operate efficiently, particularly during periods of leave etc.
• Manage the short-term cash flow requirements of the programme, liaising with HALO HQ to facilitate cash transfers. Manage the effects of exchange rate fluctuations between local and contract currencies.

External reporting and audit

• Lead the preparation of country financial statements and donor financial reports.
• In collaboration with HALO HQ finance department, review and report on compliance against HALO policies and procedures.
• Lead the preparation for external audits, preparing schedules and documentation as and when required by auditors and/or HALO HQ finance department.

Staff Management and development

• Ensure that financial staffing capacity is fit for purpose for the needs of all three programmes.
• Develop the capacity and career development of national finance staff, ensuing financial consistency and quality across the programmes.

Other

• Assist the programmes in developing related policies, practices and SOPs.
• Other administrative duties as and when required.

• Professional accounting qualification, or clearly demonstrable qualified experience.
• Experience of working in the INGO sector.
• Extensive financial management experience overseas.
• Experience managing and developing small teams.
• Experience of ERP systems.
• Financial planning and reporting experience.
• Excellent understanding of financial risk management in developing countries.
• Ability to implement and monitor policies and procedures.
• Proven ability to lead, manage, motivate, and develop a team.
• Interpretation and implementation of donor/client contract requirements.
• Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to work in a wide variety of cultural contexts.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to coordinate activities.
• Excellent literacy, numeracy, and IT skills, including data manipulation.
• Ability and willingness to work strategically, but also to undertake routine administrative tasks.
• Spanish language skills desirable

All HALO staff are expected to undertake the following general duties

• Work within the framework of HALO’s core values, promoting its ethos and mission statement.
• Work towards achieving programme and/or group business plan objectives.
• Ensure familiarity with and adhere to all HALO policies and procedures and keep informed of HALO activities.
• Travel between the three Programmes regularly and overseas as and when required.
• To discharge duties and responsibilities under HALO’s Health and Safety Procedures which may include Risk and COSHH Assessments and participation in evacuation procedures as necessary.

Benefits of working at HALO:

• Private Health Insurance
• Local overseas allowance of $350 per month for international staff.
• Shared accommodation in a rented HALO guest house, provided at nil cost.
• 49 days of annual leave, increasing to 56 days after 2 years.
• Three economy return flights to the member’s home address (or an alternative location up to an equivalent cost).
• Comprehensive insurance package: life assurance and emergency medical insurance, including evacuation and repatriation.
• Retirement savings plan.

To apply please submit your CV and supporting statement (no more than one page), in English,detailing why you are suitable for this role before the closing date for applications, which is 29th November 2024

We reserve the right to amend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.

The HALO Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

The HALO Trust is committed to a culture that is both diverse and inclusive and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

The HALO Trust is committed to ensuring that it provides a safe and trusted environment which safeguards and promotes the welfare and well-being of anyone who comes into contact with, or is part of, the Charity, with a zero-tolerance approach to behaviours which challenge this.