Finance and Administration Assistant

• Attractive local package
• Friendly and supportive team environment
• Join the principal development organization in the Pacific region

Description

The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our organisation works across more than 25 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

In commemorating the SPC’s 70th anniversary, the 10th Pacific Community Conference agreed to establish the Pacific Community Centre for Ocean Science (PCCOS) to be hosted at SPC and become a true flagship for scientific excellence and a dedicated regional science information and knowledge hub. PCCOS leads the design of the SPC Ocean Flagship through consultation with SPC divisions and regional partners, as well as coordinating cross-divisional projects, implemented across SPC divisions (FAME, GEM, CCES). PCCOS is also implementing seed-projects/programmes such as the Pacific Islands Ocean Acidification Centre (PIOAC), the Pacific Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOP) Network and Placement Programme, the Pacific Islands Decade Coordination Centre (PI-DCC), and the Regional Alliance of the Global Ocean Observing System for the Pacific Islands (PIGOOS), that all have regional coordination mandates.    

The role – Finance and Administration Assistant will be responsible for supporting the administrative and financial delivery of PCCOS and support to related projects in accordance with SPC and Donor requirements. Responsibilities include management of project accounting, audit, and budgetary controls, monitoring of project sub contractual requirements, support for procurement of works and services contracts, support for the development and acquittal of country grant agreements funding with Pacific island countries.  Where needed and possible, the Finance and administration assistant may be required to assist other projects within SPC.

The key responsibilities of the role include:

Financial and procurement support services

• Support the delivery of financial and procurement reports using SPC financial systems.
• Monitor project expenditure against approved budget on a monthly basis.
• Ensure financial transactions and project procurements comply with SPC’s Financial and Procurement guidelines.
• Facilitate sub-recipient grants to countries and ensuring that quarterly sub-recipient acquittals are received and processed in system.
• Verify requests for purchase orders, supporting documents and account codes for validity, accuracy and completeness and preparing timely and accurate purchase orders and ensure commitment lists remain accurate.

Travel and logistics management

• Manage travel requirements for programme staff, including liaising with travel agents on itinerary and tickets.
• Ensure travel is budgeted for and in line with work plan.
• Support the development of budgets for regional workshops and field travel needs.
• Facilitate travel arrangements using the NuTrip system for International, Regional and National Workshops.

Administration and operations support

• Manage day-to-day administration and operations work.
• Manage and monitoring project filing systems, including the archiving and backup of project documents, information and data in a format suitable for supporting mid-term and terminal evaluations.
• Effectively manage project assets records.

For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the online job description.

Key selection criteria

Qualifications

• A diploma in a relevant field such as business administration, commerce, accounting or equivalent body of knowledge and experience.

Technical expertise

• 5 years of experience in project accounting or financial administration in a medium to large organization.
• Demonstrated experience in donor project finance and administration.
• Experience in financial audit administration.
• Sound experience in logistics management inclusive of travel for workshops and training programs.       

Language skills

• Excellent English communication skills (oral and written).

Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness

• Ability to work in a multicultural, inclusive and equitable environment.

Salary, terms and conditions

Contract Duration – Until 30 June 2025 – subject to renewal depending on funding and performance.

Remuneration – The Finance and Administration Assistant is a band 7 position in SPC’s 2024 salary scale, with a commencing taxable salary range of FJD 2,287-2,859 per month, plus local staff benefits. An offer of appointment for an initial contract will normally be made in the lower half of this range, with due consideration given to experience and qualifications. Progression within the salary scale will be based on annual performance reviews.

Recruitment principles – SPC’s recruitment is based on merit and fairness, and candidates are competing in a selection process that is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. SPC is an equal-opportunity employer, and is committed to cultural and gender diversity, including bilingualism, and will seek to attract and appoint candidates who respect these values. Due attention is given to gender equity and the maintenance of strong representation from Pacific Island professionals. If two interviewed candidates are ranked equal by the selection panel, preference will be given to the Pacific Islander.

Applicants will be assured of complete confidentiality in line with SPC’s Privacy Policy.

Application procedure

Closing Date – 1 December 2024 at 11:59pm (Fiji time)

Job Reference: JM000802

Applicants must apply online at http://careers.spc.int/

Hard copies of applications will not be accepted.

For your application to be considered, you must provide us with:

• an updated resume with contact details for three professional referees
• a cover letter detailing your skills, experience and interest in this position
• responses to all screening questions

Your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed at shortlisting stage if all the above documents are not provided. Applicants should not attach copies of qualifications or letters of reference. Please ensure your documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

Only Fijian citizens are eligible to apply for this role.

SPC does not charge a fee to consider your application and will never ask for your banking or financial information during the recruitment process.

Screening Questions (maximum of 2,000 characters per question):

1. Identify one high value procurement challenge you have faced in your current line of work and explain how it was resolved.
2. Accurate financial data is important for reporting purposes. Can you explain one method you have used that has effectively ensured the correctness of data for reporting purposes?
3. SPC carries out a lot of regional workshops as part of our work portfolio. What are 2 risks and solutions you can identify from arranging a workshop for multiple external participants?