Job For Finance and Operations Manager at International Alert

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International Alert employs over 200 people of 30 nationalities both in our London offices and in the regions where we work. Most are full-time staff, but we also employ consultants, interns and volunteers. We are looking for a committed and experienced individual to fill the position below:     Job Title: Finance and Operations Manager Location: Abuja with regular travel to Maiduguri and other field office sites Reports to: Nigeria Country Manager (CM) Functional Supervisor Head of Operations and Finance (London) Management Responsibility: Supervises Finance and Administration Assistant, Driver and functionally supervises programme assistant Other Lines of Communication: Works closely with Country Manager, Project/Programme Managers and partner finance staff Job Purpose This position will be responsible for managing finances, administrative, security, operations and logistics for Alert’s Nigeria programme. The FOM is expected to take on a senior leadership role and proactively manage his/her portfolio, while working closely with the Country Manager, budget holder and partner staff to ensure accuracy and compliance. The FOM will:

• Manage Alert Nigeria finances in an accurate, compliant, strategic and timely manner
• Lead human resources management
• Be focal point for security issues and ensure respect of Alert Nigeria security policy
• Ensure sound management of administrative and operational needs for smooth office functioning, respecting Alert, government and donor policies and procedures
• Liaise with partners and donor representatives in Nigeria in relation to administrative and financial issues, with an emphasis on ensuring effective grant management
• Other duties related to finance and operations as relevant

Duties and Responsibilities Manage Alert Nigeria finances in an accurate, compliant, strategic and timely manner:

• Maintain office accounts in accordance with local legislation, Alert’s finance systems and donor requirements;
• Prepare and submit all internal finance reports, forecasts and fund requests
• Oversee petty cash and monitor bank accounts (including reconciliations)
• Ensure that all expenses are authorised and efficiently processed
• Maintain and update a country operational budget and ensure costs are managed with fair allocations
• Be proactive in identifying gaps and surpluses and proposing remedial action including preparing budget realignments
• Organise and participate in monthly expenditure reviews
• Effectively monitor and trace income and expenditure on all contracts
• Manage payment of national consultants and invoicing of donors
• Coordinate and prepare for audits, ensuring no disallowable costs
• Provide training and guidance to budget holders on grant management in line with Alert, donor and government policies
• Prepare budgets for new proposals, in line with realistic activity costs and Country Budget needs.

Lead Human Resources Management:

• Monitor Nigerian labour laws that are relevant to INGO work and propose updates to HR policy to the Country Manager as appropriate
• Prepare and follow a recruitment calendar for any recruitment during the year, ensuring adherence to Alert policies and international best practices
• Ensure timely full administrative onboarding of new employees; conduct induction and training on local finance policies, procedures and systems
• Provide guidance and ensure employees are using Alert’s performance management system
• Line manage Finance and Administration Assistant and Abuja driver, and functionally manage Programme Assistant

Be Focal Point For Security Issue And Ensure Respect Of Alert Nigeria Security Policy:

• Maintain and update security plan and Standard Operating Procedures for implementation of activities outside of main urban areas
• Together with Country Manager, monitor the security situation in the country and keep colleagues up-to-date
• Monitor staff movements when travelling on Alert business in the country
• Attend security meetings, as delegated by the CM
• Provide guidance and training for staff on Alert’s internal security resources; Identify opportunities for relevant external training
• Ensure visitors to Nigeria programme receive guidance on security policy

Ensure sound management of administrative and operational needs for smooth office functioning

• Lead procurement processes, ensuring donor and internal rules and value for money are respected; Identify and raise any issues of non-compliance
• Ensure adherence to Alert’s administrative and operational policies, and propose updates to the CM as necessary
• Ensure the smooth running of Alert Nigeria IT systems; ensure staff have appropriate access and understanding of IT tools
• Ensure all statutory payments, registration, reports are made to the relevant agencies in a timely manner
• Ensure that Alert office operational needs are met, rental agreements are kept up-to-date and facilities such as water, electricity, etc. are maintained;
• Manage computer equipment, office supplies and other project assets (including inventories)
• Oversee the proper use of office vehicles, including maintenance, staff use and compliance with policy

Liaise with partners and donor representatives in Nigeria in relation to administrative and financial issues, with an emphasis on ensuring effective grant management:

• Conduct partner assessments (financial and organisational) of capacity to receive and implement grants, and provide training as needed
• Develop and issue partners with sub-contracting and other partnership agreements, ensuring compliance with agreed terms
• Ensure timely transfer of agreed funds to all partners;
• Maintain regular relations with grant partners on issues of finance and administration
• Monitor and review partner financial reports
• Provide other administrative support with partner management and relations as required o Liaise with donor representatives on financial and administrative issues.

Other:

• Develop understanding of project activities and strategies
• Participate in the development and implementation of Nigeria Country Strategy
• Maintain good relationships and collaborate with Alert’s London office, especially the Finance team
• Accompany senior colleagues when undertaking external networking, represent the CM, as required
• Any other duties which contribute to the smooth running of Alert, as required by the Country Manager Travel requirements
• This position is based in Abuja, with regular travel to other regions of Nigeria.

Person Specification Essential Requirements: At Alert, we have introduced Talent Management to our business model as we believe talented people are crucial to the success of our work. We believe all individuals are talented and success comes in matching the right talents to the right roles. For this role, the skills, qualifications and experience listed below are important, but we believe that to be successful in this job you will have the following talent:

• The post requires someone who is both highly organised, multitalented and flexible and able to maintain a positive attitude to work even when under stress.
• You will have a ‘can-do’, solution-oriented, team attitude, because while the main focus of the position is finance and administration, the post requires frequent communication and liaison with project partners, requiring excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both verbal and written)
• The role also requires the FOM to be able to effectively delegate to other team members while maintaining overall oversight and quality control.
• A Degree or equivalent in a relevant subject
• At least 8 years’ managing finance, operations and administration, of which at least 3 years for an INGO project/office in Nigeria, including experience of accounting for funds from international funders and grant audits
• Significant experience of developing  budgets and financial forecasts, monitoring and reporting
• Experience of systems development and management (financial and others)
• Experience in negotiating best value contractual agreements with service providers
• Experience of line managing staff members and general HR management
• Good English language skills Good understanding of Nigerian legal and labour law requirements for INGOs
• Excellent computer literacy and knowledge of Microsoft Office applications - Word, Excel, Power point, internet, etc.
• Good understanding of Donor requirements, eg. EU/USAID Good knowledge of accountancy packages (preferably SUN systems) Good interpersonal skills and communication skills Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines - to be able to prioritise clearly Personal and professional integrity, flexibility, initiative and a “can-do” attitude and meticulous attention to detail Willingness to travel to difficult locations

Desirable Requirements:

• Qualification in Management; ACA/ACCA/CIMA
• Audit training with a reputable company Experience in financial capacity building of non-finance managers, in particular working with partner organisations (establishing and operationalising partnership agreements, capacity building)
• Experience of management of security in an INGO context Business planning IT networking and maintenance

Salary

• Competitive salary, statutory benefits and comprehensive health insurance for staff and family
• Possibility of extension based on availability of funding and good performance
• Alert’s performance management system provides for salary increments based on performance and availability of funding.

    How to Apply Interested and qualified candidates should: Click here to apply Click Here for more Position Description (PDF)   Application Deadline  26th March, 2018.   Note

• This position is only open to Nigerian nationals
• While International Alert will endeavour to contact all candidates within a reasonable time, this may not always be possible due to limited resources
• Therefore, if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, you can assume your application has, on this occasion, been unsuccessful
• International Alert is an equal opportunities employer. All applicants will be judged strictly on the basis of merit.

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