Job Description
| Organization | MERCY CORPS EUROPE (MCE) |
| Job Title: | FINANCE DIRECTOR |
| Location: | Khartoum, Sudan |
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps Europe, formerly known as Mercy Corps Scotland, has been operational in Sudan since 2009 and currently leads humanitarian assistance efforts in conflict-affected South Darfur, South Kordofan, Gedaref, White Nile and Khartoum States, supporting IDPs, returnees, refugees and host communities. Mercy Corps’ current areas of programming include food security and livelihoods, including market systems development; WASH; health; nutrition; peace building and protection.
General Position Summary
The Finance Director is a member of the senior leadership country team and leads the Finance Department. S/he is responsible for all aspects of financial management of the country program, working collaboratively to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps internal policies and procedures as well as donor regulations. S/he works under the direction of the Country Director and is responsible for all financial functions in Sudan, including accounting, payments and banking, payroll, budgeting, financial reporting and grant financial management and compliance. The Finance Director, in support of the Program Department, provides timely reports and assistance to the Country Director and the Program team to ensure that financial resources are used efficiently and effectively.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy & Vision
● Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
● Set direction of finance department by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
● Work with the Country Director and senior management team to grow the program portfolio, formulate strategies and plans.
Influence & Representation
● Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
● Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.
● Interface with the (donor) representatives to convey information about programs as appropriate.
● Communicate with our partners to verify their systems and that they understand and follow all appropriate procedures and archiving.
● Participate in sharing best practices with NGOs and governmental agencies.
● Establish high level of credibility and manage strong working relationship with external stakeholders.
operational – financial
● Plan and implement effective and transparent systems for financial operations in both the main country and field offices in accordance with the Mercy Corps Field Finance Manual and donor regulations, including systems for cash flow management, budgeting, consolidation of accounting information, internal controls, financial reporting, financial record-keeping, grant management and compliance.
● Develop and maintain up-to-date Supplementary Field Finance Manual (SFFM), revise/update every fiscal year, and ensure implementation of the policies/procedures in the manual. Ensure the revised SFFM approved by County Director and Regional Finance Officer before implementation.
● Develop (and keep up to date) annual fiscal year budgets with the Country Director and develop and implement grant budgeting and forecasting systems with Program Managers/Directors.
● Lead new proposal budget development and support the program team in developing the program activities budget.
● Lead monthly BVAs and pipelines/forecasts development process, ensure shared with all the management team, program managers, and finance team and ensure followed accordingly.
● Ensure timely recording of expenditures by the Finance teams with accurate expenditure descriptions and coding, entered and posted into Navigator on a timely manner. Ensure effective, transparent use of financial resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures. Ensure that Mercy Corps financial systems are robust, compliant and support current activities and future growth.
● Maintain banking relations and plan and monitor country cash flow requirements to ensure the smooth implementation of Mercy Corps programs.
● Maintain appropriate local insurance coverage to protect Mercy Corps.
● Analyze compensation packages, taxation requirements and human resource policies for local staff to ensure that Mercy Corps’ has adequately accounted for the financial impact of local staff compensation and benefits.
● Supervised submission of monthly standard accounting submissions to Mercy Corps Headquarters, including general ledger files, account reconciliations, expenditures by cost center/project, required sub-grantee reporting, as well as other financial information in a timely and accurate manner.
● Provide monthly management reports to the Country Director and Program Managers, including expenditures by cost center/project, sub-grantee reporting and other financial information, in a timely and accurate manner.
● Guide and oversee country subaward team management process for local and international recipients, from the inception period and pre-award assessment process, to contracting, implementation, financial reporting, budget realignment & management, asset & accounts reconciliations, and closeout.Ensure review and monitoring of partners’ financial reporting and compliance. Provide additional technical assistance to local partners as necessary to maintain high standards of compliance.
● Lead internal and external audits and reviews as required to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps and donor requirements.
● Provide training of non-finance staff on financial management and processes (budgets, coding, planning, etc.)
Team Management
● Lead and develop finance teams in the main office and field offices.
● Develop finance team structure, work flow, segregation of duties matrix with in finance and filled with capable team members. Revise it every fiscal year depending on the size of the funding and offices.
● Build capacity of national team members and build national successor to the role.
● Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
● Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
● Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
● Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
● Take ultimate responsibility of performance of finance team members.
Security
● Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
● Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
● Ensure that financial resources are allocated in line with the security department.
Organizational Learning
● As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Beneficiaries
● Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Supervisory Responsibility
Direct and indirect supervision of the whole Finance Department staff.
Accountability
Reports Directly to: Country Director
Works Directly with: HQ Regional Finance Officers, HQ Program Officers, Operations Managers/Directors, Program Directors, Program Managers, Sub grant Compliance Manager/Specialist and others.
Knowledge and Experience
●At least 7 years of progressive financial management experience is required.
●BA/S or equivalent in accounting or finance is required. An advanced degree is preferred.
●At least 4 years of experience in grants management as well as an understanding of donor regulations is required (particularly USAID and EC).
●At least 3 years of international experience is required; international NGO or business
●Demonstrated experience and skill with budget preparation and analysis, financial reporting preparation and presentation and the proven ability to translate technical financial data into informative reports.
●Strong accounting skills and experience, including management of the general ledger, journal entries, payroll, payables and balance sheet.
●Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel.
●Prior management experience and strong organizational skills.
●Excellent oral and written English skills are required.
Success Factors
The successful candidate will have an ability to interact effectively across program and finance teams successfully, both in a managerial as well as training capacity. S/he will be able to support programmatic objectives with timely and meaningful financial information, have a demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. An impeccable professional standard of finance and procurement ethics and the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential. The Finance Director must be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Khartoum and it requires around 30% travel to field locations. Security in Khartoum is generally good. Housing, health care, water, electricity and consumer goods are all reasonably accessible and there are good international and domestic travel options from Khartoum Airport.
Air and road travel is necessary to get to some field locations. Mobile phone services are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps Sudan offices, Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic.
The new team member receives a Rest and Relaxation (R&R) benefit. R&R is designed to provide an opportunity for a change of scenery and access to cultural, recreational and medical facilities for international team member. R&R is not an equivalent of vacation or home leave in intent or purpose. For Khartoum R&R follows a 12-week cycle. The R&R policy will be reviewed every six months, based on the situation in Khartoum.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
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