March 2002 version - Save the Children



TITLE: Head of Financial Control and ComplianceTEAM/PROGRAMME: Regional Finance TeamLOCATION: East & Southern Africa Regional Office - Nairobi (preferred) or SCI Country OfficeGRADE: TBCCONTRACT LENGTH: 2 yearsThis opportunity is offered only to candidates who have the existing right to work in either the East or Southern African region. CHILD SAFEGUARDING: Level 2: either the role holder will have access to personal data about children and/or young people as part of their work; or they will be working ?in a ‘regulated’ position (accountant, barrister, solicitor, legal executive); therefore a police check ?will be required (at ‘standard’ level in the UK or equivalent in other countries).ROLE PURPOSE: The Head of Financial Control and Compliance provides financial leadership and expertise in financial accounting, compliance and controls to country finance teams, working closely with senior finance staff to ensure timely, quality completion of all accounting processes and control/compliance reviews and providing analysis and decision support to Country Finance Directors and Regional Senior Leadership Team.In this role you will support the capacity building efforts of country office finance teams, provide oversight of country offices ensuring compliance with local laws, regulations, SCI/donor policies and procedures including quality and timely reporting, consolidating and monitoring actions around improvements, performing quality financial control reviews and providing gap filling for key finance positions in country offices as required. You will proactively work with the regional finance director on key issues and opportunities and find and implement solutions at the country office level.?In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal job description and be able to vary working hours accordingly.SCOPE OF ROLE: Reports to: Regional Finance Director, East and Southern AfricaDimensions: You must be articulate and comfortable with a diverse role covering a variety of country offices, whilst working closely with high-intellect stakeholders. To thrive in this role, you must be highly driven and a self-starter to achieve excellence. You must be comfortable business partnering with key stakeholders to influence and bring positive changes in the internal control environment in a country program in the region. You will be spear-heading the formation of financial control and compliance reviews in East and Southern Africa. You will provide support to senior management including preparing financial presentations, capital expenditure analysis, industry/peer group comparisons, and other projects requested by senior management.Number of direct reports: Finance Analyst - Control and ComplianceKEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: Custodian of and expert in all SCI financial accounting and financial control policies, procedures and processes. Conduct monthly and quarterly reviews and assessments based on agreed finance reports and KPIs. Perform quality reviews and analysis of periodic financial returns as well as the relevant finance KPIs as agreed with the Regional Finance Director. Provide feedback and technical support to country offices, to improve effectiveness in financial controllership. Comprehensive financial reviews will include performance analysis in the following areas: balance sheet, income statement, cash, adequacy of adherence to generally accepted accounting principles and SCI’s financial procedures etc... Ensure country offices address the issues in a timely manner.Oversight of country offices ensuring compliance with local laws, regulations, SCI/donor policies and procedures.Manage and consolidate the regional finance data. Based on comprehensive analysis and knowledge of countries, contribute in prioritising and flagging high and medium risks backed by financial and narrative commentaries. Continuously seek to improve the quality and impact of management financial information for decision support. Provide relevant and timely information to management in the COs RO and centre.Produce organisational required monthly financial summary exception reports with insightful commentaries for regional and centre management. Biannual country office and regional office finance and control committee preparation and follow-up.Assist COs with daily operations including treasury management, cash transfers approval, intra-country billings etc… Trouble shooting in finance and accounting - assist the COs to fix specific problems that they cannot solve on their own and /or source technical assistance to assist the COs.Capacitate CO finance teams to ensure quality and timely reporting on controls/compliance. Provide orientation for new finance staff in country offices on SCI Policies. Ensure all COs have updated copies of the SCI policy and procedures and help CO develop and improve local policies and procedures that are realistic and conform to general principles. Provide policy clarifications and assistance to the COs as new policies get rolled out. Year-end and audit oversight/coordination. Technical leadership for COs in preparing for internal and external audits and in responding to audit issues and follow up with the implementation of the audit recommendations.Carry out regular support visits to countries - to be combined with other functions as required. Conduct detailed control checks in line with the guidelines, provide technical support, conduct refresher trainings, ensure standard tools and checks are in place, providing detailed feedback to the Country Finance Director and SMT.Support the Regional Finance Director in identifying, developing and retaining skilled country office finance staff. Work with Country Finance Directors to ensure succession plans are in place for all key finance positions and gaps are minimised and filled pro-actively.Assess CO staffs’ ability to perform satisfactorily in financial management and meet corporate performance standards. Develop training materials and quick reference guides where necessary and conduct tailored training programs for CO finance staff.Technical interface with Agresso support and development team on accounting, controls and complianceReview and continually improve country office key performance indicators and essential standard performance.Work closely with the International Programmes Finance team in developing control/compliance reports and training materialsManage the performance and professional development of 1 direct report.Cover for senior regional finance colleagues as and when required.Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)Accountability:holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children valuesholds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.Ambition:sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the samewidely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates othersfuture orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.Collaboration:builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supportersvalues diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strengthapproachable, good listener, easy to talk to.Creativity:develops and encourages new and innovative solutionswilling to take disciplined risks.Integrity:honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrityQUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCEEssentialAccounting, commence or business administration degree from a leading university, and relevant professional qualifications (CPA/CA/ACCA).Computer fluency; highly competent using MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and experience working in complex financial systems like SUN systems, Agresso, PeopleSoft etc…At least five years of country office financial management experience in complex organization.Experienced in preparing both financial and management accounts, including for overseas offices (knowledge of working of charitable organisations is preferred, with IFRS knowledge important). Post qualification experience with financial processes, ideally within an international contextExperience of working in a fast-paced environment with high levels of change and quick turnaround times, whilst delivering to the highest standards. Ability to synthesize information and propose solutions; to work independently and judge when to ask for advice or inputs. Excellent communication skills (written and oral English), including the ability to communicate and present to key stakeholders at all levels within the organisation.Excellent attention to detail; planning, management and coordination skills.Cultural awareness and the ability to work collaboratively in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.Strategic finance business partner with strong influencing skills, sharp business acumen and sound judgment.Personal circumstances and commitment to travel to all country offices in the region; 25-35% mitment to Save the Children values.DesirableStrong relationship builder with a proven track record in forming good business partnerships.Experience in financial control frameworks, audit and counter fraud.Strong analytical, problem solving and financial modelling skills. Two years of relevant experience at regional level in a similar capacity.Date of issue: September 2015 Author: BB (PG) ................
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