Finance and Administration Manager - Reuters AlertNet

Finance and Administration Manager
Stationed in Maban County, Upper Nile State, South Sudan

Background
The Danish Refugee Council has been in South Sudan since 2004 mainly working with returning refugees and internally displaced persons returning home after a long civil war. In 2012, DRC opened its operations in Upper Nile State (Maban County) to respond to the large influx of refugees coming from Blue Nile State in Sudan.

DRC’s Maban programmes consist of 4 main areas:  Camp management in Doro camp and Yusuf Batil camp, totalling 80,000 refugees. The camp management programme includes also shelter, community services, livelihoods, and distribution of non-food items; Protection, including GBV and conflict mitigation, in all four refugee camps in Maban County;  Logistics: Vehicle workshop to carry out repair and maintenance for vehicles, trucks and generators; Host Community Recovery is a new programmatic focus starting in 2013 to support host communities in an integrated approach including livelihoods support, protection and infrastructure development.

With more than 140 staff in Maban, multi-sector programs and multiple donors, it is of uttermost importance for DRC to work in compliance with the DRC Accountability and Quality Management system in the areas of Administration, HR, Finances and Procurement/Logistics. Smooth, reliable and effective operational systems are preconditions for DRC to maintain its position as a trustworthy and reliable partner for our donors and an accountable organisation towards our beneficiaries. The position as Finance and Administration Manager is a cornerstone in keeping up the high quality in DRC’s operations.

Duties & responsibilities
The Finance and Administration Manager will be part of DRC Maban’s Management Team and reporting to the Team Leader, with technical guidance from the Head of Finance and Administration based in Juba.  The Finance and Administration Manager is expected to spend approximately 60% of his/her time on finance issues, 20% on Administration and 20% on HR.

Budgeting and finance management
•    Ensure funding availability in donor budgets for support costs, including support staff, expatriate staff and other support costs – maintaining a master budget for DRC Maban operations
•    Monitor and provide management information on actual vs. planned income and expenses and recommend and initiate actions for adjusting budgets
•    Monitor and react to emerging financial risks related to co-funding
•    Ensure compliance with donor guidelines in the allocation of costs and management of funds
•    Ensure timely and high quality maintenance of cashbooks and financial reporting to donors
•    Implement, maintain and monitor a system for checking eligibility of expenses in relation to donor regulations and DRC regulations
•    Maintain a system for high quality verification of expenditures and supporting documentation
•    Establish, maintain and monitor a system for accruals and outstandings in accordance with DRC’s, donor’s and country rules and legislation
•    Maintain a system for allocating and monitoring expenses that are part of co-funded budgets
•    Ensure an efficient and low risk liquidity management in the operation in accordance with DRC’s rules

Management
•    Supervision of DRC Maban finance and administration staff
•    Training and capacity building of finance staff
•    Training of project manager and others with the authority to make financial dispositions on donor budgets on basic project budget monitoring techniques and requirements.
•    Ensure that segregation of duties is effective between the finance, procurement and programme departments.
•    Monitor and follow up on levels of authority assigned to project manager and others related to financial dispositions

Human resources
•    Recruitment – ensure that the recruitment of staff takes place in accordance with DRC standards and South Sudan’s labour laws, including appropriate announcements, interviewing, reference checks and placement in the salary system.
•    HR administration – ensure appropriate and high quality on the administration of staff contracts, including a system for tracking contractual issues, holidays, benefits, rights, PADA and other HR administrative issues, including making sure that DRC is compliant with the labour legislation in country
•    Supervise payroll management and ensuring that the salary payments take place in a transparent and coherent manner

Administration
•    Filing and document handling – make sure that all legally binding documentation is filed and stored according to DRC’s and donor’s guidelines
•    Make sure that DRC’s operates in accordance with the legislative framework in country, including tax, VAT, registrations, Labour law, data management/protection etc.
•    Ensure that a system for file sharing, back up and data safety is implemented and maintained
•    Ensure that all the contracts that DRC uses for HR, Supplies and services are in accordance with the standards provided in the DRC operations Handbook, and liaise with local legal expertise to ensure compliance with local laws.
•    Any other duties assigned by the Team Leader

Qualifications
•    Advanced university degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field
•    5 years professional experience in finance management, including monitoring expenditure, donor compliance, verification of documentation
•    Experience with managing multiple donor grants is an asset
•    Experience with HR is an asset
•    Excellent analytical and communication skills
•    Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to establish effective working relations with local staff, duty bearers and other stakeholders
•    Proven ability to work and live in very basic living conditions in deep field locations
•    Ability to work under pressure, with minimal supervision, and in a culturally diverse team

Conditions
Availability: As soon as possible
Duty Station: Maban County, Upper Nile State
Contract: One-year contract with possibility of extension.

Salary and conditions in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates; please refer to www.drc.dk under Vacancies. Salary level will be agreed according to experience.

Further information    
You are welcome to contact Team Leader for DRC South Sudan programme, Scott Tind Simmons, telephone: +45 3373 5004 for additional information about the position.

Please note: Applications are not to be sent to Mr. Tind Simmons. Applications sent to Mr. Tind Simmons will not be considered.

For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.

Commitments
DRC has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework, outlining its global accountability commitments. All staff is required to contribute to the achievement of this framework (http://www.drc.dk/HAF.4265.0.html).

Application process
Only motivated applications that address the stipulated duties and meet the required qualifications, sent together with a CV, will be considered. CV-only applications will not be considered. Please provide references, but do not attach any written recommendations.

Applicants should send a 1 page cover letter that clearly states how they are qualified, and why they are interested in the post, together with their CV (not longer than 4 pages) to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in English and marked “Finance and Admin Project Manager - South Sudan” no later than 30 April 2013.