Job Title: Regional Accountant
Reports to: Deputy Finance Director
Liaises with: Other Regional Accountant & Dublin & International Finance team
Job Location: The position will based in any country where Concern is working or in Dublin (depending on the selected candidate’s status and visa requirements). If it is not possible, it may be the selected candidate base country. This will be finalised at interview stage.
Pay Band: 6 (From 66,156€ to 75,607€)
Contract: 2 Years – Fixed Term contract
Job Purpose: The Regional Accountant will provide support and guidance to 4 to 5 countries management and finance teams. This will include providing technical accounting advice, providing training to Country Financial Controller (CFC’s), improve field finance team capacity, ensuring organisational policies and procedures are adhered to, carrying out review work throughout the year (budgets, month end, reporting, donor management), promoting continuous improvement and managing the roll out of changes to financial procedures and systems. They will ensure that Head Office will be inform of any changes or issues arising in countries of responsibility.
Key Responsibilities: Main duties of the Regional Accountant can be divided into the following key areas:-
Provision of support to countries in their region
- Provide guidance & support to Country Management in areas of financial management & development of appropriate management reporting including donor reporting.
- Provide guidance on technical accounting issues on current Concern financial policies and procedures.
- Review the field finance controls in place and work with Country Financial Controller (CFC) on areas where improvements are necessary.
- Undertake direct support visits to countries, based on a Terms of Reference agreed with the Deputy Finance Director, Regional Director and relevant Country Director. These visits will deliver on areas identified as needing assistance.
- During field visits, review the internal control procedures, existing financial control systems, and GL management to ensure that adequate controls exist and financial systems and procedures are properly manage.
- Provide direct support and/or act as CFC when gaps arise. Assist in the recruitment of field finance staff, where appropriate.
- Work to develop and improve financial control system for donor management, in areas such as budgeting, monitoring, reporting & compliance.
- Provide direct support to field finance staff on the issues identified by the International finance team.
- Support field finance team to develop field finance manual & Other finance related procedures
- Work with Grant compliance team to support to field finance staff on Donor regulations & reporting requirements.
- Work with Country management to address any local legal compliance issues and provide technical support.
Training/ Capacity Building
Provide induction training for any newly recruited CFC’s on Concern’s financial systems, policies and procedures, and on internal and external reporting requirements.
- Provide on-going training to CFC, finance and non-finance team members based on identified needs of each country team, in consultation with Deputy Finance Director.
- Assist CFC in developing relevant & achievable training plans for national finance staff, in order to maximize the efficiency of the finance function in country.
- Work with the CFC to design training plans and courses for non-finance managers on finance topics (including budgeting, management accounts, Donor management and other finance matters) at least once in year and follow up the training outcomes remotely.
- Provide other training needs, when they arise, such as new policies / procedures and accounting systems
- Work with International Finance team to organise /deliver/manage webinar sessions for field finance staff and Bi annual CFC finance meeting.
Liaison between country & Head Office in Dublin
- Review and provide feedback to the CFC, in conjunction with the Desk Officer and International Finance team, on periodic Financial Reporting Pack (FRP), Annual Budget & Budget revisions.
- Follow up & assist on any queries that arise.
- Respond to queries from the country finance team in relation to routine accounting / audit / systems & report development and liaise with Head Office, where policy issues arise.
- Carry out audit on national staff cessation benefit and other provisions and review field balance sheet items on a regular basis and provide technical support to CFC to clear all outstanding issues
- Review draft donor budgets and draft financial reports and feedback to CFC before submission to donor.
- Review draft annual audit report and management letter along with the donor audit report before submission to Dublin/ signing by the country management.
Standardisation across countries
- Work with CFC and country management to ensure that they are following organisational financial policies and procedures
- Identify common problems & issues with financial systems and work to correct same, together with finance staff in Dublin & in country. Where possible, standardise financial procedures & systems across the countries in line with procedures noted in the Overseas Finance Reference Manual.
- Provide technical support to CFC on the rollout of different policy, procedures and templates developed by Dublin Finance
- Support field finance team on the roll out of any new financial system development by Dublin finance.
- Develop standard training materials for non-finance manager training.
Other ad hoc responsibilities:
- Undertake any special financial assignments delegated by Deputy Finance Director or Finance Director, where circumstances require.
- Represent and take part in financial and cross-functional project teams and working groups as required.
Skills and Experience Required:
Essential:
- A professional accounting qualification. E.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA, or equivalent.
- At least three years post qualification experience in a finance/accounting role.
- Worked with Concern as a Country Finance Controller for two years or similar experience (manage country /organisation finance function independently) with other International NGO.
- The person must be ready to travel extensively (at least 50% of time)
- Skills in developing, delivering and evaluating training for staff members
- Computer literacy, particularly in Microsoft Office such as Word and Excel as well as accounting packages & other database competencies.
- Ability to work under pressure of deadlines
- Good organisational and time management skills
- Effective team member
- Fluent in French Language
How to apply
To apply: CVs should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by closing date.
Concern is an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all section of the community.
If you have any concerns about our recruitment process and need particular assistance – for example if you have a visual impairment or are neurodivergent – please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.
Concern has an organisational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organisation, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organisation to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies.
Your Personal Data
During this job application, you will provide Concern with your personal data. Concern takes its responsibilities towards this personal data very seriously and is committed to complying with all relevant data protection legislation.
Concern receives a substantial amount of funding from external donors each year. Increasingly donors are introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on ensuring that the name of any employee or volunteer (existing or new), does not appear on terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government (Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List).
Any offer of employment (either paid or voluntary) with Concern Worldwide will only be made following a successful clearance check being conducted on the applicant and such checks may be updated periodically during the course of the period of employment.
By submitting a formal application for paid or voluntary employment to Concern, you agree to Concern carrying out a clearance check as outlined above and that Concern will not proceed to recruit you should your name appear on any of the aforementioned lists
In certain circumstances, donors may request that personal data relating to employees to work on the activities that they fund be provided directly to them – so that they can perform their own counter terrorism checks. This may involve transferring some basic personal data outside the EEA. It will be a condition of your employment contract that Concern be allowed to share this information with institutional donors for these purposes.
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Please only apply for this position if you are satisfied with the proposed processing of your personal data as outlined above.