Merlin Country Finance Director Job Vacancy in Liberia

Responsible to: Country Director, Regional Finance Manager
Working with: Country Management Team, Programme Finance Officer and Head Office
Salary: £35,860 to £36,610 per annum (dependant on relevant experience) inclusive of annual Cost of Living allowance
Benefits: Insurance cover, accommodation, return flights and 24 days annual leave rising to 30 days after 12 months of continuous service.
Accompanied Post: Insurance cover, accommodation, relocation costs, school fees, and additional return flights home for partner and up to 2 children under the age of 18.
Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer this post before the closing date.

Merlin
Undaunted and determined, Merlin saves lives. We deliver medical expertise to the toughest places. And we stay to help build lasting health care.
Our mission is to end the needless loss of life in the poorest countries caused by a lack of effective health care. We help communities set up medical services for the long term including hospitals, clinics, surgeries and training for nurses and other health workers.
We do whatever it takes and we stay for as long as it takes.

Context and Background
Merlin’s country programmes vary considerably in terms of their focus, size and complexity, and also in levels of financial capability and strategic thinking. The Country Finance Director is a key member of the Country Management Team, which is responsible for managing existing country activities and developing a clear country strategy and associated income streams. Merlin Liberia’s program is considered a large program due to that fact that it operates in 5 different counties, works with a wide mix of donors that include institutional, private, UN agencies, and a pool fund managed by the MoH. The current annual operating budget is between 10 and 15 million dollars.
This role is directly managed by the Country Director, and is technically managed by the Regional Finance Manager in Head Office, and appraisal for this role is undertaken jointly by the Country Director and the Programmes Finance Manager.
This role links directly with the Regional Finance Officer in Merlin’s Head Office in London on a day-to-day basis and the effectiveness of this relationship directly impacts project management and accountability.

Main purpose of the role
The Country Finance Director, as a member of the Country Management Team, plays a key role in developing and implementing the country strategy especially the required financial inputs, as well as ensuring that there are sound financial practices in country and rigorous budgetary control.
This position provides financial management for a multi-programme and multi-site operation in a challenging living and working environment. A key priority in all locations is to embed clear financial management controls and to ensure understanding of and compliance with these by all staff.

Overall Objectives (scope)
Reporting to the Country Director, and working closely with Programmes Finance team in Merlin’s London Head Office, the Country Finance Director will:
• Be a strong and involved member of the Country Management Team and take the lead role on financial planning, forecasting, budgeting and developing financial management capacity throughout the country.
• Directly manage the Country Finance Team to ensure effective and proactive financial leadership, support and guidance are provided to managers in country.
• Be responsible for the preparation and reporting of field finances to head office and ensure that budget preparation, financial reporting and amendment planning for donors is completed in a timely manner and approved by head office before submission.
• Ensure appropriate systems and procedures, support and guidance for country programmes.
Responsibilities

Financial Oversight
• Ensure internal financial procedures, systems, policies and controls are applied and complied with throughout the country programme operations by all staff
• Be the lead person and provide financial support on all financial issues in the country Management Team
• Support the Country Director in developing the funding/finance strategy for the country
• Prepare budgets, amendments and forecasts working with the Country Director and budget holders
• Provide Head Office with all necessary financial information both proactively and on request
• Ensure donor reports and requirements are complied with to maximise available funding
• Monitor and control the balance sheet accounts

Procedures, Systems and Controls
• Ensure compliance with local regulations in respect of financial and other matters (e.g. Registration, Foreign Exchange and taxation).
• Ensure compliance with the financial and other requirements of donors
• Ensure the development and implementation of in-country financial security guidelines and regularly review their effectiveness and the compliance of all staff with these guidelines
• Conduct internal audits for the field sites, to ensure that all financial and administrative procedures are carried out in line with Merlin policies and guidelines and local Legislation
• Regularly review the financial and reporting systems to ensure that they continue to be fit for purpose
• Create and maintain systems that flow into and inform programmatic, logistics and HR operations at a Country Management Team level.

Treasury
• Co-ordinate and maintain a cash forecasting system to ensure that adequate funds are available to meet the working requirements of the programmes
• Ensure that payments are made in a timely and secure manner across all the country operations
• Along with the finance department in Head Office, ensure that all debts are recovered promptly
Donor Reporting & Monitoring of expenditure
• Prepare donor financial reports in line with donor reporting requirements
• Monitor ongoing levels of expenditure on individual programmes against budget, and provide timely advice of likely over or under-spends to the Country Management Team, and the relevant Programme & Finance teams in head office.
• Ensure respective Programme Coordinators and Programme Managers understand variance implications and how to respond to and manage them effectively.
• Ensure that monthly expenditure reports are provided to budget holders in a form that provides them with clear expenditures against their project budgets.

External Relationships & Compliance
• Ensure that contractual commitments (e.g. for the rental of vehicles and/or premises) are financially sound and appropriate for the circumstances of the programme.
• Liaise with local legal advisors when necessary on financial issues
• Ensure appropriate and timely contact with in-country government agencies to ensure that all financial legal requirements are met,
• Liaise with International NGO Finance Directors in-country and actively participate in inter-agency co-ordination meetings.

Management and training
• Manage and support the performance and development of the in-country finance staff, to ensure the provision of an efficient and effective service.
• Make regular visits to Field sites for monitoring and supervision purposes
• Provide financial support, training and advice to all individuals in country.
• Provide support in financial capacity development of partners by liaising with MoH&SW on development of the Ministry’s financial procedures.
• Provide support and feedback to local partners on financial reports submitted with a focus to improve their financial management capacity.

Person Specification

Essential
Qualifications, experience and competences
• Masters in Business Administration (MBA) or equivalent and/or qualified accountant ACCA, ACA, CPA, (or equivalent).
• In depth knowledge of financial systems and implementing internal controls
• Successful experience of pro-actively monitoring and reporting on budgets
• Strong experience of analysing financial information to understand the current situation and to determine the strategic direction
• Proven experience of introducing and managing changes to finance systems, procedures and practices
• Proven understanding of financial security issues and how to develop appropriate guidelines
• Practical experience of managing a team within a finance department
• Experience of training/capacity building
• Strong ability to plan and work independently
• Experience of living or working in different cultures and countries
• Strong communication skills, with excellent written and spoken English
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office with advanced Excel skills
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures
• Experience of a flexible approach to managing and prioritising a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines
• An understanding of and commitment to Merlin’s mission and values

Desirable
Qualifications, experience and competences
• Experience and understanding of working in a donor environment and meeting donor compliance requirements
• Experience of financial management with an international NGO in an overseas setting
• Familiarity with mid-range accounting systems (e.g. QuickBooks, Sage, PS Financials)

How to apply

To apply for this position
To apply for this job, please go to www.merlin.org.uk/jobs and apply using our online recruitment system. In order to apply for a job with Merlin online you will need to complete a short registration process and create an account – the online recruitment system explains how to do this. Once your account has been created, you will be able to save the information that you have entered in your application and re-visit it at any time before you submit it.

If you are unable to apply online for any technical reason, please contact applications@merlin.org.uk.
Please note that we do not accept CVs. Unfortunately due to the number of applications we receive, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.