Job
description
Prostitution and sex
trafficking is a serious issues in Laos, as it is in much of Asia, but in Laos
women’s rights are developing and they have historically played a pivotal role
in politics and the governance of Laos. The work of our partner is doing a lot
to help women who have been affected by human trafficking and provides them
with the support they need to recover from the ordeal. They aim to restore the
security and rights of victims, by providing safe centres for rehabilitation.
In these centres, they provide medical and psychological assistance to the
women, as well as education and vocational training, to eventually help them
reintegrate into society. They run two social enterprises in Vientiane and
Sevdannakhet, which are set up as beauty salons, used for training the women
and helping them to earn an income.
As one of their
donors has pulled out, there have been numerous cutbacks that have affected the
staff and subsequently the knowledge base of their finance staff. Therefore
they are having to downscale their spending, and adjust for the change. There
is a Chief Accountant in Vientiane, and the admin staff in Sevannakhet send
their monthly stats to the Chief Accountant, who consolidates the accounts.
This person is not highly experienced, and a recently audit raised several
issues that our partner hopes you will be able to address.
They have recently
had a finance volunteer from France, who went some way to building the staff’s
capacity. They are now doing bank reconciliations and tracking cash-flow, but
as their training was very recent, your help is needed to keep it fresh and
reinforced. You will be the first AfID volunteer on site, so your role will
also include doing a general assessment of their internal controls, identifying
any weaknesses and reviewing those highlighted by the audit, and implementing any
recommendations where necessary. There will be opportunity to travel between
the two offices to train staff in both locations, the Chief Accountant would
also like support with creating budgets.
The work that our
partner does is indispensable to the victims that they support, it is up to you
to ensure that their work may continue. Whether you’re looking for a break from
the office life or are hoping to begin a career in the international
development sector, this role would be a perfect experience and would make a
world of difference for our partner and the women they support.
There is the option
of free accommodation in the residency centre, but due to the nature of the
organisation this option would only be available for female volunteers. For
male volunteers there is a very reasonably priced guesthouse nearby the
organisation.
How
to apply
This is an issue
that urgently needs addressing and you can help. Please contact us on +44 (0)
208 741 7000 or email info@afid.org.uk to
find out more.
Deadline: October 24, 2014