National Democratic Institute Liberia-Resident Director of Finance and Administration Job Vacancy (217211-851)

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) seeks a Resident Director of Finance and Administration, (DFA) to manage the financial, administrative, and logistical aspects of NDI’s Liberia program. The DFA will be supported by a finance manager, an administrative manager and a logistics assistant. The DFA will be based in Monrovia, Liberia. This is a partially-accompanied (adult dependents only) post.

The primary responsibility of the position will be to administer NDI’s multi-million dollar Liberia program in coordination with the Institute’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The DFA will manage the accounts, oversee the accounting department, manage the administrative and financial operations in Monrovia, monitor field expenses against the budget for the grant, supervise all administrative and accounting staff, share information with the program and financial management teams in Liberia and Washington, DC, and ensure compliance with U.S. government financial/programmatic reporting requirements and NDI policies and procedures. The DFA will be the communications liaison on financial reporting and clearance matters with the International Accounting team in Washington, DC.

Background
NDI has supported democratization efforts in Liberia since 2006 and is currently implementing a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded program that supports the modernization and development of Liberia’s legislature and enhances the credibility of the 2011 election process. NDI’s legislative support includes developing sustainable systems and institutional practices that improve the effectiveness of the legislature. NDI’s program for the 2011 electoral process includes supporting domestic election observers who will collect, analyze and disseminate information about the electoral process, and facilitating issue oriented legislative candidate debates during the campaign period.

Finance
• Provide oversight of financial operations in the field for a $9+ million dollar program, funded by USAID;
• Manage all aspects of accounting for the Liberia field office, including the direct supervision of accounting personnel,
• Monitor program expenditures, monthly field expenses of between $150,000 to $300,000, including budget to actual expenses, and reporting on financial results and cost projections to senior management in Liberia and Washington, DC;
• Further improve accounting and financial systems in consultation with the management teams in Liberia and Washington, DC
• Train NDI’s field office accountants on NDI’s policies and procedures, donor grant compliance requirements and bookkeeping and internal controls;
• Oversee compliance with internal controls and accounting procedures;
• Ensure that all financial and accounting reports are prepared and submitted in a timely manner.

Administration
• Support the Resident Director in coordinating NDI programs and day-to-day internal operations of the NDI-Liberia office;
• Liaise with NDI’s DC-based Central and West Africa team and administrative departments to ensure all significant administrative issues are addressed and resolved and that all follow-up is performed as requested;
• Provide guidance and counsel to international and local staff on administrative and human resource matters in consultation with Human Resources DC staff, when necessary;
• Ensure compliance with national laws, NDI and donor administrative and reporting requirements, as well as appropriate implementation of field office policies and handbook;
• Develop and implement administrative and human resources systems, in consultation with Monrovia-based senior management team and relevant DC-based staff, to support NDI’s programs in Liberia ;
• Supervise a team of administrative and support personnel;
• Regularly review security plans and adapt NDI’s practices and profile as necessary;
• Serve as a point of contact for security issues for NDI-Liberia (the Resident Director is the primary contact);
• Work with program staff to determine current and projected recruitment needs and assist in hiring, training and supervising local staff;
• Create and update job descriptions to accurately reflect responsibilities and processes within the organization and ensure ongoing competitive compensation that supports the organization’s ability to attract, develop and retain top talent;
• Contribute to the appraisal of employee performance, address complaints and resolve problems;
• Act as back-up to members of management team when they are not present.

Requirements:
• Bachelors Degree in finance, accounting, business administration and/or a related field;
• Minimum of fourteen (14) years in financial management, accounting, and administration, preferably for an international NGO working with USAID funding;
• Thorough knowledge of budgeting, budget oversight, generally accepted accounting principles and the practical application of financial systems;
• The ability to design and implement accounting systems suitable to a challenging and volatile environment with unreliable and sometimes nonexistent infrastructure;
• Previous experience with international grants administration preferred;
• High level of attention to details in all aspects of work responsibilities;
• Strong written and verbal communications skills combined with the ability to work collaboratively with Washington based finance staff as well as program staff in Liberia ;
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Windows environment, email technology and spreadsheets.
• Experience with database creation and management;
• Ability to analyze and interpret governmental and organizational rules and regulations, including OMB Circulars A-110, A-122 and A-133;
• Experience in personnel administration;
• Management experience for organizations with international operations;
• Experience interpreting and administering policies pertaining to local labor codes;
• English language fluency required;
• Living/working experience outside of the US preferred.

NDI is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, political affiliation, religion, gender, disability, and/or sexual orientation.

Please apply  by clicking here