Regional Finance Manager (National applications)

Position Title: Regional Finance Manager for the WANALA Region

Supervised by: Regional Head of Support Services for the WANALA Region

Reporting to: Regional Head of Support Services for the WANALA Region

Duty Station: Dakar, Senegal

Area of Operation: Region of West Africa, North Africa & Latin America

Employment Period: 12 months (until December 2023)

Type of contract: National contract

Salary & Benefits: Management, Band F

Introduction

The Danish Refugee Council assists refugees and internally displaced persons across the globe: we provide emergency aid, fight for their rights, and strengthen their opportunity for a brighter future. We work in conflict-affected areas, along the displacement routes, and in the countries where refugees settle. In cooperation with local communities, we strive for responsible and sustainable solutions. We work toward successful integration and – whenever possible – for the fulfillment of the wish to return home.

The Danish Refugee Council was founded in Denmark in 1956 and has since grown to become an international humanitarian organization with more than 7,000 staff and 8,000 volunteers. Based in Copenhagen (Denmark) and present in forty countries, the Danish Refugee Council is a non-profit-making, politically independent, non-governmental and non-denominational relief organization.

Our vision is a dignified life for all displaced. All our efforts are based on our value compass: humanity, respect, independence and neutrality, participation, and honesty and transparency.

1. Background

DRC has been operating in West Africa since 1998. The DRC West, North Africa and Latin America Regional Office (hereafter: WANALA RO) is based in Dakar, Senegal, and covers over twelve countries outside of Senegal. Led by the Regional Executive Director for West, North Africa & Latin America Region (hereafter: WANALA Region), the DRC WANALA RO oversees, supports and provides strategic directions for DRC’s Country Offices within the Region, which currently includes: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Libya, Mali, Mexico, the Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Senegal, Tunisia and Venezuela.

2. Purpose

The DRC WANALA RO expects from the Regional Finance Manager to be an experienced, highly-qualified and enthusiastic professional to provide professional guidance and direct support to DRC operations within the WANALA Region, while helping developing regional related policies and ensuring a high-level of financial compliance.

The Regional Finance Manager position is based in Dakar (Senegal) but will have to travel extensively through the WANALA Region, potentially in all the countries mentioned above.

This position is a senior managerial one, requiring a strong previous experience in finance management and within the humanitarian sector and/or international organization, while also requesting a solid understanding of the different procedures and policies in place. This position also requires a full professional proficiency in French and English languages.

3. Duties and Responsibilities

Under the management of the Regional Head of Support services, and following the strategic directions being established by the Regional Senior Management Team, the Regional Finance Manager has a regional focus and provides the due support (including sometimes direct support) and guidance to each Country Office in order to ensure that the Region’s countries do financially perform. By financial performance, we mean that the Country Offices will respectively reach their targets and respect their obligations in terms of financial reporting, of follow-up of budgets, of cost control management and of monitoring of their financial commitments.

The Regional Finance Manager can achieve these tasks with the support of the Finance Department: the Regional Finance Manager is the manager in charge of the Finance Department of the Regional Office. The Regional Finance Manager is also fully responsible of the financial responsibilities related to the Regional Office (an organizational entity with more than fifty-five persons). In additional to this role, the Regional Finance Manager should also oversee the financial follow-up of the projects implemented by the Regional Office (namely projects led and owned by the Regional Office but which are implemented outside of Senegal, at the same times, by different countries within our Region – for instance, a project implemented at the same time in three countries in the Sahel Region).

Furthermore, The Regional Finance Manager should ensure a good and efficient cooperation, communication and collaboration with the Finance Department at the HQ (in Copenhagen, Denmark), especially with the Operational Finance Support team.

The main responsibilities and tasks of the Regional Finance Manager are the following:

• Management & Coordination

  • To ensure the efficient management and supervision of the staff members of the Finance Department of the WANALA RO: this includes daily supervision of the tasks, follow-up of the targets defined and appraisal of the staff members
  • To monitor the respect of the financial rules and regulations within the WANALA RO and for all its staff members;
  • To contribute as much as possible to an efficient communication and relevant sharing of information, with our HQ, our Country Offices and our different donors in regard to any financial point, including potential financial issues, forthcoming audits, financial reporting and financial risks;
  • To guarantee the follow-up in terms of any payment, reimbursement, report to be done at the WANALA RO level;
  • To work efficiently and in good collaboration with the others Regional Managers/ Coordinators of the WANALA RO, especially in terms of information-sharing with the Human Resources Department and the Supply Chain Department;
  • To visit regularly the countries covered by the WANALA RO and to provide technical guidance to the Finance Managers and Finance Coordinators in the countries covered by the WANALA RO, who report to a different manager.

• Finance (Accounting & Reporting)

  • To ensure an efficient and strong budget follow-up and cost control of the projects managed by the WANALA Region (including timely closure of the monthly accounting, achievement of the shared costs rules, timely booking of reconciliations);
  • To reinforce the financial rules and regulations in the WANALA Region and for each project managed by the WANALA Region, including the quality and compliance standards of the financial supporting documentation attached to every voucher;
  • To consolidate the financial information about the ongoing projects for each Country Office covered by the WANALA Region in order to ensure their good financial performance, and to cross-check regularly the BFUs of the countries;
  • To participate in the follow-up of the financial monthly management reports;
  • To guarantee the quality review of the annual budgets provided by each Country Office of the WANALA Region, including the coherence, conformity and eligibility of the information provided by the respective Countries for their budgets;
  • To check, if necessary and if requested, the monthly accounting for each Country Office covered by the WANALA RO (in coordination with the Finance Department at the HQ);
  • To support, if needed and requested, and only in full coordination with the Finance Department at the HQ, the Country Offices in terms of financial closure, financial reporting and follow-up;
  • To ensure the follow-up of the WANALA RO bank accounts and the situation of the liquidity, including submitting the Bank Transfer Requests;
  • To contribute to the elaboration of the budgets in the projects proposals managed at the WANALA RO;
  • To review the budgets for the projects proposals developed by the Country offices covered by the WANALA RO;
  • To monitor the financial management of the WANALA RO, by following-up the budgets consumption and by controlling the funding coverage and costs engaged, while updating regularly the Master Budget of the WANALA RO;
  • To regularly analyze the financial data obtained at the WANALA RO level and also per country, and provide reliable data to the senior management.

• Audit & Compliance

  • To take the lead in case of any financial audit of a project monitored by the WANALA RO and to potentially assist/ support a Country Office for an audit concerning its operations/ projects;
  • To check and monitor the full compliance of the financial documents of the WANALA RO expenses, taking into account the internal requirements of DRC but also the external requirements in terms of compliance (donors and potential legal obligations in the relevant country);
  • To provide guidance to the Country Offices for the respect of compliance in each country, supporting them in regards to the internal compliance requirements while also advising for the external compliance requirements;
  • To ensure occasional internal financial audits of projects in the WANALA Region, in good coordination and communication with the Finance Department at the HQ;
  • To identify potential financial risks in the WANALA Region not already known by the Regional Senior Management Team (at the WANALA RO level).

• ERP System (DRC Dynamics)

  • To ensure an efficient support for each Country Office in terms of the implementation of DRC Dynamics for the Finance Track;
  • To contribute to the development and elaboration of new learning materials for the Finance staff members in the WANALA region (in good cooperation with the Finance Department at the HQ);
  • To monitor that DRC Dynamics is used or will be used at its full capacity at the WANALA RO;
  • To check that the financial procedures on DRC Dynamics are well-respected in each Country covered by the WANALA RO and to provide regularly reliable data about the use of DRC Dynamics in the all WANALA Region.

• Capacity-Building

  • To train the staff of the Finance Department at the WANALA RO about the DRC procedures and the use of the ERP System;
  • To contribute to the capacity-building of the Finance staff members in the Country Offices covered by the WANALA RO during field visits in each country;
  • To advise on and promote understanding and application of DRC policies, procedures and principles.

All the tasks mentioned above will be primarily done from DRC WANALA Regional Office but travels within the Region (in the countries of intervention) can represent a significant amount of time, potentially equivalent on average to fifty per cent (50%) of the working time per month. In addition to the above, the Regional Finance Manager may be asked to carry out other duties requested by the Regional Head of Support Services or the Regional Executive Director.

4. Required Qualifications

• Minimum four (4) years of senior leadership experience in operations management roles with at least two (2) years of experience in a similar role in an international NGO;
• Diploma degree/University degree (Master) in International Development, Economics, Political Science, Public Affairs, Business Administration or Management, or another relevant field is required;
• Proven leadership skills and a competence in people management;
• Proven operational management experience and capability;
• Significant experience of grant management and understanding of institutional fund-raising;
• Proven significant financial management experience;
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and influencing skills with a well-developed ability to motivate and persuade at high levels;
• Full professional fluency in French language (80% of the professional communication in this position will be done in French, including almost all the communication within the WANALA Regional Office);
• Proficiency (written and spoken) in English;
• Working knowledge of Spanish and other languages native to the WANALA region is an asset but not a requirement;
• Significant understanding of the different contexts of the WANALA Region;
• Excellent Computer Skills (MS Office, Internet) and an advanced proficiency in Excel are required.

5. Required Skills & Qualities

• Core Competencies of DRC:
  • Striving for excellence
  • Collaboration
  • Taking the lead
  • Communication
  • Demonstrating Integrity
• Ability to work in a multinational and multicultural environment
• Proactivity, with a sound commitment to teamwork and with a spirit of genuine collaboration
• Excellent communication skills, as well as patience and politeness, are required
• Multi-tasking and Organizational skills is a must
• Adaptable and Flexible
• Proven analytical and critical thinking skills
• Exemplary sense of ethics in the workplace
• Team-oriented & good sense of humor

6. General Regulations

• The employee shall follow DRC instructions on safety, confidentiality and ethical guidelines, including the Code of Conduct and the Humanitarian Accountability Framework. The employee is expected to know the Code of Conduct and cannot pretend not to be aware of any of the Code of Conduct requirement and disposition.
• The employee should not engage in any other paid activity during the DRC contract period without prior authorization.
• The employee should not engage in any activity that could harm DRC or the implementation of any project during the DRC contract period.
• The employee should not give interviews to the media or publish project-related photos or other material without prior authorization.
• The employee shall return all borrowed equipment for the project to DRC after the end of the contract period or upon request.