Finance Officer (Programme Support, Roving)

Oxfam is one of the world's leading International Humanitarian Agencies, assisting people affected by poverty, natural disasters and conflict throughout the world. With over 5,000 staff and dedicated volunteers in more than 90 countries, Oxfam is able to achieve the greatest impact to alleviate poverty and suffering through combining emergency response work, long-term development programmes, and campaigning for lasting change. Oxfam has been working in Nepal since the 1980s, addressing the poverty and injustice faced by women and other socially excluded groups. We are urgently looking for dynamic team players in the following positions for our programme.

 Finance Officer

(Programme Support, Roving)

 Level: D1

 Duration: Fixed term contract until March 2017

Location: Kathmandu 

OXFAM PURPOSE: To work with others to overcome poverty and suffering.

TEAM PURPOSE: To ensure that Oxfam in Nepal provides quality and timely financial processing and management to respond rapidly to current humanitarian emergencies. To proactively provide business-focused and result-oriented quality professional and technical finance services across the program and develop Oxfam and partner’s staff capabilities in finance. 

JOB PURPOSE: To work closely with Finance team on day-to-day management on financial matters of Oxfam offices in Nepal, and to ensure that field office maintains a high standard of budget, accounting and financial controls. 

REPORTING LINES: 

Post holder reports to: Finance Manager and to Finance Coordinator whenever deployed in the field

Staff reporting to this post: Finance Officer / Assistant (Field Location whenever in the field)

BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY: None.

DIMENSIONS: 

• Contributes in financial operational management matters. 
• Provides operational financial advice to program team. 
• Contributes to procedures and expenditure monitoring within the team. 
• Provides training to program team and partner’s finance staff. 
• Provide induction to new staff in the Organization
• Fulfil the gap when there is vacant position or when staff is on leave in finance team
• Support for Donor Audit and external Audit
• The role requires ability to solve problems, which vary but usually have established solution. 
• The position requires the person’s ability to manage their own time to achieve team objectives and find solution to problems. 
• Build the capacity of partner organization through training and providing feedback on their financial reporting. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Accounting & Financial Management

• To ensure that financial transactions are processed in accordance with Oxfam GB’s applicable accounting policies, procedures and standards.
• To ensure that financial transactions are accurately recorded in the bankbook / cashbook in a timely manner.  
• To ensure that financial transactions are accompanied by appropriate and relevant supporting documentation dually signed and authorized by relevant Program Manager / budget holder. 
• To review and check financial supporting documentation for integrity, accuracy and completeness before transaction is approved for payment. 
• To ensure that financial records, both paper and electronic formats, are up to date, filed in an orderly manner, kept securely, and easily retrievable. 
• To ensure that a complete and accurate record of all petty cash transactions is maintained at all times, that petty cash expenditure are fully monitored and reconciled, and that requests for replenishment are made in a timely manner or as and when required. 
• Monitoring and management of expenditure and budgets of the field office, especially donor-funded projects as well as transactions posted by other offices.
• To provide budget v actual analysis to Finance Manager/Co-ordinator on a monthly basis or as and when required highlighting major variances for follow up and action as and when required.
• To monitor bank / cash balances for the field office and request for top ups through the Finance Co-ordinator in a timely manner. 
• To ensure that bank statements are reconciled and dully signed and authorized periodically or as and when required. 
• To ensure that cash is counted, reconciled with cashbook balance, recorded on the cash count form, and dully signed and authorized on daily basis. 
• To ensure that the Monthly Report is prepared as per given templates and formats in the field and also support on the Month End Balance Sheet Reconciliation every month in the field or in the country finance wherever required.
• Review the balance sheet item for National and process for the settlement/ communicate to settle with due course.

Donor Contract Management

• Link donor-reporting codes as per the contract to Oxfam chart of accounts and ‘C’ codes. 
• To acquire a detailed knowledge of all current donor reporting requirements, and other financial and logistical requirements to be able to advise program staff as necessary when they are preparing budgets and reports and keep this knowledge up to date.
• To support the Finance Manager to ensure that the donor reports are reconciled to the PeopleSoft GL transactions and any differences identified are addressed accordingly as and  when required a

Other

• Participates actively as a member of the country finance team and the wider business support team contributing to organizational strategy development, implementation and achievement. 
• Provides covers for Finance Officer as and when required. 
• Support on the audit purpose such that there is ease of access to the auditors for documents findings and support to avoid audit finding in the case of understanding gap with the available supporting and process documents.. 
• Coordinate with logistic and HR unit in relation to the vendor and consultant's payment processing as/ if required. 
• To review financial reports, transactions and supporting documentation submitted by partner organizations for integrity, accuracy and completeness and to provide feedback to Finance Manager. This will be required for the grant disbursement process to ensure that partner financial transaction is on track as and when required.
• To provide financial management support to program staff for program budgeting and revision and for development of effective operational finance systems and procedures. 

SKILLS AND COMPETENCE: 

• Recognized professional qualification in accounting and finance such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent. 
• Comprehensive knowledge and a minimum of 3-5 years of proven experience in core financial management activities such as accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting.
• Strong knowledge of major donors (ie EC, ECHO, DFID, OFDA, UN agencies etc) requirements and financial procedures in regards to their grants. 
• Sound knowledge and experience of restricted funds management and ability to work with/manage finances of multi-donor grants.
• Strong numeracy skills and attention to details. 
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking skills with a proactive approach to identifying and resolving problems and suggesting improvements.
• Strong computer literacy, and proven experience of computerized accounting packages, preferably PeopleSoft. Strong proven experience in using Excel Spreadsheets.
• Excellent activity planning, prioritization and implementation skills and commitment to deliver against agreed deadlines. 
• Ability to work in demanding situations under pressure in a team independently with minimum supervision and deliver against team objectives.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, influencing and persuasive skills. 
• Experience and capability in motivating and training others (both finance and non finance) in Oxfam and donors’ financial policies, procedures and concepts.
• Fluency in written and spoken English. 
• Good team player/builder and ability to manage staff.
• Willingness and ability to travel at short notice and/or to work extra hours as necessary, often in difficult circumstances.
• Commitment to the aims, objectives and organizational culture of Oxfam. 

Applications for the above positions can be sent by 30 April 2016 via mail to recruitment_nepal@oxfam.org.uk attaching the updated curriculum vitae along with cover letter. Please submit the application letter indicating clearly the position applied.