Country Finance Director at Merlin in Nairobi, Kenya

Country Finance Director at Merlin in Nairobi, Kenya

Closing date:  26 Oct 2012

Job Description

Position: Country Finance Director
Location: Nairobi, Kenya with regular visits to Somalia and Kenya field offices
Responsible to: The role reports to 2 Country Directors and is technically supervised by the Regional Finance Manager
Duration: 12 Months
Salary: £36,110- £36,860 per annum dependant on relevant experience
Benefits: Insurance cover, accommodation, and annual leave entitlement of 24 days per annum rising to 30 days at the completion of 12 months of continuous employment with Merlin.

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.

Please note that the position is unaccompanied.

Merlin International Profile

Merlin specialises in health, saving lives in times of crisis and helping to rebuild shattered health services. Each year, Merlin helps more than 15 million people in up to 20 countries.

Context and Background

Merlin has been working in Kenya since 1998 and currently runs programmes in two regions of the country – the Nyanza Province in the Western Highlands and Turkana in Northern Kenya – in partnership with the Ministry of Health. In Turkana, Merlin offers essential primary health and nutrition services to the drought affected population. Merlin supports 30 health facilities and 72 outreach sites. Merlin also supports maternal health services to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, and has recently started a project to enhance the lives of people living with disabilities. In the Kisii area of Nyanza Province, Merlin supports the Ministry of Health in the provision of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria preventative and curative services, currently supporting 49 health facilities.

Merlin has been working in Somalia since 2004, starting off in Puntland. Since 2008, Merlin has operated programmes in Somaliland, as well as South Central Somalia. Merlin’s programmes in Puntland are focused on the integrated prevention, treatment and care of HIV/ AIDS and TB, as well as the provision of emergency primary health care services. In Somaliland, Merlin is running a safe motherhood programme along with health and nutrition services, while in South Central Somalia we are providing emergency primary health care and nutrition services.

The Merlin office in Nairobi is directly managing the Kenya and Somalia country programmes.

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

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 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 is 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.
• Ensure that country processes, charging methods and documentation comply in all respects with donor and internal audit requirements

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. 
• Develop the funding/finance strategy for the country. 
• Prepare budgets, amendments and forecasts working with the Country Director and others. Ensure budgets are aligned to proposals and workplans & reflect the activities proposed/being reported on. 
• Be an integral part of the country management structure, ensuring that the appropriate financial reporting i is submitted in an accurate and timely manner. 
• Process and analyse field financial data to ensure that Merlin’s accounts are a true and fair reflection of the current financial situation 
• 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 by ensuring that they are regularly reconciled and that ageing transactions are regularly reviewed and cleared.

Procedures, Systems and Controls

• Ensure compliance with local regulations in respect of financial and other matters (e.g. Registration, Foreign Exchange, taxation and labour laws). 
• 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 every three months, 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. 
• Lead the country teams in improving and maintaining adequate financial controls and procedures in the field 
• 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. 
• Be fully aware of the overall cash flow position of the country liaising with the treasury function in Head Office. 
• Compile and maintain the cash flow forecast for all country projects, and ensure that all donor debts are recovered promptly

Reporting & monitoring of expenditure 

• Prepare donor financial reports on time, 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 Finance team in Head Office. 
• Ensure Programme Coordinators and Programme Managers understand variance implications and how to respond to and manage them effectively. Produce financial reports and BvA information to in-country teams or budget holders on timely basis that provide them with clear actual expenditure information against their project budgets.

Donor compliance

• Accountable for grant compliance with donors’ financial requirements and to act as the main point of contact for Merlin with in-country donors with regards to all finance issues 
• Review grant documentation and contracts prior to signing to ensure that they are beneficial to Merlin, that any financial risks are fully understood, and that, in particular, support cost recoveries and net cashflows are maximised 
• Accountability for financial compliance to donor and statutory regulations 
• Accountable for maintaining and keeping of auditable records for donor compliance, ensuring that charges to projects are allowable, reasonable and allocable.

External Relationships

• 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 
• Ensure appropriate and timely contact with in-country government agencies to ensure that all legal requirements are met, e.g. work permits, import licences 
• 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 and administration 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 on development of the Ministry’s financial procedures.

Person Specification

Essential

Qualifications, experience and competences

• Qualified accountant ACCA, ACA, CPA, (or equivalent), or substantial relevant work experience. 
• In depth knowledge of financial systems and implementing internal controls. 
• Strong 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 
• Strong experience of recruiting, managing and motivating a team within a finance department 
• Experience of financial management with an international NGO in an overseas setting. 
• Significant experience of training/capacity building. 
• Proven administration skills. 
• 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. 
• Experience of proactively identifying and addressing issues. 
• 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. 
• Familiarity with mid-range accounting systems (e.g. QuickBooks, Sage, PS Financials).

How to apply: 

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 please download and complete an application form and email it to: applications@merlin.org.uk.

Please note that we do not accept CVs and any application must therefore be made online or by completing our application form. Unfortunately due to the number of applications we receive, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Data Protection
In accordance with the 1998 Data Protection Act Merlin will hold and use personal information that you have given for the purposes of recruitment and employment should an offer of employment be made. This information will be stored in manual and/or computer form. This information may also be disclosed to third parties in accordance with the Data Protection Act. In cases where a job offer is conditional on ensuring that potential employees’ names do not appear on counter terrorism lists generated by the United Nations, European Union or the United States due to donor funding requirements, Merlin will use the information that you have given for checking that your name does not appear on these lists.