Finance & Administration Manager at Search for Common Ground (SFCG)

Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With headquarters in Washington, DC and a European office in Brussels, Belgium, SFCG’s mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict - away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. SFCG seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. With a total of approximately 600 staff worldwide, SFCG implements projects from 50 offices in over 30 countries, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. The organization is an exciting and rewarding place to work, with a dedicated and enthusiastic staff that is committed to its mission and values. You will be joining a highly motivated staff with a good team spirit and there will be opportunities to grow in the role.

SFCG has been working in Nigeria since 2004, beginning with the production and broadcast of a TV series targeting a youth audience. In 2010, SFCG began building its engagement in Nigeria, establishing a full country office program, utilizing media, capacity- building, and civil society engagement to expand and deepen the impact of the Common Ground approach in Nigeria. SFCG Nigeria is headquartered in Abuja, with offices in Port Harcourt, Jos, and Maiduguri to support our peacebuilding work in the Niger Delta, the North East and North Central areas of the country.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Finance & Administration Manager

Location: Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Summary of Position

• The Finance and Administration Manager will be responsible for leading the full range of financial and cash management processes for SFCG in the Niger Delta Region, under a project funded by the European Union.
• S/he will be based in Port Harcourt and will report to the Finance and Compliance Manager, based in Abuja.
• S/he will work closely with the Grant and Compliance Manager to ensure that SFCG is in compliance under internal and international donor regulations;

Responsibilities
The Finance and Administration Manager’s duties include, but are not limited to:

Financial Accounting:

• Daily and monthly accounting of transactions in country and those made in headquarters
• Ensure adherence to local statutory and tax requirements.
• Provide documentation and explanations to external and internal auditors as required
• Liaise with SFCG headquarters for payment and reporting.
• Coordinate with colleagues from both the technical and finance perspective to ensure the smooth operation of SFCG initiatives.
• Lead on the Withholding Tax (WHT) process and ensure SFCG is conforming to Nigerian Law regarding Tax.

Cash Management:

• Petty cash management (Inc. reconciliation and Journal entry) before sending to SFCG Headquarters.
• Monitor funds and cash flow to keep an optimum cash and bank balance and mitigate any deficit due to bank currency fluctuations
• Process payments from the local bank account
• Maintain financial documents for completeness, accuracy and compliance with local and SFCG accounting rules.

Financial Reporting and Budget Management:

• Develop and prepare monthly management reports and expenditures reports and share with SFCG management team to identify variances against planned budget and take corrective action.
• Supports the respective project managers during the yearly budgeting and quarterly reforecast processes with the preparation of templates and consolidation of returns
• Work closely with the Technical Program Teams to present the monthly accounts and support them on the budget / reforecast.
• Closely monitor the key performance indicators by developing and implementing adequate strategies to ensure SFCG performance (reduction in payment timelines, month end activities, accurate forecast, monthly management report, ad-hoc feedback to SFCG Management and headquarters, queries and policy compliance).

Other Duties

• Supervise the Logistics Assistant and ensure compliance with operational procedures, including management of assets and inventory register
• Participate in recruitment of project staff (preparing and circulating job descriptions, shortlisting and interviewing, and contracting)
• Participate in all strategic planning, budget reforecasting, training, team building and related activities of SFCG team and contribute to the overall development of the organization.
• Support SFCG partners and building capacity of in financial management, in line with SFCG procedures and donor regulations
• Process and reconcile SFCG partner reports on monthly basis

Minimum Qualifications
The Position Holder will possess:

• Degree in Accounting or equivalent
• Minimum 4 years working experience in similar post for a local NGO or an international NGO.
• Strong knowledge of core principles of accounting and international and local financial record-keeping standards
• Experience in managing financial portfolios of more than $200,000
• Experience in financial management of EU grants would be a bonus
• Knowledge of Nigerian legal framework for NGO operations;
• Experience in working with financial accounting procedures and reviewing financial reports, creating and monitoring budgets and working with compliance regulations.
• Experience in using Excel and other accounting software.
• Experience providing capacity-building or training in financial management.

Competencies

• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Able to work autonomously
• Strong IT skills
• Good communicator
• Tenacious and possessing a strong work ethic
• Willingness to travel around the Delta region, able to work in a multi-cultural environment

Remuneration
Commensurate with education and experience, with excellent benefits

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note:

• Please send as One (1) document a cover letter and resume with the subject heading: FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION MANAGER - Port Harcourt through our application system. Please be sure to include Minimum salary requirements (in currency figures) or current salary, projected start date, and to mention where you found this posting. No phone calls please. Noncompliance will automatically disqualify your application. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position-holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.