Finance Officer at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a Danish international non-governmental organisation, which promotes and supports durable solutions to the problems faced by refugees and internally displaced people all over the world. DRC is present in more than 30 conflict territories around the world assisting displaced people with shelter, food, income-generating activities, and a wide range of other assistance. It is of utmost importance for DRC to work in compliance with the DRC Accountability and Quality Management system and national legislations. Smooth, reliable and effective operational systems are preconditions for DRC to maintain its position as a trustworthy and reliable partner for our donors and an accountable organisation towards our beneficiaries.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Finance Officer

Location: Yola, Adamawa
Contract type: National 
Employment Period: 6 months (Possibility of extension)
Area of Operations: Nigeria
Reporting to: Finance Team Lead, Adamawa
Supervised by: Finance Coordinator
Availability: 01.12.2021

Background

• Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and the Danish Demining Group (DDG), has had an operational presence in Nigeria since 2015. DRC Nigeria is the largest DRC country mission in the West Africa region and one of the largest DRC country missions globally.
• Currently, DRC delivers life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable, conflict-affected populations including internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities in the areas of armed violence reduction, humanitarian mine action, livelihoods, nutrition and food security, protection, shelter and non-food items (NFI) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in 30+ Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in northeast Nigeria.

Purpose

• Under the supervision of the Finance Team Leader and Finance Coordinator the finance officer of Yola, assisted by a finance assistant, will be in charge of the daily finance and accounting management of Yola base.
• The Finance Officer will work on overall financial monitoring and support capacity building for Yola office and partners and to practice rigorous financial control mechanism and archiving System.
• He/she will make sure that financial procedures, policies, and requirements are implemented in compliance with DRC and Donors and to contribute to the achievement of DRC goals and vision.
• Functions as Finance Archivist  in Finance within the Country of Nigeria
• Provide overall support to the Finance DRC Nigeria as audit focal person.
• Hold a cash book and update at a daily basis the ERP-Dynamics system adequately
• Ensure compliance with the finance chapters of DRC’s Operations Handbook related to Dynamics.

Key Responsibilities
Management of the Office Cash Flow Include the Forecasts:

• Prepare the bank transfer instructions for suppliers’ payment on time for Yola office.
• Manage the cash and safe boxes for the cash payment in the office and on the field if required.
• In relation with the DRC programme and support departments of Adamawa, prepare the monthly cash flow forecast and send it to the finance specialist/Finance Coordinator for compilation.
• Ensure good relations with financial partners (banks, PFA, etc.).

Hold a cash book and update at a daily basis the ERP-Dynamics system adequately:

• Ensures accurately recording of all transactions made by cash or bank, monitors timely receipt and expenditure returns from Program Team and ensures correct data entry and reconciliation in the Cash book and Dynamics.
• Manages daily operation in the area of accounting system which is in line with DRC and Donor’s requirements and ensures the records or entries are up to date in the cash books and Dynamics.
• Complies with Finance and Procurement guidelines when dealing with any transactions.
• Check the justification of operational advances before making payment and ensure of the settlement in a reasonable time.
• Check and control the elements of accounting packages, including the consistency between cash books and Dynamics entries, physical counting, and balances.
• Proceed to the monthly closure of accounting: physical counting, editing of accounting documents (cover sheets), verification of supporting documents.
• Stamp monthly the invoices with the donor stamp and/or the stamp “paid”.
• Ensures proper financial documentation in Yola office

Management of Financial Assets and Liabilities of the Base:

• Records all assets and liabilities in the cash books and Dynamics at Daily basis and follow properly their settlement in Dynamics and the cash book as well.
• Ensure a monthly reconciliation of all assets/liabilities received from the Headquarter and recorded in Nigeria Legal Entity and especially those of Yola Office.

Tax Deduction and Remittance on Time:

• Ensure that the withholding taxes is well calculated, recorded in the Dynamics System and paid at monthly basis.
• Follow up on the staff statutory and taxes payment at monthly basis and ensure that all receipts are collected and archived.
• Collect the taxes clearance certificate or credit notes when the payment is done.
• With support of Finance specialist and/or Finance Coordinator, takes the role of info-sharing to staff and PFAs in relation to HR matters (PAYE, PENSION, NSITF, NHF Payment).

Archiving and Audit Management in Yola:

• Ensure that all the supporting documents are attached per transaction in Dynamics.
• Ensure that all supporting (Hard copies) are scanned with covers sheet attached and saved on Nigeria Dropbox, hard drives, etc.
• At monthly basis, ensure that all supporting documents for transactions recorded in Yola and from other locations (Maiduguri, Mubi, Damaturu, Abuja, etc.) are centralized in Yola in the archive Room and all financial records are also verified and are good for audits purposed. In that regard, at monthly basis share a verification report with the finance specialist and finance coordinator for actions if needed.
• At monthly basis, ensure that all folders containing finance records from each location are tagged and well arrange in the archive room.
• The finance and compliance officer in Yola will be responsible of the security of the archive room and he/she shall be taking care of it.
• Participate in audits preparation/execution (compilation of audit requirements)
• Provides feedback and enhances internal controls to satisfy audit requirements; takes part of providing data and records during the audit process; reports immediately on irregular spending to Finance specialist or Finance Coordinator as deemed appropriate.

Other supports required for this position:

• Provide technical support to the program/Support team of Yola base and other bases if required.
• Takes part of regular staff meeting and respects to the weekly task report in line with performance management.

Required Qualifications
Education: (include certificates, licenses etc.)

• Degrees preferably supplemented by technical or university courses related to Finance, Accounting, Administration.

Experience and Technical Competencies: (include years of experience)
Essential:

• Experience working in international Non-Governmental (INGO) with a background in Audit and compliance management is considered as an asset.
• A minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in general accounting, finance, and Administration experience is needed
• Ability to work closely and effectively in a team to achieve work priorities and objectives.
• Ability to work with ERP-Dynamics will be an appreciated advantage.
• Enthusiasm as a team player, who is flexible, always ready to take on new challenges and drives for results in a dynamic environment
• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and deliver under pressure.
• Ability to provide technical guidance and advise especially to non-finance colleague.
• A Good Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Etc.) is considerable.

Languages: (indicate fluency level)

• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• The knowledge of local Language is also an asset.

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.

Salary & Benefits

• NM-H
• In accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment.
• The income will be subject to statutory deductions as per applicable Nigeria laws. The employee is responsible for the tax returns.

Application Closing Date
8th November, 2021.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English.
• The position is for Nigerian nationals only.
• DRC provides equal opportunity in employment and prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.
• DRC encourages all applicants to apply and does not practice any discrimination in any recruitment process.
• Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.
• Due to the urgency of the position, DRC has the right to recruit a candidate who matches the required profile before the above deadline.