Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action – helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Finance Officer
Location: Gwoza, Borno
Position Status: Full-time or Part-time
Program / Department Summary
- The Mercy Corps Finance Department is responsible for all financial functions in Nigeria, including accounting, payments and banking, payroll, budgeting, financial reporting, and grant financial management and compliance.
- The Mercy Corps Finance Department ensures compliance with donor regulations as well as Mercy Corps’ internal policies and procedures. In its role as a support to the Program Department, the Finance Department provides timely reports and assistance to the Country Director and the Program team to ensure that financial resources are used efficiently and effectively.
General Position Summary
- Working in the Finance Department under the direction of the Senior Finance Officer, the Finance Officer will assist the Gwoza office to ensure the accuracy and completeness of accounting records and will have primary responsibility for managing the monthly accounting cycle and the routine daily accounting tasks and payment.
- The Finance Officer will assist in review and analyze records, reports, financial statements and management practices to ensure adequate internal controls are in place to mitigate risks in compliance with laws, regulations, donor requirements and Mercy Corps policies and procedures
Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy & Vision:
- Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
- Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
- Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.
- Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
Team Management:
- Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
- Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
- Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary.
- Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
Finance and Accounting Management:
- Assist in the financial review of purchase requests, purchase orders and payment requests to ensure compliance with MC policies and procedures and project.
- Maintain the bank file, ensuring that all bank information is properly filed and updated
- Ensure the on-time submission of the monthly/quarterly/year-end reporting packages to Maiduguri, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the ledgers, and all supporting documentation.
- Ensure all staff advances are tracked and cleared on time.
- Manage the archiving of all financial documents and follow up with staff for any missing documents.
- Assist in the training and support of the finance assistant, including answering daily questions,
- Ensure the petty cash count performed on time (weekly and monthly).
- Oversee the maintenance of all accounting records, ensuring that records are complete, accurate and safeguarded.
- Assist in the training of support staff on Finance related matters and give any financial operational support needed.
- Make sure that all supporting documentation is prepared and filed according to MC procedures.
- Deploy to the other field when needs gaps are arise.
- Assist the Finance Manager in responding to audit inquiries.
- Assist the Finance department to enhance the efficient of existing control systems.
Security:
- Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
Organizational Learning
As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Beneficiaries
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Supervisory Responsibility:
- Finance Assistant
Accountability:
- Reports Directly To: Senior Finance Officer – Maiduguri
- Works Directly With: Maiduguri Finance team, program and operational teams in Northeast Nigeria.
Knowledge and Experience
- Two or more years of finance experience is required.
- A university degree in Finance, Accounting or equivalent is required.
- Demonstrated experience in accounting.
- Understanding of basic international donor’s rules and regulations.
- Strong computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel
- Prior experience with NGO/PVO is preferred.
- Previous experience in insecure environments is preferred.
- Excellent oral and written English skills
Desired:
- Knowledge of Hausa.
Success Factors
- The successful candidate will be capable of multi-tasking, rapid decision-making, have initiative, drive and a lot of energy, as well as high emotional intelligence, constructive mentoring skills and proven experience with capacity building.
- S/he will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level. Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.
- In particular, the successful candidate will be willing to travel to other locations such as Damboa, Dikwa, Ngala, Gwoza and other LGAs of Northeast programs based on the needs of the Mercy Corps program. This will mean sometimes staying and working in stressful environments with very basic living conditions, strictly following security protocols at all times and sometimes working long and irregular hours).
- Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours.
- Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
- The position is based in Gwoza, Borno State.
Job Title: Programme Assistant
Location: Biu, Borno with at least 60% travel to project locations
Position Status Full Time, Regular
Program / Department Summary
- The MAIDA programme will directly support the recovery of at least 70,000 women, men, girls and boys who are returnees, IDPs and members of host communities affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in southern and central Borno State. The objective of MAIDA is to increase the social cohesion and resilience to economic, social and climate related shocks in Borno State in an environmentally-conscious way
- Four interrelated and mutually reinforcing intermediate outcomes will contribute to achieving this objective. First, MAIDA will restore and improve rural livelihoods in an ecologically sustainable manner by enabling households to take advantage of existing and new agricultural market opportunities. In parallel, adolescents and youth will be empowered as economic actors in their communities through access to employment, diversified livelihood opportunities, vocational training and business development initiatives
- These outcomes will be reinforced by improved access to social protection and community-based services for women, youth, adolescent breadwinners and other at-risk groups. Finally, overall social cohesion will be strengthened within and between conflict-affected communities and environmental resource management will be improved in areas of displacement and return
- Sectors of intervention will include market-led and climate-smart livelihood and employment opportunities, vocational training for youth, social and economic protection and community reintegration and peacebuilding. Economic recovery activities will build resilience through Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) market systems-based models, reducing poverty by enhancing the ways that poor and vulnerable households interact with markets.
General Position Summary
- The Programme Assistant Agriculture is a program administrator that supports the planning and administration of Agricultural activities under output one of the MAIDA programme. The Program Assistant will be responsible for supporting activities in the intervention communities of MAIDA program
- S/He will be responsible for supporting the implementation of strategic, impactful, and high-quality programming. The program Assistant will report to the Agriculture Programme Officer MAIDA, and work collaboratively with fellow program staff.
- S/he will work extensively with other sectors of the project to ensure that all activities are implemented successfully and timely.
Strategy and Vision:
- Support opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
- Support organization activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.
Essential Job Responsibilities
- Provide administrative and program support to Agricultural programme officer and senior programme officer to implement the program successfully.
- Facilitate community mobilization activities to support targeting beneficiaries and improve Agricultural Interventions knowledge, attitudes and practices.
- Support Identification, selection of beneficiaries among the vulnerable displaced people and host communities that have been affected by the insurgency interpreting in local dialect to the beneficiaries and community leaders the general program concept from.
- Support Coordination of Community Mobilization Team to identify potential beneficiaries and existing Agricultural and livestock cooperatives and informal Agricultural saving and loans associations
- Support community Agricultural needs assessments as and when due
- Support training session in the field
- Support selection of beneficiaries
- Adherence to all MC policies and procedures as outlined in MC policies and procedure manuals;
- Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission in country of operation;
- Lead on program administrative task such filling, photocopying, scanning and printing
- Other duties as assigned.
Organizational Learning:
- As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Finance & Compliance Management:
- Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.
- Responsible for expenditure tracking of activities carried out in the field
Influence & Representation:
- Support Identifying, building and manage collaborative partnerships with the community, government and other stakeholder’s
- Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets are met.
Security:
- Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
- Proactively ensure the team members operates in secure environment and are aware in of policies
- Work closely with Mercy corps Nigeria country team`s secure focal point to develop and maintained systems that ensure the safety and security of the team in all aspect of its implementation process.
Organizational Learning:
- As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability To Beneficiaries:
- Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
- to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
- Supervisory Responsibility
- None
Accountability:
- Reports Directly To: Programme Officer Agriculture
- Works Directly With: Other program Officers and assistants in the program
Knowledge and Experience
- University Degree / HND in Arts, Natural, Social Sciences, or equivalent preferred and NYSC Certification
- 2-3 years of experience working in the development sector, or humanitarian program; general program management experience required.
- Knowledge of office administration and project management cycle
- Prior experience implementing distributions is required, preferably in a non-camp setting. Experience with cash/voucher distributions strongly preferred.
- Experience working with multiple stakeholders to identify beneficiaries according to criteria required.
- Experience with conducting assessments, monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts required.
- Experience representing the organization and its interests to a diverse range of local and international government officials, local civil society organizations, other international organizations, the media and the public.
- Commitment to renewing and maintaining knowledge of best practices.
- Demonstrated training and facilitation experience
- Ability to work under pressure
- Demonstrated strengths in analytical skills, monitoring and evaluation, and report writing
- Strong interpersonal, intercultural and communication skills
- Excellent oral and written skills and computer skills
- Fluency in English, Hausa and local language in BIU is required.
Success Factors
- Strong Work Ethic, having the ability to learn the most efficient way of learning the most efficient way to complete tasks and finding ways to save time while completing daily assignments
- Dependability and Responsibility, having the ability to come to work on time, are there when they are supposed to be, and are responsible for their actions and behavior. Adaptability, being adaptable and maintaining flexibility in completing tasks in an ever-changing workplace
- Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
- The position is based in BIU, Borno State.
Deadline: 3rd May, 2020.
Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV and Cover Letters in one document, addressing the position requirements, reference number and location to: ng-recruitment.nigeria@mercycorps.org
Note
- All applications must include the position title and Reference Number on the envelope or in the subject line if sending via email.
- CV and cover letter and should not be more than 4 pages.
- All applications must include the Position Title on the envelope and should not be more than 4 pages.
- Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview and we are an equal opportunity organization so women are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.
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