PROGRAM FINANCE MANAGER

HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM

Founded in 1982 and co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, Handicap International (HI) is an independent, non-governmental, non-denominational, non-political and non-profit-making international solidarity organization specializing in the field of disability. It operates in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, it acts and speaks out to meet their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

As of January 24, 2018, the Handicap International Federation is implementing its programs under the usage name “Humanité & Inclusion/Humanity & Inclusion” (HI). However, the legal name remains Handicap International Federation.

HI has been present in Rwanda since 1994. HI collaborates with local operational partners and public partners including ministries and other public institutions in the implementation of projects.

Since August 1, 2020, HI Rwanda has been part of a regional program in East Africa called “East African Region (HI-EAR)”. This comprises three countries: Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya, with its coordination office in Uganda. HI has undertaken these management changes with the aim of improving coverage of the needs of vulnerable people, including the disabled. In particular, this restructuring means pooling resources at regional level. All EAR members work in 3 main areas, as defined in the 2021-2025 operational strategy:

– Pillar 1: Social and economic inclusion: promote the social, cultural and economic civic participation of vulnerable people; ensure access to education for all; provide institutionalized expertise and support and strengthen the representation and skills of vulnerable people through their associations;

– Pillar 2: Rehabilitation, prevention and health: prevent and combat chronic and disabling diseases, detect and prevent avoidable disabilities at an early stage, and promote mental health through a community-based approach;

– Pillar 3: Protection: HI seeks to prevent the occurrence of gender-, age- and disability-based violence by striving to initiate actions that empower vulnerable people and mobilize local, national and international actors for their own commitment to promoting and respecting the rights of vulnerable people facing gender-, age- and disability-based violence. It is committed to researching and providing reliable data on the identification of vulnerable populations and the mitigation of underlying risk factors.

Handicap International, which implements its programs under its operational name “Humanity & Inclusion” (HI), is looking for a Financial Manager to help it achieve its operational strategy.

Job Summary

Context

Reporting to the Regional Finance Manager, the Country Finance Manager is responsible for leading the finance teams, ensuring compliance with organizational standards and local financial rules, financial strategy and steering, and operational financial management within his/her scope.

Position: Finance Manager.

Location: Rwanda Program

Finance team: 1 Finance Manager, 1 Program Accountant, 1 Cashier and 3 Finance Officers.

Missions/ Responsibilities

Mission 1 : Management

· Embodies HI’s values on a daily basis (Manager as a role model).

· Understands the strategy, makes it explicit, translates it into operational objectives for his or her team, leads the necessary changes. Gives meaning to each management action. Encourages inter and intra departmental exchanges of practice. Encourages innovation and risk-taking (Manager as coach for meaning).

· Organises the operational management of his or her team, structures the work around identified processes, steers performance and facilitates the resolution of problems (Operational manager).

· Contributes to the development of his or her staff, creating the conditions for their commitment, professionalism and attachment to HI. Ensures compliance with the code of conduct of institutional policies, the state of mind and the expected individual and collective behaviour (Manager 1st HR&Coach).

Mission 2 : Strategy and steering

· Contributes towards the drafting, revision and implementation of the financial section of Operational Strategy (StratOp) within his or her area of responsibility area and in line with HI’s financial policies.

· Oversees the breakdown of financial strategy into action plans and advises on financial issues. · Produces, compiles and analyses financial indicators and, if necessary, creates additional indicators.

· Is in charge of the assessment, mitigation and treatment of financial risks and disputes.

· Reports on incidents and their treatment to his or her line manager and functional managers. · Oversees HI external representation activities related to financial issues, takes part in inter-NGO working groups and ensures the development of partnerships in his or her geographical area.

· Leads the financial capacity assessment of local partners and the resulting capacity building plans.

Mission 3 : Standards and expertise

· Oversees the deployment and monitors compliance with all of HI’s financial policies, processes and tools within his or her area of responsibility and, if necessary, develops specific financial tools overseen by his or her line and functional management.

· Directs and controls HI’s compliance with the legal framework of the country or countries of intervention and monitors changes in standards and case law and in the practices of other stakeholders working in the finance field.

· Ensures the production and filing of financial documents ensuring the legality of HI’s operations in the country or countries of intervention.

· Ensures compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

· Ensures implementation of and compliance with procedure for archiving financial documents and the publication and updating of financial documents in the dedicated workspaces.

• Supervises internal control in his or her area of responsibility, as well as any necessary corrective actions.

Mission 4 : Operational implementation

Responsibility 1 : Ensures financial and budget management

· Supervises the drafting of budgets and verifies that HI’s funds are being used in an optimal manner in his area of responsibility.

· Ensures the accuracy and updating of financial information and coordinates the process of reporting and compiling financial information in accordance with the financial calendar.

· Produces the summary notes necessary for financial management and identifies risks. Supports budget holders with their financial steering.

· Analyses the financial aspects of partnership agreements and checks the accuracy and conformity of partners’ accounts and documentation before payment.

Responsibility 2 : Ensures accounts management

· Is the focal person on accounting issues.

· Ensures the accuracy and updating of accounts information and coordinates the process of reporting and compiling accounts information in accordance with the financial calendar.

· Directs the development of all accounting processes under his or her responsibility, ensuring their compliance with the accounting reference framework (procedures, tools) and their incorporation into of the accounting information system (IS).

· Consolidates, checks and validates all entries and documents for the monthly and annual closing of accounts, in particular bank reconciliations, justification of payable and receivable accounts and monitoring of fixed assets.

· Ensures that applications for Value Added Tax (VAT) exemptions are filed and checks the declarations submitted to the authorities.

· Represents HI externally with the Statutory Auditors and/or the authorities in charge of accounting and tax matters.

· Ensures implementation of and compliance with procedure for archiving supporting documents, in particular by ensuring the quality of paper and digital supporting documents, and sends supporting documents (paper and digital format) to their final storage locations.

· Provides the supporting documents asked for by internal or external auditors. Responsibility 3 : Ensures the financial management of institutional funding in compliance with “donor” guidelines and contractual obligations

· Directs the drafting of funding proposals for institutional donors and the construction of funding schedules:

• Supervises and accompanies the drafting of funding proposals and optimises the funding schedules (coverage of office and support costs); compiles and coordinates multi-programme proposals when the programme is the lead.

• Examines, alerts to and even negotiates the conditions of funding agreements before they are signed (payment dates and methods and financial reports, methods of justification of expenditure, exchange rates, audits, etc.).

• Ensures that these obligations are realistic and compatible with HI procedures.

  · Controls the monitoring of expenditure against funding and reports to the budget holders. Monitors consumption rates, issues alerts in the event of a risk of non-compliance with the flexibility rules and anticipates slippage by preparing contractual amendments

  · Supervises and coordinates the production and quality of financial reports for donors by checking compliance with donor guidelines.

  · Ensures that donor payments are made or reminders sent and that line and functional managers are informed of delays in payments

  · Ensures that information concerning donor contracts is entered in the FIS: donor budgets, cost-accounting and budget modifications, schedules, reports, etc.

  · Coordinates responses to requests from internal and external auditors and ensures the successful conclusion of audits, defining any corrective actions to be implemented. Responsibility 4: Ensures cash-flow management

· Is the focal person on cash-flow issues.

· Examines, formalises and optimises requests for funds in order to ensure the availability of cash in cash boxes and bank accounts and meet the financial needs of the mission. Assists project managers in defining their cash-flow requirements.

· Ensures the provisioning of cash boxes, contributes to bank reconciliation operations, carries out cash box/safe inventories for monthly and annual closings.

· Provides any documents relating to cash management requested by internal and external auditors, as well as the documents required to meet banking compliance requirements within his or her area of responsibility.

· Evaluates and provides means of payment adapted to the needs of the mission and ensures compliance interlocutors. with payment rules according to the defined thresholds.

· Oversees procedure for the security and storage of funds, including security thresholds, and proposes adaptations to the context if necessary.

· Ensures the completion of requests to open or close bank accounts on behalf of the organisation according to operational needs and the updating of bank signatories.

· Identifies exchange rate risks and puts measures in place to mitigate these risks.

Mission 5 : Profession facilitation

· Puts in place and monitors the elements of his or her profession that fall within his or her area of responsibility: dissemination, use and contribution to revisions of standards, monitoring of recommendations for the skills development of the teams, etc.

· Coordinates profession facilitation in his or her area of responsibility, fosters a team spirit and ensures the inclusion of all team members by encouraging regular contributions, especially through practice-sharing.

· Develops a pool of local talent.

Mission 6 : Emergency preparedness and response

· Leads the emergency preparedness actions in his/her department and, in case of emergency, reorganizes the priorities of his/her team according to the humanitarian imperative, in order to ensure HI’s quick and efficient response.

Profile Expected

• Master’s degree or equivalent in accounting, finance and related fields.
• Minimum 6 years’ experience in finance
• Project funding management is preferred.
• 6 years’ experience in funding management for various donors (USAID, UNICEF, GGMOFFA, Consortium) is preferred.
• Experience in team management is preferred.
• Advanced skills in Excel functions, spreadsheets, data management and analysis.
• Financial and budgetary management skills
• Capacity in financial management of donors
• Ability to lead and/or design training and skills enhancement programs
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel is essential
• Sourcing and recruitment skills
• Risk management skills
• Ability to produce and analyse financial reports
• Good budget preparation and analysis skills
• Good training skills for partners and other players in the field
• Accounting, tax and financial skills
• Fluency in French, English and Kinyarwanda
• Cash management, general and analytical accounting
• Ability to lead change

Personal Skills

• Sense of responsibility
• Great personality
• Ability to share ideas and experience
• Ability to work as part of a team and involve stakeholders and partners
• Sense of priorities and organization
• Total discretion concerning the activities of the organization and its members, outside the professional framework.
• Total discretion vis-à-vis other employees regarding confidential information (budgets, salaries, allowances, contracts, etc.).