Revenue and Project Accountant ECMWF

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

Berkshire, United Kingdom

Date of issue: 24 May 2012
FUNCTION: Revenue and Project Accountant
Interviews for this post are expected to take place in Reading, Berkshire, between 2 July and 13 July 2012.
REFERENCE NO: AP12-11
LOCATION: ECMWF Headquarters at Shinfield Park, near Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom.
ENVIRONMENT: The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an international organisation supported by 34 States*.

ECMWF’s principal objectives are the development of numerical methods for medium-range, monthly and seasonal weather forecasting; the preparation, on a regular basis, of these weather forecasts for distribution to the meteorological services of the Member States; scientific and technical research directed to the improvement of these forecasts; and the collection and storage of appropriate meteorological data. Satellite and in situ observations provide the information for up-to-date global analyses and reanalyses of the atmosphere, ocean and surface. For details see: www.ecmwf.int/research.

ECMWF’s main computing facility includes supercomputers, archiving and data handling systems. ECMWF is connected to the meteorological telecommunication system and to its Member States via efficient networks linking 44 countries. A detailed description is available at: www.ecmwf.int/services/computing/overview.

MAIN DUTIES:

This is a newly created position within the Administration Department at ECMWF. The successful candidate will report to the Head of Finance and Supplies Section and will be responsible for the accounting and control of ECMWF’s revenue and funding activities. This will include contributions from ECMWF’s Member and Co-operating States, revenue from the sale of its forecast products and data services, and funding derived from its participation in external research activities.

The main duties will include:

• Determination and collection of Member and Co-operating States’ contributions;
• Accounting and control of sales of forecast products and data services;
• Support for proposals and business cases for new funding from EU and other international bodies;
• Maintenance of records of project funding and costs;
• Liaison with auditors and other external bodies in relation to project funding;
• Production of reports and forecasts for revenue and associated costs, including project profitability;
• Production and further development of ECMWF’s Activity-Based Costing analyses;
• Credit control of all amounts due to ECMWF;
• Budgeting of all revenue and funding items;
• General support to the Finance and Supplies Section, including developing/leading projects as required.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Candidates should have either a finance-oriented degree or a professional accountancy qualification with experience in public sector accounting, preferably in an international organisation. Knowledge and experience of accounting using the IPSAS framework would be an advantage.

The role requires:

• Extensive experience of budget preparation, project costing and accounting for revenues in a multi-currency environment;
• Extensive experience and knowledge of EU funding mechanisms, including the preparation of FP7 bid responses and ongoing project auditing and governance;
• Experience of providing analysis and reports for decision-making, including the use of core accounting systems combined with report writers such as jet reports or similar;
• Expert-level Microsoft Office skills, with a particular emphasis on Excel and Word.

Candidates should have a good command of written English and excellent communication skills, together with demonstrated experience of team working within projects. Strong analytical and excellent organisational skills are also essential for this position.
The working languages of ECMWF are English, French and German. Candidates must be fluent in English and a good knowledge of one of the other working languages would also be desirable. Interviews will be conducted in English.

REMUNERATION: ECMWF offers an attractive tax free salary package. For this position, the annual basic net starting salary will be £50,424. Subject to family circumstances and eligibility, other allowances may be added.
Further details are available at www.ecmwf.int/newsevents/employment/en/ on the ECMWF website.

A deduction of either £28.75 per beneficiary or 3.72% of the monthly remuneration will be made for the supplementary health insurance scheme.

STARTING DATE: As soon as possible.
LENGTH OF CONTRACT: Two years, with the possibility of renewal.
APPLICATIONS: Application forms can be downloaded from ECMWF’s website: www.ecmwf.int/newsevents/employment/en/.
CLOSING DATE: Completed applications for this post must reach the Personnel Section of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts not later than 21 June 2012.

* The ECMWF Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

The ECMWF Co-operating States are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Morocco, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.