Financial Controller/Project Administrator, The Hague

Payment: TBD

Location: The Hague, The Netherlands

Hours: Aprt Time - 32 Hours (4 days) per week

Term: Initially 1 year

Start Date: November 2012

To apply: Please complete online application form.

Summary

The Financial Controller/Project Administrator will be responsible for the overall functioning and financial administration of the Stichting Institute for War and Peace Reporting Netherlands, as well as of field and Hague-based projects. He/she will be part of a small team in The Hague.

IWPR’s office The Hague currently runs justice and human rights reporting projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and the former Yugoslavia.

Responsibilities

Finance and Compliance

• Monitor, control and report on all financial expenditure for projects in the Balkans, Central Africa and South Sudan, according to field reporting mechanisms and invoicing procedures.
• Ensure that appropriate balances are maintained to facilitate grant implementation.
• Analyse levels of expenditure on individual programmes against budgets, and provide timely advice to project teams on likely overspends or underspends; create and/or modify spending programmes for all relevant projects.
• Complete monthly balance-sheet reconciliations.
• Prepare financial project reports (interim and final) as well as periodic institutional reports.
• Prepare and guide the compilation of annual financial reports in line with Richtlijn 650 of the Raad voor de Jaarverslaggeving (Council for Annual Reporting) for fundraising organisations in The Netherlands.
• Prepare project audits.
• Ensure that annual internal and external audits are conducted in a timely and efficient manner and that recommendations are followed up.
• Provide analysis of recurrent cost and expenditure trends, financial position and financial imperatives for the ongoing functioning of the Hague office and its projects. 
• Prepare financial reports for the Board of Trustees.
• Develop grant budgets by working closely with the Director and project team members, and monitor expenditure against donor budgets.
• Prepare and review donor financial reports to ensure that they are in line with donor reporting requirements.
• Provide guidance to field offices and projects as well as local partners on the administration of expenditure.
• Ensure that proper financial procedures and systems are operated and maintained at individual field sites, and that they comply with financial policies and guidelines in The Netherlands and in the operating country.
• Ensure compliance with local regulations on financial and other matters such as registration and reporting, taxation and Dutch labour laws.
• Further develop the financial administration manual which documents the financial and administrative policies and procedures of IWPR Netherlands.
• Ensure smooth and timely dissemination of information and feedback on financial and administrative matters (both internally and externally).

Administration and Coordination

• Develop and maintain proper payroll records, prepare payroll-related journal entries for accounts processing, and prepare wire transfers.
• Balance payroll-related accounts to the general ledger, and prepare monthly accounting reports.
• Ensure compliance with country payroll regulations and other agencies’ reporting requirements including international taxation.
• Collect and check accuracy of time sheets for international and domestic staff.
• Assist project staff with the coordination of travel, accommodation, insurance and visas.
• Assist with the coordination of training programmes and roundtables/other events in The Netherlands, and provide support to trainees arriving in the country.
• Ensure that local insurance arragements are in place, effective, and regularly reviewed, and that staff and sites are conversant and compliant with these procedures and policies.
• Procure (field) equipment, materials and office supplies, manage accounts with suppliers and maintain database.
• Ensure that organisational development needs in relation to finance, payroll administration and human resource development are identified and measures taken to address them.
• In collaboration with the Director, support the recruitment, induction and welfare of staff, including regular reviews of contract end dates, contract extensions and recruitment.
• Provide other assistance and support to the Director as required.

Person Specification

The ideal candidate needs a sound knowledge and experience of Dutch financial management accounting, project administration and international donor reporting requirements, and of IT systems, and must be able to work as a member of a small international team.

The challenge of this position is to oversee a multi-donor and multi-site operation over several countries. This position requires flexibility, sensitivity, integrity and a advanced skills. A high degree of self-planning and independent work is required.

The post-holder will have functional relationships with project coordinators, editors and reporters. and will report to the Director. The effectiveness of these relationships will directly impact on the success of projects, so strong inter-personal skills are essential. More specifically, candidates must have the following:

• Finance or accounting degree from a college or university in The Netherlands.
• Significant  experience of finance/accounting/planning/controlling with an NGO in The Netherlands.
• Experience of working in media development, preferably at both field and headquarters level and in conflict and post-conflict countries.
• In-depth knowledge of financial control systems, budgeting, financial/administrative management and reporting.
• IT literacy, including in Excel and EXACT accounting software.
• Experience of donor budgeting and reporting.
• Ability to analyse and distill financial and narrative information.
• Business, finance and resource management skills.
• Professional experience of payroll administration.
• Administrative and office management skills.
• Operational planning and coordination experience.
• Capacity to plan and manage in a multiple-deadline working environment
• Flexible attitude to changes in priorities.
• Capacity to think ahead and highlight areas of concern, risk, etc
• Good teamwork.
• Ability to act on his/her own initiative.
• Right to live and work in The Netherlands.
• Written and spoken Dutch, English and French
• Strong communication skills
• Integrity and a commitment to uphold the Institute’s values and obligations

To apply: Please complete online application form.