Financial Officer, Yemen, Egypt and MENA region

Oxfam Novib is committed to ridding the world of poverty. We have a conviction that people are well capable of building a livelihood without poverty on their own, once given the chance to do so. This is why we work with local actors to supporting projects in developing countries, why we lobby governments and companies to take into account the interests of the poorest people, and why we campaign to engage men and women around the work. We work together with other Oxfam affiliates to increase our impact.

A vacancy has arisen in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) bureau of the International Department for a

Financial Officer, Yemen, Egypt and MENA region
36 hours per week, starting as soon as possible
Based at Oxfam Novib Head Office in The Hague

Objective of the position
To provide for the financial aspects of the Yemen and Egypt country and the MENA regional, support program development, implementation and monitoring of the financial aspects of the externally funded programs at country and MENA regional level, the management of the financial risks and opportunities, and to provide for the appraisal and analysis of the necessary financial aspects of proposals and reports for back-donors.

Main tasks

• In cooperation with the other financial officers in the MENA regional bureau, you contribute to the formulation and implementation of the annual management contracts of the Yemen and Egypt teams and the Middle East and North Africa regional bureau, and to regular periodic monitoring of approvals and spending.
• You analyse the financial aspects of fund applications, financial reports and financial audits of Oxfam Novib counterparts in Yemen and Egypt and in the MENA region for the sake of a proper accountability and transparency; you assess, together with the relevant Programme Officer the organisational structure, capacity and management systems of counterparts as well as their internal and external risks and communicate about these issues directly with the counterparts.
• You contribute to the development and execution of general and specific policies of the MENA regional bureau, as far as this is related to financial control issues, such as the quality of financial auditing, opportunities for getting external advice in the field of financial management and the quality and reliability of bank traffic.
• You assist in identifying and following up on external funding possibilities relevant to the Egypt, Yemen and the MENA region, including proposal development and assessing reports. You draw up budgets for projects for institutional/external funding.
• You serve as the financial officer for several externally funded MENA (multi country) projects: on strengthening women's organisations and the engagement of women in transition processes in these countries (Women on the Frontline project; NAP 1325 project, both funded by the Dutch MoFA) and an externally funded project in Yemen (SIDA funded). You are also responsible as a financial officer for the Egypt component of an externally funded project with Oxfam Italia related to Bedouin in the Middle East.
• You maintain contacts with specialised financial institutions, financial experts and other relevant stakeholders in the region, and with financial experts within Oxfam Novib, including coordinating as needed with Control International Department in the Quality and Control bureau.
• You contribute to the development of Oxfam Novib's financial policies related to Oxfam Novib's cooperation with counterparts in Yemen, Egypt and the MENA region and endeavour to ensure that these policies are appropriate for the local and regional setting.
• You contribute to the development of Oxfam Novib's internal planning and management systems.
• You regularly visit counterparts and other relevant organisations/people in the region in order to properly implement the above mentioned duties.

Required skills and experience

• You have a relevant qualification at HBO (Higher Vocational Education) or academic level in a financial, economic and/or administrative area.
• You have an affinity with international development issues.
• You can demonstrate several years of working experience related to (international) development organisations and/or (global) networks.
• Experience in the Middle East and North Africa region, in particular Yemen and Egypt are an advantage.
• You are able to make independent financial analyses of development programmes, and can evaluate these against the political and socio-economic context within which they are carried out.
• You have a strong command of spoken and written English. Command of French is also an asset.
• Readiness to undertake regular travel to offices in the field
• You have a good insight into management issues in NGOs.
• You have good computer skills; familiarity with SAP is desirable.
• You work in a result-oriented and methodical manner. You have good written and oral skills
• You have organisational and administrative experience and qualities.
• You work well in a team and have outstanding social and intercultural skills.
• Applicants must be Nationals of a European Union member State or have a valid work permit for the European Union.

We offer
A local Dutch contract with a competitive, fair and comprehensive pay and benefits package that is justifiable to our donors. The classification is in scale 8 and the corresponding salary range lies between EU2.351,- and EU3.617,- gross per month based on a 36-hour week.

More information and application procedure
Are you interested? Send your application with reference number 5-3431 tojobs@oxfamnovib.nl to the attention of Ewa van den Berg (HR Advisor) no later than March 16, 2014. Information on the vacancy is available with Mirjam Andriessen (Associate Country Director Yemen) 0031.70.3421754. Information on the procedure is available with Ewa van den Berg, 0031.70.3421989.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.