FINANCE & COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR, LIBERIA – Liberia

About Mercy Corps

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.

The Team

Mercy Corps Liberia began operations in 2002 in response to the humanitarian crisis brought about by the two Liberian civil wars that ended in 2003. Mercy Corps’ interventions have evolved based on the context and needs of the Liberian people. With funding from the European Commission, French Development Agency, Irish Aid, the Embassy of Sweden and US Department of Agriculture, among others, Mercy Corps Liberia focuses on Food Security, Peace and Good Governance and Economic Opportunity. Mercy Corps Liberia works closely with the Government of Liberia (especially the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Health, Labor, and Education), the private sector, civil society, international, and local NGOs to implement its programs from its Head Office in Monrovia and sub-offices in Buchanan, River Cess, Nimba, Bong and Lofa counties. Mercy Corps is one of the foremost development actors in Liberia implementing strategic and systems driven programming in youth employment and entrepreneurship, market systems development, and good governance.

The Position

The Finance & Compliance Director is a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and leads the Finance Team in Liberia. S/he is responsible for all aspects of financial management of the country program, working collaboratively to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps internal policies and procedures as well as donor regulations. The Finance & Compliance Director must ensure that systems of internal control are understood and strictly adhered to. S/he works under the direction of the Country Director and is responsible for all financial functions in Liberia, including accounting, payments and banking, payroll, budgeting, financial reporting and grant financial management and compliance. The Finance & Compliance Director, in support of the Program Department, provides timely reports and assistance to the Country Director and the Program Teams to ensure that financial resources are utilized efficiently and effectively.

Essential Responsibilities

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g. Integrity Hotline and other options

STRATEGY & VISION

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction of finance department by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Work with the Country Director and senior management team to manage financial aspects of the country portfolio, formulate strategies and plans.
• Provide strategic support and guidance to operations team, particularly in terms of team structure, efficiency and cross-department collaboration.
• Move from short-term remedial actions to longer term systemic change that will result in enduring change and improvements to the internal controls.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.
• Interface with the (donor) representatives to convey information about programs’ finances as appropriate.
• Communicate with partners to verify their systems and that they understand and follow all appropriate procedures and archiving.
• Advocate and participate in sharing best practices with NGOs, donors and governmental agencies.
• Establish high level of credibility and manage strong working relationship with external stakeholders.

OPERATIONAL – FINANCIAL

• Plan and implement effective and transparent systems for financial operations in both the main country and field offices in accordance with the Mercy Corps Field Finance Manual and donor regulations, including systems for cash flow management, budgeting, consolidation of accounting information, internal controls, financial reporting, financial record-keeping, grant financial management and compliance.

• Develop (and keep up to date) annual fiscal year budgets with the Country Director and develop and implement grant budgeting and forecasting systems with Program Managers/Directors.

• Work with the Country Director to ensure budgets are efficiently and effectively managed, allowing identification and follow-up of programming and potential spend out issues (eg under or overspends).

• Ensure adequate forecasting & recognition of commitments on grants to enable appropriate use & action on BvAs with Program Staff.

• Ensure timely recording of expenditures by the country Finance teams with accurate expenditure descriptions and coding entered into Navigator

• Ensure coding errors are kept to a minimum and transaction listings are adequately reviewed to confirm that the right costs were included in the right places.

• Ensure effective, transparent use of financial resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures. Ensure that Mercy Corps financial systems are robust, compliant and support current activities and future growth.

• Maintain banking relations and plan and monitor country cash flow requirements to ensure the smooth implementation of Mercy Corps programs.

• Together with the HR team, analyze compensation packages, taxation requirements and human resource policies for local staff to ensure that Mercy Corps’ has adequately accounted for the financial impact of local staff compensation and benefits.

• Provide monthly standard accounting submissions to Mercy Corps Headquarters, including general ledger files, account reconciliations, expenditures by cost center/project, required sub-grantee reporting, as well as other financial information in a timely and accurate manner.

• Provide monthly management reports to the Country Director and Program Managers, including expenditures by cost center/project (BvAs), sub-grantee reporting and other financial information, in a timely and accurate manner.

  Guide and oversee country subaward team management process for local and international recipients, from the inception period and pre-award assessment process, to contracting, implementation, financial reporting, budget realignment & management, asset & accounts reconciliations, and closeout.

Provide regular review and monitor subawardees’ financial reporting and compliance.

• Actively participate in internal and external audits and reviews as required to ensure compliance with Mercy Corps and donor requirements. Work with SMT to respond to audit findings that ensure no reiterations from previous audits.
• Provide training and capacity building for finance and non-finance staff on financial management and processes (procedures, budgets, coding, planning, etc.)
• Ensure a focus on quality and completeness of documents. Documentation with a clear audit trail in stand-alone files with either all documents attached and/or a cross-referenced to specific locations.

COMPLIANCE

• As required, support the submission of country-level government reports when applicable (statutory audit report, Financial Statements, statutory remittance on the state and federal level, etc.)

• Monitor and keep Mercy Corps up to date with banking, cash management and other related local government regulations which may impact Mercy Corps Liberia operations and programming

  Ensure close coordination and synchronized approach to partnership/subawards management by program and subawards teams

  Provide additional technical assistance to subaward team in delivering quality capacity building for subawardees’ to maintain high standards of compliance.

• Identify efficient and effective solutions to issues while ensuring compliance with Mercy Corps’ policies and donor regulations.

• Perform follow-up and resolutions for internal and external audit recommendations to improve or enhance the internal control environment.

• Provide inputs into Country Office Risk Register in conjunction with the Country Director, update quarterly.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Lead and develop finance team capacity in the main office and field offices.
• 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.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Hold finance staff accountable and take ultimate responsibility for financial performance of the team members.
• Provide oversight, technical support, and mentoring to finance and subaward team on ongoing basis

SECURITY

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

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 Manager, Finance Coordinator, Grants Coordinator

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Country Director

Works Directly With: HQ Regional Finance Officers in Edinburgh/Portland, HQ Program Officers, Operations Manager, Program Directors, Program Managers, Ethics and Assurance Manager, and HR Manager.

Knowledge and Experience

• At least 10 years of progressive financial management experience is required.
• BA/S or equivalent in a relevant business field is required. An advanced degree is preferred.
• At least 5 years of experience as a senior leader managing teams.
• Strong understanding of donor regulations is required (particularly USAID, USDA, SIDA, and EC).
• Experience managing private sector partnerships under MSD is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience and skill with budget preparation and analysis, financial reporting preparation and presentation and the proven ability to translate technical financial data into informative reports.
• Strong accounting skills and experience, including management of the general ledger, journal entries, payroll, payables and balance sheet.
• Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel.
• Prior management experience and strong organizational skills.
• Excellent oral and written English skills required.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will have an ability to interact effectively across program, operations and finance teams successfully, both in a managerial as well as training capacity. S/he will be able to support programmatic objectives with timely and meaningful financial information, have a demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. An impeccable professional standard of finance and procurement ethics and the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential. The Finance & Compliance Director must be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Monrovia, Liberia and it requires over 30% travel to support programs at county level. The location is accompanied and secure. Housing is individual accommodation with unlimited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. Team members have good degree of access to services – medical, electricity, and water, among others, with limited disruption in Monrovia. Field offices have more basic accommodations with limited access to services and are located in moderate security environments.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).