Finance Officer

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to protect, advocate and promote durable solutions for displacement affected populations.

DRC has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, currently DRC employs over 700 staff in Ukraine and will continue significant scale-up in 2024 to implement emergency response in the Protection, Livelihoods, Shelter/NFIs and Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (humanitarian mine action) sectors, using direct interventions, support to duty bearers and civil society organizations (CSOs), and partnerships with CSOs. DRC will continue and adapt its durable solutions portfolio to the evolving context.

DRC is currently looking for a Finance Officer in Kyiv.

About the job

The Finance officer will ensure timely preparation of budgets for new project proposals, budget revisions, financial donor reporting, and lead on budget monitoring and regular reviews for assigned projects throughout the project cycle.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Budgeting and Reporting

• Produce donor report ensuring compliance with donor requirements and coordinate with relevant teams and HQ to ensure timely submission.
• Ensure Budget Follow-up templates are set up at the start of a project and updated monthly with actuals and forecasts.
• Ensure projects are setup accurately and timely in Microsoft Dynamics.
• Ensure compliance with donor rules and regulations through regular reviews and close monitoring.
• Serve as the focal person for Proposal Budgeting and amendments for assigned projects. Ensure timely and well-coordinated budget preparation with all the program sectors and Area offices.
• Ensure all budgets and proposals are created the country’s proposals and project design SOPs and relevant guidelines.
• Work closely with programs and grants to ensure envelopes reflect the need on the ground and quality donor proposal budgets are produced.
• Work closely with Area Offices to ensure inclusion of relevant support costs in new budgets for full cost recovery.
• Provide support for compliant and accurate cost charging, minimizing risk whilst maximizing cost recovery opportunities.
• Maintain an up-to-date Master Budget with a consolidated allocation table for salaries and operational costs covering all locations highlighting any foreseen gaps.
• Ensure issues identified at monthly monitoring meetings are tackled and rebooking requests are submitted to CO in a timely manner.
• Ensure timely escalation of potential write-offs, disallowances, and questioned costs during project reviews.
• Facilitate project audits and work toward reducing audit findings by applying lessons learnt.
• Apply reports and data analytics from DRC Dynamics to improve performance in the country operation.

Financial Management

• Ensure compliance with internal financial calendar and external deadlines.
• Identify and manage financial risks, escalating and addressing potential liabilities in a timely manner.
• Support Finance Manager in making available all financial information needed for reports to HQ, donor and local authorities.
• Support and collaborate with Finance Manager for improvement of SOPs, tools and templates such as Proposal budgeting, Project monitoring, Donor reporting.

DRC Dynamics

• Ensure DRC Dynamics is used to its full capacity.
• Ensure proper application of ERP finance processes in the country.
• Be one of the Super users for the DRC Dynamics (ERP) System and responsible for training other finance staff in the Country Office as well as in the Area offices.

Coordination with Area Offices

• Facilitate day-to-day support to the programs implementation team, including reviewing PRs (purchase requisition), Travel Requisitions, SAF (staff action form) and ERs (expense reports)
• Support the AMs and other PMs in ensuring Project review meetings are regular, issues are flagged on time.
• Coordinate with PMs and consolidate forecasts, allocation sheets, other inputs.

On request perform any other additional duties assigned by the supervisor(s) in order to allow the organization to function optimally.

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you at least 3 year’s work experience in the field of finance/accounting, preferably in an International NGO. Moreover, we also expect the following:

Required

• Competence in providing technical guidance in grants finance.
• Working experience with relevant donors (e.g. ECHO, UN OCHA, WRA, GFFO, etc.).
• Advanced proficiency in Excel.
• Full professional proficiency in English.
• University degree in the related field or equivalent (Accounting, Audit, Finance).

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

• Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.
• Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.
• Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.
• Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer:

• Contract length: open-ended after 3 months probation period.
• Band: H non-management.
• Designation of Duty Station: Kyiv, Ukraine.
• Start date: ASAP.
• Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for National Employees; please refer to drc.ngo under Vacancies.

Application process

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: 19th of May 2024.

Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Recruitment will be conducted on a rolling basis, and a final candidate may be selected before the advertisement closes. Only candidates who meet the criteria will be contacted.

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo.

Founded in 1956, DRC Danish Refugee Council is Denmark’s largest, and a leading international NGO. We have continuously been ranked as one of the best NGOs in the world - and are one of the few with a specific expertise in forced displacement. In over 40 countries, we protect, advocate and build sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement-affected people and communities.

By working in DRC, you will be joining a global workforce of around 8000 employees. We pride ourselves on our:

• Professionalism, impact & expertise
• Humanitarian approach & the work we do
• Purpose, meaningfulness & own contribution
• Culture, values & strong leadership
• Fair compensation & continuous development

DRC’s capacity to ensure the protection of and assistance to refugees, IDP’s and other persons of concern depends on the ability of our staff to uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. DRC conducts thorough and comprehensive background checks as part of the recruitment process.

Danish Refugee Council is an equal opportunity employer and we consider all applicants regardless of race, age, ability, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status. We have a strong ambition to further enhance the diversity of our workforce and our goal is to achieve 50% gender balance and at least 50% representation of national staff in management roles. We acknowledge the importance of fostering a diverse and inclusive team to successfully achieve our organizational goals and positively impact the communities we serve.