Finance Officer at International NGO Safety Organisation

Founded in 2011, the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO) is an international NGO that supports humanitarian aid workers by establishing safety coordination platforms in insecure contexts. INSO provides registered NGOs with a range of free services, including real-time incident tracking, analytical reports, safety-related data and mapping, crisis management support, staff orientations, and training.

INSO provides daily support to more than 1200 NGOs operating in 18 of the world’s most insecure countries.

INSO is registered in the Netherlands, with its headquarters based in The Hague, the international city of peace and justice.

INSO Ukraine

INSO Ukraine opened in 2015. Since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, it has rapidly expanded to a complete platform serving the needs of NGOs in a fast-evolving conflict. Currently, more than 240 national and international NGOs receive INSO services, in both Ukrainian and English, including information, analysis and advice through a wide range of written products, meetings and briefings, tailored assessments, crisis support, and a broad range of training courses. Our country office is in Kyiv, supported by field offices in Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa.

In mid-2023, INSO opened a Humanitarian Training Centre close to Lviv City, delivering immersive HEIST courses and conducting pioneering research on stress exposure and learning for humanitarians. The scale and intensity of the conflict in Ukraine continue to pose significant humanitarian safety challenges, particularly around heavily-contested frontline areas where the humanitarian footprint has expanded since 2023. As part of INSO Ukraine, you will play a key role in supporting NGOs and helping aid reach people in need in a safer manner, while at the same time being part of a vibrant and growing humanitarian community bringing together experiences from across the globe.

INSO is now seeking an experienced professional to join our team as INSO Finance Officer to be based in Kyiv.

Job Summary:

The key responsibilities of this position will be to support the Finance Manager in carrying out and overseeing the general project accounting, treasury, budgeting, and reporting. The Finance Officer works under supervision and ultimate accountability of the Finance Manager but may be bestowed with substitutive responsibilities and must be technically capable of them.

Major Responsibilities:

(The below-mentioned list of responsibilities is not exhaustive: flexibility is a must and other tasks may be requested to adapt to operational needs, like covering other areas during the leave of a colleague).

• Receive the monthly accounting journals in EXCEL from the Finance Assistant and field offices. Confirm their correctness by reconciling all entries with the supporting documentation. Ensure entries have been properly coded and allocated to enable direct import to SUNSYSTEM. Prepare the journal entries to offset prepayment, intercompany and payroll accounts. Collect the information and documentation from the operations to update the accounting journals of accrued expenses (staff leave, severance pay, outstanding bills…).
• Daily oversee bank and cash transactions. Ensure suppliers are paid in accordance with a valid contract or a purchase order. Ensure payments of local taxes and payroll are reconciled monthly. Collect cash needs of field offices and prepare bank transfers. Ensure that adequate controls on cash management are in place in all sites. Confirm all cash counts and bank reconciliation are routinely performed and witnessed.
• Monitors open advances and deposits in the balance sheet and recoup aging amounts.
• Maintain a secure filing system of the original accounting documentation. Oversee the repatriation of original documents from field offices. Confirm completeness of the supporting documentation in all respect, organize and archive them in an accessible manner. Support the Finance Manager in the provision of the documentation during financial audits.
• Act as a point of contact of field offices for finance queries and provide financial support to team members.
• Undertake specific tasks on internal controls, budget planning, proposals, and financial reporting as they have been assigned by the Finance Manager. Prepare reports on actual versus budget. Works closely with Departments on forecasts so that the SMT has an accurate and timely information. Prepare financial reports for grants reporting and timely submit the reports to the Finance Manager for review.
• Partake training of staff with financial functions. Time to time travel to field offices to deliver orientation to officers and assistants newly recruited. Orient the Accountant and/or the Finance Assistant in their functions.
• Follow up closely on the operations of the outsourced account firm , ensuring the correctness of the records, completion of the source documents, timely submission of periodic reports to the relevant authorities.
• Substitute the Finance Manager functions in case of absence or vacancy.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience, preferably in similar roles with NGOs
• A degree in finance, account, or relevant field
• Experience in financial software systems (preferably SUNSYSTEM), and proficiency in Microsoft Office
• High attention to detail
• Ability to process large amounts of data
• In depth knowledge of financial regulations and account processes
• Ability to handle budgets
• Donor/contract management experience and donor policy knowledge (preferably ECHO, FCDO, SDC and or BHA)
• Good English language skills, both written and verbal
• Time management skills
• Ability to supervise and direct.

Terms & Conditions:

Official contract with a 3-month probationary period with expected start date 1st June 2024, UAH 73,000 Gross salary.

INSO’s Safeguarding Policy:

INSO is fully committed to safe recruitment, selection, and vetting of all potential new staff, trustees, and volunteers and we will ensure rigorous compliance with our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policy throughout the recruitment process. As such, the following safe recruitment practices will be applied:

• All offers of employment will be conditional on receiving at least two satisfactory professionals.
• INSO will ask candidates about significant gaps in employment history or frequent changes of employer and address.
• All essential qualifications and relevant professional accreditations and memberships will be verified.
• The successful candidate will be required to provide valid proof of identity (passport, ID card);
• All new hires will receive an orientation in INSO’s safeguarding policy and procedures and associated documents (Code of Conduct, Whistleblowing etc.);
• All new hires will be required to sign and abide by the Code of Conduct as a condition of employment.

How to apply:

Interested persons are requested to send the following to email. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis.

Cover Letter specifying how you meet the mandatory requirements, your motivation in (2-page maximum). Up to date CV (5-page maximum). Please do not send any additional information (certificates, other writing samples, etc.) and keep the total size of your application under 2MB if possible.