🇸🇱 Job Vacancies @ Concern Worldwide – Director of Finance and Administration

Concern Worldwide is a nongovernmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. Concern Worldwide’s integrated programming approach aims to tackle all dimensions of poverty, focusing on the overlapping areas of health, education and livelihoods while maintaining our response to emergencies. Concern fully integrates equality in all its work, with emphasis on a gender transformative approach. Concern Worldwide has been operational in Sierra Leone since 1996. . Concern currently operates in the Districts of Western Area Urban (Freetown), Western Area Rural, Tonkolili and Port Loko – as well as remotely in Kambia, Koinadugu, Falaba, Bombali and Karene.

On  this note, Concern would like to invite well experienced and professional applicants for the under mentioned role:

01.  Job TitleDirector of Finance and AdministrationReports to:Chief of PartyDirect reports:To be determinedLiaises with:

All consortium coordination team members and key personnel

All SIHSA-project team members, Project Coordinator, Area Coordinator, Health Coordinators

All sector coordinators, project managers, Programme Director, Country Director, Systems Director, Country Finance Controller, Systems and HR Staff

Representatives from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, District Health Management Teams, USAID representatives

Job Location:Freetown, Sierra Leone with occasional travel to Field LocationsContract Details:Fixed termJob Purpose:

About the Program:

The Strengthening Integrated Health Services Activity (SIHSA) aims to contribute to the Government of Sierra Leone’s overarching goal of improving the health of adolescents, pregnant and postpartum women, and children under five years old. The program seeks to 1) enhance the quality of family planning, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (FP/RMNCAH), malaria services, 2) promote the adoption of crucial health behaviors and 3) strengthen the stewardship and governance of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation at central and district levels. SIHSA seeks to promote the integration of health services, including malaria services, to rapidly scale-up evidence-based interventions to address preventable causes of maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent morbidities and mortality. SIHSA seeks to demonstrate innovative models to catalyze community-driven solutions and show models to promote private sector engagement.

Role Overview:

Reporting to the Chief of Party (COP), the Director of Finance and Administration will be responsible for financial planning and management, logistical and administrative support to the project team, and ensuring that administrative, financial, and contract activities are carried out in a manner consistent with the objectives of the project, and in compliance with USAID regulations and Concern policies. They will maintain positive and productive relationships with the donor and local and international partner organizations throughout the programme lifecycle.

Recruitment is contingent upon successful award and USAID approval.

Main duties & 

Responsibilities:

Financial Management:

• Lead on overall financial management of the SIHSA programme, ensuring stringent financial compliance with contractual obligations and deliverables in line with USAID regulations.
• Oversee the entire programme’s finances, monitoring activities and keeping the COP advised of all potential situations that may pose a risk to our internal financial controls.
• Establish, implement and monitor systems for project financial management, sub-contracting and auditing to ensure transparency, open competition and good business practice.
• Develop monthly, quarterly and annual financial/accrual reports, expenditure reports and burn rate reports.
• Support program staff with monthly budget vs. actual expenditure reports and analysis alongside balance sheet reconciliations.
• Assist with the design, development and revision of project budgets.
• Maintain strong knowledge of local government requirements and oversee full financial compliance in line with Sierra Leonean laws and tax regulations.

Capacity Building:   

• Contribute to the daily capacity building and strengthening of decision-making capacities of the team and national staff.

People Management: 

• Lead a team of finance personnel, ensuring collaboration with the wider programme and consortium team, as well as overseeing performance reviews and leading recruitment.
• Ensure that all department positions have accurate job descriptions and that each member of the team fully understands outcomes which are expected of them, by setting SMART objectives, and that they are aware of the success criteria relating to their work.
• Ensure that all department staff are aware of and comply with all of Concern’s policies and procedures.
• Monitor and review performance of staff and hold staff accountable for meeting their success criteria; give corrective feedback where required and take decisive action in the case of poor performance.
• Ensure that work within the team(s) is planned and organised in a way which will meet the organisation’s needs in the most cost effective manner possible; ensuring that team members are given appropriate workloads and are working efficiently.

Other:

• Actively participate in collective exercises such as preparation or updates of Preparing for Effective Emergency Response (PEER) plan, Security Management Plan (SMP) and other Concern initiatives.
• Ensure that gender equality and diversity principles are upheld in the recruitment, orientation, performance and management of staff and to demonstrate leadership on workplace equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Promote and ensure accountability to programme participants and Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and Do No Harm principles, and ensure high ethical research standards, particularly given the sensitive nature of the topic areas throughout programme implementation.
• Ensure adherence/compliance with Concern’s Code of Conduct, Programme Participant Protection Policy, Safeguarding policy and associated policies and to role model a positive safeguarding ethos.
• Actively participate in any emergency response if called upon to do so (within the existing programme area or in a new one).
• Undertake other related duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Country Director.

Person specification:

Essential

• An accredited Chartered Accountant qualification.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of demonstrated budget development and monitoring and financial reporting experience.
• A minimum of five (5) years working on institutional donor-funded activities and financial compliance.
• Knowledge of USAID financial reporting and compliance requirements alongside USAID’s rules and regulations.
• Superior expertise using Excel for project budgeting, forecasting and financial analyses.
• Ability to work well within a team, and to complete multiple tasks effectively and efficiently.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Desirable

• Cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Commitment to capacity building, protection, and participation.
• Demonstrated experience of team building and participatory approaches.
• Flexibility and adaptability in a changing environment.
• Knowledge of Core Humanitarian Standards, Sphere and other international humanitarian guidelines and protocols.

Emergency responseConcern is committed to responding to emergencies efficiently and effectively in order to help affected people meet their basic needs, alleviate suffering and maintain their dignity. To this end, when emergencies strike and Sierra Leone Programme is to respond, all staff are required to actively participate in the response, regardless of location and contribute to the efforts aimed at achieving the humanitarian objective of the organizationHIV

Concern Sierra Leone is committed to respond to HIV and to a supportive working environment for those infected or affected.  Each staff member is required to contribute to achieving this commitment by:

• Raising awareness and being updated on HIV issues.
• Protecting him/herself and colleagues.

Sharing information with colleagues and avoiding stigma and discrimination.

Gender Equality

Concern Worldwide in Sierra Leone recognizes that the establishment of equality of opportunity between men and women is fundamental to both the achievement of fairness and to poverty elimination.

Therefore, each staff member of Concern is expected to be sensitive to equality issues in their relationships with colleagues and in their work and to participate in implementation of gender mainstreaming plans, both at the workplace and in programmes.

Safeguarding at Concern: Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies 

Concern has an organisational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organisation, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organisation to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies. Additionally, Concern is committed to the safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults and children in our work. We will do everything possible to ensure that only those who are suitable to work or volunteer with vulnerable adults and children are recruited by us for such roles. Subsequently, working or volunteering with Concern is subject to a range of vetting checks, including criminal background checking.  

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should apply with:

• An application letter clearly justifying how you meet the selection criteria
• Recent Curriculum Vitae including names and full contact addresses of three (3) referees, one of whom must be their current or most recent employer.  
• Candidates must state the position of each referee and his/her relationship to the candidate.
• A copy of a valid labour card must be attached to ALL applications (written or electronic)
• Police Clearance will be required from the successful candidate

Applications should be sent either through email or by hard copy to the following addresses.

You can send through email to [email protected] OR deliver in Hard copy to the below locations

                                           HR Department, Concern Worldwide, 20 Old Railway Line – Signal Hill, Freetown

                                           HR Department, Concern Worldwide, 2B Shamel Street, Magburaka, Tonkolili.

HR Department, 24 Upper Kamara Lane, Back of EDSA Substation, Port Loko 

Please mark your application as per the references stated in position above

(by email please put the reference in the SUBJECT heading).

Closing date for receipt of applications for the above vacancy is 17.00 on Tuesday 14th May 2024

Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

PLEASE NOTE THAT A COPY OF THE APPLICATION LETTER (written or typed) MUST BE SENT TO THE NGO DESK OFFICER, MINISTRY OF LABOUR & SOCIAL, NEW ENGLAND OR EMAILED TO Email: [email protected] 

“FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY”