Deployable Finance Business Partner at Plan International Full Time

Job Title: Deployable Finance Business Partner

Location: Nigeria (Deployed 75% of the time to Plan International’s country programmes. Home-based when not deployed)
Type of Role: Permanent or maximum fixed term contract available as per employing office’s standard terms and conditions
Reports to: Head of Business Partnering & Strategic Finance
Functional Area: Finance & Humanitarian
Effective Date: February 2023
Travel Required: 75%(may be at short notice)
Grade: 4

Role Purpose

• Plan International country offices in response to an emergency, often need additional experts to support their response and help those affected by crises. Plan International’s core surge team is composed of technical, global experts who can deploy to emergency responses within 72 hours for up to 4 months.
• The post holder will be expected to provide leadership to their area of technical specialism to support the country team they are deployed to.
• Core surge team members are globally roving and work away from their home base continuously, from a few weeks up to four months per assignment. Core surge is typically deployed to country programmes for up to nine months a year (pro rata for part-time posts).
• When not deployed (or on annual leave), core surge team members may be assigned project/proactive work.
• The Deployable Finance Business Partner will partner with colleagues in country and regional offices to provide broad and varied financial skills and capability in support of Plan International’s work in countries both during emergencies and where additional finance skills and capability are required.
• The Finance Business Partner will be deployed, often at short notice, to support Country Offices respond either to a particular emergency or when additional financial skills are required.
• As a finance professional, the Finance Business Partner will provide technical skills and knowledge involved in all aspects of finances for an emergency and/or provide specific financial skills to supplement a Country Office finance department.
• They will ensure that the crisis response is appropriately funded and resources are effectively managed, allocated and protected, effectively balancing the requirements for agility and control. This will require an innovative, solutions focussed approach and strong teamwork.

Dimensions of the Role

• This position may line manage a team when on deployment to a Country Office.
• May have budget responsibility while on deployment
• Develops and maintains relationships with stakeholder groups both within Plan International and externally.
• May deploy at short notice to a Country Office for up to 4 months
• The post is expected to be on deployment for up to 9 months per year.

Accountabilities
Lead Emergencies Financial Management Business Partner:

• Response Budgeting and Budget Monitoring:
  • Ensure preparation, oversight, and monitoring of the operational and programmatic master budget for the emergency response.
  • Enable budget holders and the Business Development Manager (BDM) to produce quality budgeting information including ensuring full cost recovery and constant review of cost planning, funding source expectations and any resulting funding gap.
  • Prepare management reports for budget holders and the Emergency Response Manager (ERM) to monitor budgets on a regular and timely basis.
• Financial Management and Control:
  • Manage the cash flow to ensure timely and secure transfer of funds to meet programme needs, liaising with the International Headquarters Treasury team and local bankers as required.
  • Work in collaboration with the Emergency Response Manager and Country Finance Manager on the existing and desired relevant Financial Controls mechanism in line with Plan Policies and Donors’ compliance requirements.
  • Take appropriate steps to ensure the security of all cash and assets minimising the risk of fraud or theft.
  • Monitor early set-up of projects and grants budgets in the system to allow appropriate accounting of response expenditure
  • Supervise the processing of all financial transactions.
  • Monitor timely cost reallocations as required.
• Additional:
  • Lead the emergency response finance team and work closely with the business development team and the ERM, including advising on team volume and structure and ensuring good knowledge management between the surge team and the longer-term team.
  • Support budget holders by conducting inductions and staff training for finance procedures, donor financial requirements, etc.
  • Work with internal and external auditors as necessary.
  • Other finance tasks as appropriate.
  • Support the development and management of the finance in emergencies section of the Plan International Global Emergency Response Roster.
  • Develop capacity-building tools and guidance to further strengthen the ability of CO finance staff to support emergency operations.
  • When on deployment provide input to the development of the regular emergency response situation reports (SitReps).

Finance Support to Country offices:

• Financial Management:
  • Partnering with the Global Hub, National Offices, Regional Hubs and Country Office (CO) teams in ensuring Finance and Accounting deliverables expected from COs are met.
  • Working with Global Hub, Regional Hubs and National Offices to ensure that a sustainable solution to the exchange rate fluctuations in the country is reached and agreed upon by all stakeholders.
  • Buddying with new Country Finance Managers in ensuring a comprehensive finance induction and continuous close engagement as the Country Finance Manager settles into his/her role.
  • Enabling finance transformation through collaborating closely with the Country Office finance, program and support teams in the review of the Country Office’s internal control processes and advising Country Management Team on simple but effective forms and mechanisms to be strengthened
  • Oversee/ support preparation and submission of monthly financial reports to the Country Management Team working closely with the Country Finance Manager and Finance team.
  • Support and train others in day-to-day accounting tasks i.e. Payment review and processing, payroll processing etc.
  • Ensure a smooth working finance team led by the Country Finance Manager by being an advisor to the Finance team through sharing of good practices.
  • Prepare and share a monthly finance update with Country Management Team, Regional Hub and Global Hub on the progress made so far, achievements, challenges and flag areas requiring support.
  • Work with the Country Office’s financial analyst to prepare reports on financial risks and trends analysis and share recommendations with Country Management Team.
• Partner management:
  • Support the Country Finance Team in reviewing the local partner’s due diligence assessments and support in developing/ review of clear capacity-building plans for partners, using internal and external resources.
  • Support in the management of partners and activity implementation working closely with the Country Office’s Grants and Programmes team
• Cost Recovery:
  • Work with different stakeholders to review/ensure the cost recovery policy and procedures are in place and support Country Offices in ensuring monitoring reports are shared with Country Management Teams monthly.
• Capacity Building / Training and support:
  • Ensure continuous capacity building and training of new finance teams on Plan International’s processes and ways of working.
  • Support in resolving day-to-day ERP finance BAU queries for the country users.
• Other:
  • Any other assigned task including Programme Unit visits, support with preparation for new ERP rollout etc.

Development of finance in emergency standard operating procedures and tools:

• Lead on the design and rollout of Finance Emergency standard operating procedures and tools in collaboration with the Emergency Response Specialist.
• Lead Finance Emergency Preparedness work across the network in collaboration with the Global Hub DRM team and Regional Heads of DRM.
• Contribute to ongoing finance policy revisions, support and enhance the ongoing development.
• Support the development of capacity-building tools, and training modules and where needed lead specific training sessions on finance in emergencies.

Safeguarding:

• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young Peopleand Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility.
• This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Key Relationships:
Internal:

• Global Hub Finance teams.
• Regional Finance Managers.
• Global Humanitarian team.
• Regional Heads of Disaster Risk Management.
• Country Office Director; Emergency Response Manager and Business Development Manager in the countries of response.
• Other Country Office finance staff, some of whom may be reporting to this role.

External:

• Other agencies and actors responding to emergencies. Local banks as needed

Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge
Essential:

• Qualified Accountant or Part-qualified Accountant.
• Experience in leading financial teams in Emergency Responses.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, including sufficient political credibility to work across all layers of the organisation, including senior leadership
• Extensive experience in Finance (accounting; reporting; grants finance; financial planning and analysis) in an INGO at Programme Unit and Country Office level.
• Demonstrable understanding of the humanitarian sector and ways of working.
• Knowledge of internal controls in financial management.
• Strong financial systems expertise. Fluency with complex financial systems including multi-currency accounting packages / Emergency Response Fund (internal Plan emergency funds).
• Experience in developing Standard Operating Procedures and guidance notes
• Communicates clearly, effectively and as appropriate to the audience.
• Able to build networks and relationships under challenging conditions to promote high performance.
• Experience with, and well-developed skills in, staff management, supervision and capacity building.
• Values working in a team and being willing to take on more responsibilities and support team members.
• Comfortable in challenging at all levels.
• Resilient under long-term pressure; thrives in dynamic fluid environments: adaptable and proactive.
• Solution focused; able to prioritise, deliver on time and cope with ambiguity.
• Sensitivity to a wide range of cultures, contexts and varying levels of financial capability.
• Strong written and spoken English.
• Committed to actively upholding Plan International’s vision, values and behaviours and policies, including the Say Yes! To Keeping Children Safe Policy.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the requirements of the major emergency donors and experience in budgeting and reporting to donors.
• Experience working in insecure environments.
• Knowledge and experience in using SAP and Microsoft D365.
• Fluency in English and at least one other language (e.g., French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese).

Plan International’s Values in Practice
We are open and accountable:

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people.

We strive for lasting impact:

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together:

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering:

• We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
• We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
• We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.

Physical Environment:

• As part of the core surge team, the primary purpose of the role is to deploy to emergencies globally. The post holder will deploy to a diverse range of countries and contexts. This can range from insecure environments to countries that have just been impacted by a rapid-onset disaster.
• The post holder will be provided with the necessary support for such varied locations, including security training, well-being and mental health support and briefings before all deployments.
• While on deployment, the accommodation, transport, and availability of services will be dependent on the context and the specific country offices policies.

Level of contact with children:

• Low contact: No contact or very low frequency of interaction

Application Closing Date
5th March, 2023.