Regional Accountant, Asia

Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Closing date: 30 Oct 2010
Location: Cambodia

Job Title: Regional Accountant, Asia

Reports to: Overseas Accounts Manager & Regional Director for information & comments

Job Location: Based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with frequent travel to the other Asia countries. The accommodation in the other countries within the region is secure and safe.

Contract Details: 2 years, Grade B, accompanied

Job Purpose:

Continuous review of current financial systems and provision of appropriate, effective training & support in order to upgrade & standardise Concern’s finance functions in the countries of operation.

Develop work plan with Overseas Accounts Manager to improve the financial systems and procedures and develop field finance staff capacity to manage the finance function properly. Also review the existing donor management system and make improvements.

Main duties & Responsibilities:

Main duties of the Regional Accountant can be divided into five key areas:-

A) Provision of support to countries in their region
Provide guidance & support to Country Management in areas of financial management & development of appropriate management reporting.

Provide guidance on technical accounting issues & on current Concern financial policies.

Review the finance systems, controls & manuals in place and advise on areas where improvements can be made.

Undertake direct support visits, based on a TOR agreed with Overseas Accounts Manager and relevant Country Director. These visits will deliver on areas identified as needing assistance.

Build the capacity and confidence of the Country Accountant in using MGP packages.

Provide direct support and/or act as Country Accountant when gaps arise. Assist in the recruitment of Country Accountants / local finance staff, where appropriate.

Work to develop and improve systems for donor management, in areas such as budgeting, monitoring, reporting & compliance.

B) Training
Conduct induction for newly recruited Country Accountants in Concern’s financial systems, policies and reports, when circumstances demand.

Assist the Country Accountant in developing relevant & achievable training plans for national finance staff, in order to maximise the efficiency of the finance function in-country.

Design training plans & courses for non-financial managers, in conjunction with the Country Accountant, in order to develop better understanding of financial issues among budget-holders. Ensure that the Country Accountant is providing this training to non-finance managers and follow up, where necessary.

Provide other training needs, when they arise, such as new policies / procedures and accounting systems

Organise regional workshops, as necessary, on common agreed issues, in consultation with Overseas Accounts Manager and other Regional Accountants.

C) Liaison between country & Head Office in Dublin
Review and provide feedback to the Country Accountant, in conjunction with the Desk Officer and Overseas Accounts Manager, on quarterly financial reporting (FRP) and Budget & Budget revisions. Follow up & assist on any queries that arise.

Respond to queries from the country finance team in relation to routine accounting / audit / systems & report development and liaise with Head Office, where policy issues arise. Also carry out audit on national staff cessation benefit provision.

D) Standardisation across countries
Provide advice & guidance to country management to ensure that they are following organisational financial policies

Identify common problems & issues with financial systems and work to correct same, together with finance staff in Dublin & in-country. Where possible, standardise financial procedures & systems across the countries in line with procedures noted in the Overseas Accounts Reference Manual.

Review field procedural documentation & guidelines, under the guidance of Overseas Accounts Manager to help ensure continuity of financial best practice.

Standardise the use of the accounting package, Microsoft Great Plains, in such areas, for example, as chart of accounts, support costs, donors allocations and budgets.

Develop standard training materials for non-finance manager training.

Undertake any special financial assignments, where circumstances require.

Support to field finance staff on Donor regulations & reporting requirements. Review of donor reports during visit to ensure compliance & audit trail.

E) DPR Korea- CA role

Responsible for DPR Korea accounts and financial record maintenance in MGP. This includes donor report, Management accounts, Quarterly Financial Reporting Pack (FRP), Budget, & manage external audit. Also provide guidance to country management on financial issues remotely. Day to day work will be monitored as follows:

The regional Accountant will prepare Six monthly work plans indicating the countries he/she wishes to visit, or is requested to visit and the duration and objective of each visit. These plans will also detail the nature & duration work to be performed at base. This plan will be reviewed on a quarterly basis by the Overseas Accounts Manager.

Brief updates will be forwarded to the Overseas Accounts Manager every 2 weeks and the Regional Accountant will take part in a fortnightly teleconference with Overseas Accounts Manager and the other Regional Accountants.

The feasibility, timing and objective of each visit will be agreed with Country Directors before being incorporated in the plan. More detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) will be agreed in advance of the visit by Country Director, in consultation with Overseas Accounts Manager.

A full de-briefing will be completed with the Country Director & Country Accountant before conclusion of the visit.

A brief report on each country visit exceeding 4 days will be prepared, detailing the intended objectives and results. This report will go first to the relevant Country Director who may add comments if desired. The reviewed report will then go to the Overseas Accounts Manager and the Regional Director within 2 weeks of visit.

Person specification:

1. Education & Qualifications Required:
Essential: Applicants must have a professional accounting qualification. E.g. ACCA, CIMA ,CPA or CA or their equivalent.

2. Experience Required:
Essential:
At least three years post qualification experience in a finance/accounting role. This should include at least one year’s experience in an overseas position in the NGO sector.

Computer literacy, particularly in Microsoft Office Programmes such as Word and Excel as well accounting packages & other database competencies.

Skills in developing, delivering and evaluating training for staff members

3. Special Skills, Aptitude or Personality Requirements:
Essential:
Ability to work under pressure of deadlines

Motivated
Good organisational and time management skills
Effective team member
Understanding of development issues.

4. Any Other Special Requirements (e.g. international driving licence, specific computer skills etc.)
The person must be ready to travel extensively.

How to apply
All applications should be submitted through our website at www.concern.net/jobs the by closing date

All candidates who are short-listed for a first round interview will be notified via email after the application deadline

Concern has a Staff Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy which 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 organization, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context staff have a responsibility to the organization 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 Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct candidates acknowledge that they have understood the contents of both the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and the Programme Participant Protection Policy and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these two documents.

Concern receives a substantial amount of funding from external donors each year. Increasingly donors are introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on Concern ensuring that the names of any new employee or volunteer do not appear on terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government (Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List).

Any offer of employment (either paid or voluntary) with Concern Worldwide will not be made pending a clearance check being conducted on the applicant. For additional information please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head Office.

Concern Worldwide is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
Reference Code: RW_89ZLJ4-68