Background on Tearfund

Who we are:

• We are a Christian organisation partnering with the local church wherever possible to see change in the lives of those in greatest economic need. We believe poverty is caused by broken relationships with God, others, the environment and ourselves, and working to see those relationships restored is key to how we work. We want to see change that is economic, material, environmental and spiritual. See: Tearfund’s Theology of Mission

• Our vision: To see people freed from poverty, living transformed lives and reaching their God-given potential

• Our mission: We follow Jesus where the need is greatest, responding to crisis and partnering with local churches to bring restoration to those living in poverty Our values: We aspire to be courageous, truthful, compassionate, servant-hearted and Christ-centred

• Tearfund in Ethiopia is looking for a competent and experienced Senior Finance Officer. The Senior Finance Officer (SFO) will support the Tearfund Finance team in establishing and managing consistent, effective and efficient financial reporting and management systems and procedures within tearfund and partner organisations.

• Tearfund is a UK based, Christian INGO working in over 45 of the poorest countries around the world, to lift people out of poverty, using local partners and churches wherever possible. Key to our success are our values and characteristics, and the dedication and professionalism of Tearfund staff and partners in the countries we work. Tearfund has been working in Ethiopia since the 1970s.

• The Senior Finance Officer (SFO) is responsible for assisting partner programme and finance staff to meet Tearfund and Donor’s requirements. 

Main purpose of the job

• To carry out the day-to-day finance functions and ensure compliance to Tearfund’s financial systems and procedures .Perform partners Financial Reports review and conduct Financial Monitoring visit regularly

Position in organisation

• Grade 4

• Directly Reports to Grants and Finance Manager

• Liaise with: Country office team and Regional Finance team as required

Tearfund’s Christian culture

We believe that prayer and discernment is fundamental to Tearfund achieving its mission of restoring relationships, ending extreme poverty and transforming lives. As a Tearfund staff member you are expected to:-

• Engage with Tearfund Prays and the Prayer hub

• Lead or participate in spiritual sessions of prayer and biblical reflection within your group

• Be committed to Tearfund’s Mission, Values and Beliefs statement and to be actively working and living in accordance with Tearfund’s Christian beliefs and theology of mission

• Maintain your own spiritual development, discover your gifts/callings and grow in discipleship 

Organisational requirements

• All staff are expected to live out Tearfund’s values as they represent Tearfund externally

• All post-holders are expected to fulfil their personal objectives set by their line manager, contribute to their team’s overall objectives, take responsibility for reviewing their ongoing personal development and maintain an awareness of Tearfund's strategy.

• All Tearfund staff share responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities.

Scope of job

To be responsible for the day to day finance function in Ethiopia Country programme. Reporting to the Grants and Finance Manager, and with strong working links to Tearfund’s regional and head office finance teams, this role will be vital in ensuring strong financial management of all the projects. Key Skills needed include budget management, reporting, partnership/sub-grant management, document review & control, bank & cash management and compliance with donor rules/regulations and statutory obligation as well as the internal control environment. The role involves the following:-

• Extensive involvement in day to day accounting activities including payment documents review Account Reconciliations and donor Reports(30%)

• Projects budget & projects Financial report review, and conduct Partners Monitoring visit(70%).

Duties & Key Responsibilities:

• Review payment requests before payments are affected .

• Assist country office finance team in posting by Review of Journals and cash books.

• Prepare monthly account reconciliation.

• Support the preparation of project budgets and Donor proposals

• Coordinate and assist with partner visits ,project audits and statutory audits. ○ Review partners financial reports ,follow up for implementation of recommended actions and feedback.

• Prepare and submit on time donor financial reports.

• Conduct partner monitoring visits regularly and follow up the implementation of feedback on time. 

• Prepare updated and consolidated project spending status reports every month with fund balances of each project indicated.

• Support grant payments to partners and updating of IBIS grant records.

• Maintain and ensure proper documentation of grant agreements, reports, grant receipts and update partners TF Drive files.

• Represents Tearfund and attends meetings when assigned

• Support partners in developing their accounting system, compliance to Tearfund standards, Financial reporting and Budget development.

• Follows up on submission of partner financial reports ,and audit reports per deadline set.

• supports undertaking of partner financial risk and capacity assessments ensuring that they comply with Tearfund finance and programme requirements.

• Assist and work closely with other departments of the country office ,regional and UK tear fund Finance team.

• Others relevant to the post when asked by the Finance and Grants Manager and Country Director.

OTHER COMMENTS:

• Regular travel across cluster countries is a requirement

• All roles require a DBS/Police check

• Tearfund is a member of the SCHR Misconduct Disclosure Scheme

• Personal identification information will be submitted against a Watchlist database to check against criminal convictions as a counter-terror measure

Job Requirements

Qualifications

ESSENTIAL

• Degree and/or equivalent qualification in business administration, Finance and Accounting

DESIRABLE

• Master’s Degree or Part qualified Professional Accountant.

Experience

ESSENTIAL

• Proven Finance experience

• At least two years NGO Experiences as project accountant /Finance officer.

• Substantial experience working with Partner

• Experience supporting internal and external audits.

DESIRABLE

• Proven experience of planning and budgeting

• INGO Experience.

• Proven experience in institutional donor financial reporting

• IPSAS or related to it.

Skills/Abilities

ESSENTIAL

• Excellent verbal and written skills in English

• Numerate

• Able to work to deadlines and under pressure.

• Able to organize own workload and use own initiative.

• Good computer skills (MS Office, Google Suite)

• Organizational and administrative skills

DESIRABLE

• An understanding of restricted donor project accounting, including compliance, budgeting and reporting

• Financial report writing skills

• Conduct Monitoring Visits.

Personal Qualities

ESSENTIAL

• Committed Christian with a personal relationship with God

• Committed to Tearfund's Mission, Values and Beliefs.

• Team player – practical, desire to support the

• Self-disciplined with ability to work

We are looking for a candidate with:

• Proven financial management experience

• Proven track record of Subgrants management

• Proven experience in institutional donor financial reporting

• Proven experience in capacity building or coaching of staff and or partners

• Proven experience working with accounting software and online systems

• Experience in overseeing financial compliance

• Experience supporting internal and external audits

The successful applicant will also have:

• Excellent verbal and written skills in English;

•  Ability to communicate effectively;

• Ability to manage stress;

• Organizational and administrative skills;

• Strong interpersonal and team skills

How to Apply

• Register using THIS LINK

• Do you’ve the required skills and experience?

• If so, we would love to hear from you. This is a national full time position based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Therefore, Ethiopian nationals will be given preference for this role.

• All applicants must be committed to Tearfund’s Christian beliefs

• The recruitment process will include specific checks related to safeguarding. In addition, personal identification information will be submitted against a Watchlist database to check against criminal convictions as a counter-terror measure

• All applications need to be completed online using our online registration form. As you progress through your application, please ensure that you save each section. If after reading through this Job Profile, you have any questions or want to find out more about our recruitment process, please do not hesitate to contact recruitment@tearfund.org.

• In this Job Profile pack we’ve included a full Job Description as well as a Person Specification. Please ensure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the requirements for this post.