Reporting directly to the Ahlan Simsim Project Management Lead (currently Deputy Project Director), the Regional Project Finance Specialist will be the budgeting and accounting finance lead for Ahlan Simsim projects and will provide ancillary support to the MENA regional and country program finance departments.

 

The Regional Finance Coordinator is responsible for the following key objectives:

Lead the development, coordination, review and final approval of Ahlan Simsim regional budget management and reporting Maintain oversight of Ahlan Simsim accounting operations and ensure compliance with IRC and regional office policies and procedures  Lead Ahlan Simsim financial coordination and knowledge management responsibilities

 

Major Responsibilities Include:

 

1.       Lead on Ahlan Simsim regional budget management and reporting

Coordinate with Ahlan Simsim Regional Project Lead, Project Management Lead and HQ, Regional and County Program finance teams for monthly project-specific BvAs and spending plan updates. ·       Review financial reports from Country Programs and Regional sub-grantees.·       Develop project reporting templates for all cost centers including but not limited to: HQ, Bangladesh, Regional, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, occupied Palestine territories, Iraq and others that may come in the future and lead on consolidation and review processes accordingly, including coordination with country program, regional and HQ finance accordingly. ·       Develop new project budgets, including developing templates, consolidating and reviewing inputs, linking to donor templates, and coding and Integra upload. This includes for current and new country programs in MENA.·       Lead on any budget realignment and/or revision processes across all necessary offices and teams, including template development, consolidation, and regional and HQ review processes.·       In liaison with logistics departments, prepare commitment lists every month for financial obligations already entered into but not captured in financial reports.

 

2.       Maintain oversight of the project’s accounting operations and ensure compliance with IRC and regional office policies and procedures

·       Review all Purchase Orders and Purchase Requests for proper coding and budget adequacy. ·       Participate in tenders and review tender documents.·       Review all payment documents for proper and adequate back up.·       Verify completeness and accuracy of all accounting documents.·       Check and analyze expenditure transactions for accuracy, make adjusting entries with proper supporting documentation and approval when applicable and submit revised spreadsheet to relevant HQ and Regional Finance departments and to supervisor for final review. Keep track of subsidiary ledgers for advances, receivables and payables.·       Liaise with Project Lead and HQ and regional finance for monthly staff allocations. ·       Perform budget recoding as needed and raise any potential issues (grant spending, compliance, etc.) with supervisor to ensure timely preemptive or corrective actions.

 

3.       Lead Ahlan Simsim financial coordination and knowledge management tasks

·       Develop, lead on review and approval, and ensure use of existing and new IRC and Ahlan Simsim project systems for tracking progress against budget at the country and regional levels including master budget/operating budget documents. ·       Participate in recurring Regional and Country Program Ahlan Simsim project and grant management meetings and lead on financial tracking segments.·       As portfolio evolves, identify need for additional finance resourcing and lead the recruitment and management of new Ahlan Simsim finance staff if needed.·       In coordination with the Project Lead, regional finance, and country program teams,  establish clear ways of working across departments for Ahlan Simsim finance-related matters.

 

 

Key Working Relationships:

 

Position Reports to: Ahlan Simsim Project Management Lead (currently Deputy Project Director) Position indirectly reports to: N/A Position supervises: N/A for now

 

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Regional, country (including Bangladesh), and HQ staff for the Ahlan Simsim project; HQ, Regional and country (including Bangladesh) Finance departments; Grants Management staff        External: N/A