You will be the second AfID volunteer to visit this partner, and your role will be firstly to review how they have been getting on since the last placement. The organisation has changed considerably since Covid, moving many courses online, so their spreadsheets and accounting tools need to be reviewed to ensure they are still relevant and fit for purpose.

This assignment will provide all round support, helping their Director think through their requirements and needs. They currently use Odoo, however, only to record sales, and it might be worth extending its use to cover accounting too. They do have project and organisational budgets, and these will need to be reviewed. They would also be keen on receiving support in developing an annual report, donor reports, and any other similar materials.

The placement will take you back to basics, however, there is plenty of things to be done to support them as as they consider how the organisation grows and rebuilds its social programmes.

They have a strong and committed group of trustees who bring a wealth of experience and expertise. However, following a recent review they are seeking to strengthen the board with the appointment of two new trustees, bringing expertise in finance or fundraising.

The Finance Trustee will have considerable experience in the strategic oversight of the finance function and an ability to analyse and comment on the financial and management accounts including risk management and reserves management. Experience of working with global partners or subsidiaries in Africa or Asia would be advantageous.

The Board meets three times a year, totalling four days, with one face to face meeting lasting two days (Friday/Saturday). The other two meetings being full days (Saturdays) where remote attendance is possible. You will also belong to two sub-committees, involving approximately five meetings per year held virtually. You will be expected to provide ad-hoc advice between meetings.

Working closely with the Humanitarian Finance Manager for the Ukraine response you will:

• Lead on donor financial reporting – establishing audit trails, understanding donor requirements etc.
• Advise on all aspects of the financial management of externally funded project work e.g. funding allocations, exchange rate impact, interest calculations, income monitoring, etc.
• Facilitate and provide support to programme managers/budget holders on the budget development for new donors/projects
• Oversee field /area offices on donor financial reporting and compliance
• Ensure offices and relevant staff have copies of donor contracts and, a system to track compliance with contractual obligations
• Prepare all donor financial reports as required ensuring they are accurate, timely, of high quality and meet donor requirements before submission to the Finance Manager for final review and sign-off
• Reconciliation of donor financial reports to accounting systems and ensuring variances that cannot be adjusted to match are clearly communicated and recorded
• Provide support in training finance staff, programme officers and managers on donor regulations, regulations and key contractual obligations that need to be considered in budget development and reporting
• Contribute to development of financial/funding policies, procedures and strategy
• Work closely with the Finance Manager on the preparation and analysis of adjusting journal entries and recharges of expenses during month ends and year-end
• Work closely with the Finance Manger to ensure specific donor requirements are adhered to and those that are not are flagged, actioned to comply agreed, and followed up in all aspects including: procurement, fund reimbursement request, formats etc.
• Liaise with major external donors finance department as needed to clarify specific requirements and guidelines, resolve queries on submitted financial reports in consultation with the programme managers and budget holders
• Develop appropriate tools for better donor financial accounting
• Travel to country/area offices as required
• Provide cover for the Finance Manager

You will be someone with:

• Substantial prior accounting experience including budgeting, year-end accounting and provision and development of financial and donor reporting, preferably in a humanitarian /development context
• A recognised accountancy qualification (HD) or equivalent minimum of 5 years’ experience in Finance and donor reporting
• Strong budget management skills and donor financial reporting with  and other institutional donors
• Ability to form a credible partnership with finance colleagues and managers from all functions on finance and donor requirements issues
• Strong communication skills in English
• Ability to achieve results by influence and persuasion
• Flexibility and adaptability to change priorities and work location at short notice
• Understanding of the complexities of working in a multicultural environment
• Extensive Microsoft office experience skills
• A good analytical thinker
• Capacity to organise work effectively and support teams to do so
• Willingness to travel around the response locations as required

Women can access one to one counselling and attend workshops on topics such as reproductive and sexual health, maternal care, hygiene and nutrition, financial and business management, parenting skills and challenging gender stereotypes.

They have recently received a large new grant representing quite a significant increase, both in terms of their budget as well as the workload of the Finance Manager.

The key scope of this role will be around grants management. This will include reviewing and reconfiguring their chart of accounts, to help streamline the workload for the finance team in light of their growth and increased budget. You will help establish a proper process for core costs across the different grants, and support in reviewing and improving their donor reporting.

They are looking to strengthen their Board of Trustees to support the planned significant expansion in the scope and complexity of their activities.

They would be particular interested in candidates with experience in either corporate finance / private equity, investment management, banking or those with experience working in an impact-investment fund, a foundation or development finance institution, with a strong commitment to achieving financial sustainability alongside significant social impact.

The board meets at least four times a year, with the ability to attend by video conference. In addition to these meetings, trustees may be called upon to form sub-committees and provide ad hoc support to the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team. The total time commitment for trustees is not expected to exceed 10 days a year.

Responsibilities

• Develop the long-term financial strategy; this includes leading on developing mechanisms to increase grants funding, the development of the annual organisational budget, financial plans and forecasts.
• Work with the leadership team on the strategic direction and financial sustainability of the organisation; this includes providing strategic financial planning, modelling and analysis.
• Oversee the integrity of the accounting & finance function, including building and strengthening controls & processes, ensure regulatory compliance, manage the treasury function, and manage organisational risk, including the risk register.
• Strengthen the organisation’s global governance.
• Lead on understanding and managing HR and staffing requirements, and in building the skillset of the staff.
• Oversee the implementation of a new ERP IT system, both in the UK as well as global offices.

Requirements

• Qualified accountant with experience leading the finance function of an international charity through a period of change.
• Strong all-round accounting, financial management, full grants cycle management, compliance, risk and financial sustainability.
• Demonstrable leadership experience, specifically around strategic decision making and financial planning, and able to adapt style to collaborate and achieve the best outcomes.
• Demonstrable experience in improving and strengthening processes, controls and systems.
• Experience of leading an HR function, and managing staffing and skills requirements
• Analytical, strategic thinker and problem solver.
• Strong people & communication skills
• High level of personal integrity, and a deep commitment to the values of the organisations.

This role offers flexible work arrangements. 

They have appointed one of their students, who has graduated from school but not gone to university, with an interest in accounting to work with them. She is learning how to input expenses and, more recently, donations into their Quickbooks system. It is hoped that the accountant who has been undertaking these tasks over the last 4 years, will be able to take over responsibilities from the Director in reviewing the accounts, and doing the banking. Both would benefit from coaching.

During this period of transition, there have been many errors made, and they are often not sure what the errors are, and when they do find them, they are not always sure how to correct them. Therefore, they require someone to review their accounts on QuickBooks, identifying errors and helping correct these.

In light of increased transactions, they also require a review of their chart of accounts, to ensure everything is coded properly, as well as an update to their QuickBooks manual.

As one of the few INGOs with an operational presence in Ukraine our INGO partner is able to respond quickly with initial life-saving activities in the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions and a programme to support arriving Refugees in Moldova. Response work will link to the longer-term strategy for this area. Their work continues apace with the intention to scale-up assistance in the Central and Western Regions of Ukraine and investigating the option of a further response in Poland. The response plan includes cash assistance, food distributions, NFI distribution/ health and dignity kits, WASH, Protection and Mental Health and Psychosocial First Aid.

We are seeking passionate, professional and experienced candidates for a Humanitarian Finance Manager. We are looking for talent which thrives in collaborating with others and who can work in agile ways and across boundaries.

As Humanitarian Finance Manager you will –
▪ Support exclusively the Humanitarian portfolio in developing and assessing donor funded project proposals and developing new products and funding
▪ Provide accurate, timely, financial information that allows the humanitarian programme to operate effectively and in alignment with financial goals
▪ Ensure best financial practice across the humanitarian programme, identify and resolve any financial management problems and ensure compliance with organisational policies and procedures
▪ Manage Project Accountants for restricted funded projects
▪ In collaboration with the Global finance team ensure appropriate resources are budgeted for full cost recovery, prefinancing and co-funding is closely monitored and managed and claims against the projects are promptly submitted and followed with the donors

In collaboration with the Global finance team, assess implementing partner capacity.

Support implementing partners remotely and through visits in improving areas highlighted in partner assessments, partners audits or identified during project implementation
▪ Support implementing partners to have effective fraud and bribery mechanisms in place, addressing and resolving any issues
▪ Review and process monthly or quarterly accounts of the implementing partners and produce and analyse financial progress reports
▪ Produce donor financial reports and arrange, coordinate and follow up on project and partner audits
▪ Support the establishment of protocols, incentives and coordination, to ensure clarity and efficiency in how the team will work together
▪ Ensure compliance with organization and donor accounting and financial reporting requirements

You will be someone with:

▪ A part or full qualification with one of the major accounting bodies
▪ Track record of providing strategic financial support to senior management teams
▪ Strong hands-on experience in working with humanitarian teams and implementing partners in complex international settings
▪ Strong hands-on experience in dealing with Emergency Programme and humanitarian contexts
▪ Experience in developing budget proposals, managing donor contracts, preparing and reviewing donor financial reports, coordinating project and partners audits
▪ Proven ability to support non-finance staff and managers in reviewing financial information, with coaching and capacity building skills
▪ Ability to work at strategic level in terms of funding, identifying gaps and risks and providing appropriate solutions
▪ Strong written and spoken English

A reasonable combination of remote and incountry working may be possible. 

Please include a summary of your experience and your reasons for applying in your aplication.

You will be the second AfID volunteer to visit this partner, and you will primarily be working with the accountant who received training from our previous volunteer. He is using Quickbooks confidently, albeit only as a bookkeeping tool, and your first task will be to review its use and progress since the previous placement.

They would also like to receive support in a number of additional areas:

• Creating a simple bookkeeping process for the restaurant; they do not have the funds to install an electronic till, and therefore all transactions in the restaurant and bar are recorded by hand. They would like to review how this is being done, and suggest how it might be improved to reduce errors.

• Assistance with putting together an annual budget. They currently do not have an organisational budget, and putting one together either on Excel or QuickBooks (depending on the skill set) will help them get better visibility on how much it costs to run the organisation.

• Assistance in creating monthly income & expenditure reports for individual projects, the bar, restaurant & conference centre, and the organisation overall. As part of this, they would benefit from a review of any grants compliance and reporting requirements, to see that they are meeting this.

Scope of the work

• To support them in creating an audit plan and audit framework that they can use to undertake audits of their grantees and due diligence assignments.
• To undertake 3-4 audits of their grantees in the UK and India

Requirements

• Qualified senior audit professional with experience of devising an audit plan & audit framework, undertaking a range of grant and due diligence assignments, and other special investigations.
• Experience of undertaking grant audits of charities in the UK and overseas.

They expect a total time commitment of around 10 weeks, this is to be spread over a period of 6 months. The role will be UK-based with travel to India to undertake 2 audits there.

This is an exciting opportunity for a graduate or part-qualified accountant, with a passion for social justice, to begin forging a successful career in the international development sector. You will be joining a skilled and diverse team, with a culture of growing and learning together, in addition to award winning levels of staff engagement.

To ensure you succeed you'll be provided with the training and support you need, coupled with responsibility and autonomy to allow you to grow. In addition to a competitive salary and benefits package, you will receive study support towards gaining your professional accountancy qualifications.

Reporting to the Finance Manager, you may already have experience or have undertaken internships in an accounting role. In this role you will be delivering an effective financial management service, including purchase and sales ledger, processing of electronic donations, budgets, reporting and compliance, enabling the achievement of strategic and country level objectives. In addition, you will have the opportunity to learn about multi-currency accounting and reporting along with grant management working with donor institutions. Excellent prioritisation skills, self-motivation and an ability to coordinate across multiple tasks and projects simultaneously are essential. 

There will also be opportunity to develop your cross-cultural communication skills. Working with other members of the team helping to build financial capacity overseas by providing virtual and potentially face-to-face support to partners across Asia and Africa. As such you will be willing to undertake occasional overseas travel.

Our partner, sector specialists in International Grant Audit are seeking auditors for a critical role; navigating a diverse group of NGOs & donors, such as the UN & The World Bank operating globally (Malawi, Peru, Vietnam, Belgium, Oxford, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Fiji, Cameroon). You'll be London-based travelling post pandemic 25-40% per annum on assignments 1 to 2 weeks in length in small teams.

These unique and extremely rewarding opportunities would suit experienced audit professionals that love diverse travel and supporting inspiring people and worthwhile causes.

Overseas assignments post pandemic could mean travel to one of over 100 countries/ territories. It presents a fantastic opportunity to see the parts of the world you’d never otherwise get to see, work with lovely people and pick up extremely relevant institutional donor and fieldwork experience; vital for anyone seeking a career in the international development NGO sector.

Role overview

Yoiu will complete expenditure audits of a extremely diverse range of projects funded by international donor institutions ranging from emergency aid, to long term development in areas such as agriculture, health or infrastructure, to more commercial projects such as SME development or technical research. Additionally, depending on your seniority you will provide on the job training and guidance to more junior team members throughout the assignment process.

The role will use all your communication, problem-solving and analytical skills and will give you experience in working with major institutions all over the world. An example assignment might see you leading an audit opening meeting with a UN country office on the Monday morning, before heading off to spend a few days with a local NGO or government partners to audit the way they have spent UN funds. You will look at a sample of supporting documents to make sure the expenditure is genuine and for the purposes intended by UN, and review the internal controls of the NGO, making recommendations as to how these might be improved to strengthen the management of the UN resources. At the end of the fieldwork, you will draft at aide-memoire document and discuss your findings with both the UN and its local partner. At the airport, you could even start drafting the formal report as you wait for your flight back to London.

Requirements

Qualified ACA / ACCA or equivalent (Finalists considered)

Experience, insight &/or exposure to grant funding, reporting or audit. 

Diplomacy and cultural sensitivity while working with a hugely diverse range of clients and beneficiaries

A real interest in international development and associated funding structures

'Ideally' fluency in a second language is preferable, especially in French, Spanish, Russian, German, Portuguese, Italian or Mandarin and Arabic.

Excellent communication, report writing and presentation skills

Team worker

Resilience and adaptability

Internationally recognised audit qualification preferable.

​Personal attributes:

At least two-three years of audit experience

Ability to work under pressure; Strong planning, organisational and time management skills

Sound technical and analytical skills, report writing and presentation skills

Passionate about international travel and development and willing to work in international locations for 30% plus of the time (post pandemic)

Candidates for permanent London based roles must have the right to work in the UK.

Our partner is an award winning UK based charity, which is promoting different solutions to the issues facing international aid and the WASH sector including standalone social impact businesses and programmes to improve hygiene, sanitation and nutrition for under-fives; designed to increase resilience and self-reliance and improve the lives and life chances of farmers, families, women, girls and young children.

This is a part-time role, which would suit an experienced accountant/company secretary, seeking to work flexibly.  The 2/3 days we anticipate this role requiring could be spread over 5 days, if the incumbent found this more convenient and all the requirements of the role can be met. 

• You will be the ultimate responsible person for all of the charity’s external and statutory financial reporting, including reports to funders, trustees and regulatory bodies, though the bulk of this work will be delivered by the finance teams in the UK and Africa.
• You will provide strategic budgetary and financial management support to the Chief Executive in London and the Managing and Finance Directors overseas, assisting them to develop compelling bids for fundraising and inward social investment and will liaise, if necessary, with the financial managers/reviewers of any potential funders/investors.
• You will provide advice and guidance on HR, contractual, corporate and statutory matters to the senior team in the UK and overseas, consulting/liaising if necessary with our lawyers, auditors, and other service providers in both countries.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

1. Finance

1.1.   Financial strategy

Supporting the development of financial strategies under a variety of scenarios for internal management, trustee discussion and presentation to potential funders/investors.

Leading on financial discussions with trustees and prospective funders/investors.

Developing the financial competence and confidence of PA/BW’s senior teams.

1.2    Financial oversight

Ensuring that monthly management reporting, budgeting and forecasting is accurate and timely and supporting the needs of management, trustees, project managers, funders and donors.

Reviewing the annual budget proposals raising issues, challenging assumptions and, ultimately, agreeing same with the local teams.

Reviewing the monthly financial returns submitted/presented by the finance teams querying anomalies and overspends and agreeing/requiring actions to be taken.

Updating the rolling forecasts of income and expenditure (reflecting actuals to date), monitoring the bank positions and using this to approve or reject requests for ongoing or exceptional expenditure.

1.3    Financial management

Maintaining up to date Financial and HR Policy and Procedures Manuals and responding to requests for variations thereto or divergence therefrom.

Being the principal signatory and authorised administrator for all UK bank accounts and approving changes to the mandate for bank accounts overseas.

Approving and signing off all cash transfers

2. Programme support

2.1    Programme budgeting

Preparing, discussing, reviewing and agreeing the financial budgets for individual projects and/or generic programmes.

Assisting the teams with costing, pricing, taxing and other financial sales related issues.

2.2    Programme reporting

Maintaining cumulative records of expenditure by funder and overseeing the preparation of funder reports and audit completion statements confirming the full dispersal of funds.

Submitting financial claims to statutory funders as and when required.

3. Corporate obligations

3.1    Statutory reporting

Being the principal point of contact between the external auditors the Treasurer and the board.

Agreeing the annual audit timetable and priority audit areas with the external auditors

Reviewing the draft statutory accounts produced by the local finance teams, agreeing the split between restricted and unrestricted programmes, calculating carried forward balances and agreeing same with auditors.

Confirming the appropriate use of restricted income, writing the trustees’ annual review, securing an unqualified audit report, responding to the annual audit letter, convening and managing the AGM.

Reviewing and signing off all statutory filings and ensuring compliance with all regulatory restrictions and statutory obligations.

3.2    HR and legal

Ensuring compliance with all legal, statutory and regulatory requirements in the UK and all other countries of operations.

3.3    Trustee management

Preparation of board papers and management of board meetings.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

They are looking to appoint a new Treasurer to join the board of 8 trustees, to replace the current post-holder who is moving away.

The main responsibilities of the post include the preparation and review of income and expenditure budgets, preparation of quarterly income and expenditure reports for the board based upon the information prepared by the charity's external bookkeeper, and supervision of the annual report and accounts which are prepared by external accountants.

The post holder would be expected to attend and contribute more generally to Trustee board meetings, held around every 6 weeks at the charity's offices, although remote attendance at some meetings may be possible. The total estimated time commitment for the role is on average 2 days per month.

The current Treasurer is stepping down, but will be available for a handover, while day-to-day bookkeeping is done by the Director. As the charity grows, the financial management complexity is outgrowing their systems and processes, and they are looking to bring on board a finance professional to oversee the financial matters of the charity.

As well as playing a vital role in the running of the organisation as a whole, specific tasks and responsibilities of the Treasurer will include:

• Monthly bank reconciliation
• Financial data input
• Processing transactions
• Quarterly Gift Aid claims
• Quarterly reporting
• Annual accounts preparation
• Process review and improvement

You will be joining an evolving charity at an exciting stage in their growth plans. The Board meets quarterly, and the total estimated time commitment required to undertake the role is 1 day per month.

Built over 30 years, their talented, diverse and multi-lingual team, from graduates to experienced specialists, have established us as global leaders in our field, across a range of disciplines. This team applies their skills, knowledge and ambition to a variety of challenges and has a genuine passion for what they do.

The manager is at the forefront of the work of the department. Travelling internationally, meeting clients, colleagues and auditees. Leading meetings, leading audit teams, supporting junior colleagues, writing and reviewing audit reports, managing key relationships. Representing the team in person in front of multiple stakeholders. Contributing to the success of our clients and to the development of auditees, as well as your colleagues. The role of manager is both challenging and rewarding, and as well as office-based management work, offers travel experiences that very few other roles can match. In the role, depending on whether you are managing or leading fieldwork, you will:

• Prepare/review a tailored plan for all assignments based on a good understanding of the terms of reference and the applicable contractual conditions
• Lead/support opening meetings with clients and auditees and present the audit findings clearly and credibly at closing meetings
• Lead/support assignment fieldwork teams, including locally based staff, on overseas assignments, or work alone
• Demonstrate the ability to identify issues and areas of non-compliance on an assignment and write them up as findings in a detailed, precise and clear way in the assignment report
• Ensure the high quality of our written outputs by carrying our thorough and informed report reviews
• Lead/support larger country wide teams, acting as the client focal point and taking on management tasks
• Be proactive in supporting junior colleagues with their learning and development
• Be a trusted focal point for clients and service providers, offering solutions and support to them as required
• Be able to work to tight deadlines and manage time effectively
• Be prepared to be out of the office on international assignments for up to 30% of the time*

We’re looking for someone with:

• A genuine interest in international development
• A love of international travel, preferably with experience of working or volunteering internationally
• A second language, especially French, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese or Mandarin
• A professional accountancy qualification (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent)
• An ability to communicate in a professional, constructive and respectful manner
• A proven aptitude for both team management and client support
• At least 5 years’ proven track record in audit and assurance work

* Due to the pandemic, the international travel element of the role has been significantly reduced and replaced largely by remote work. An increase in international travel opportunities is expected when the pandemic eases.

Responsibilities

• Work with the fundraising team in the development of budgets for grants proposals, ensuring that these are developed on a full cost recovery basis.
• Undertake a monthly review of cost allocations, and an analysis of budget versus actual spend, working as a business partner with the programmes team to support them in managing the variances.
• Create and maintain financial trackers for projects, and ensure that donor/contract compliance and reporting requirements are met.
• Support in the development and strengthening of financial controls and policies

Requirements

• Qualified or QBE accountant with demonstrable experience of full cycle grants management covering budget proposal development, grants compliance & reporting, and grants audits, for trusts, foundation and institutional donors.
• Experience in budgeting, analysis, and writing reports.
• Experience of developing and strengthening controls and processes.
• Experience of working in an INGO with a complex grants portfolio, operating in a multi-country, multi-currency environment.
• Strong IT and systems skills

This role offers hybrid working with the successful individual expected to be office based in London at least 2 days/week.

Complete international grant expenditure &/or VFM audits for an extremely diverse range of projects (grant recipients) funded by international donor institutions ranging from emergency aid, to long term development in areas such as agriculture, health or infrastructure, to more commercial projects such as SME development or technical research. Assignments are 1-3 weeks in length and based across the European mainland and the developing world. These are offered on an assignment by assignment basis, one to two months in advance. Please note there is no guaranteed period of work within the contract. Contractors can be based outside the UK on the European mainland but must be able to work in the EU. 

Requirements

• Qualified ACA / ACCA or equivalent

• Grant management and audit and reporting experience with international institutions

• Diplomacy and cultural sensitivity while working with a hugely diverse range of clients and beneficiaries

• A real interest in international development and associated funding structures

• Fluency in a second language (not essential)

• Excellent communication, report writing and presentation skills

• Resilience and adaptability

• Internationally recognised audit qualification preferable.

​ Personal attributes:

• At least 5-10 years of audit experience

• Ability to work under pressure; Strong planning, organisational and time management skills

• Sound technical and analytical skills, report writing and presentation skills

• Passionate about international travel and development and willing to work in international locations

At the heart of the team's work is Aid Oversight: improving the ways in which developing country government’s mange aid spending, track, and monitor use of donor funds to ensure that projects are properly delivered. Other areas include anti-corruption, fiduciary risk, and capacity building. 

This role suits someone looking for: progressive responsibility in international development project management; experience in writing high-quality, innovative proposals for agencies such as DFID, the Foreign Office, and the World Bank; and exposure to financial management and internal control reviews

The Consultant will perform a key role in supporting the management of existing projects, including projects in Asia and Africa, and significant travel to these and other locations.

You will also work with us in the identification and development of relevant prospects and technical and financial proposals. Our intention is that you will progress to fully managing several of our projects in terms of budgetary control and financial reporting, recruitment and staffing, client management, strategic oversight, and technical quality assurance, as well as continuing to play an important role in business development and bidding.

Over time, we will support you to develop expertise on the following:
• Project management and oversight;
• Managing complex delivery tasks and project risks;
• Leading technical and financial proposals;
• Understanding local delivery contexts and political economies;

We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic, innovative, energetic, committed to excellence in all their work, and wants to develop or kick-start a career in international development consulting. You may be a newly qualified accountant or with a number of years’ experience post qualification.

We are looking for someone who is keen to take ownership of projects and will seek to maximise their projects’ impact in every way.

• A degree in a relevant field from an internationally recognised university or alternatively a professional accountancy qualification;
• Outstanding English communication skills, both written and oral (essential) 
• Excellent writing skills and the ability to produce persuasive, succinct inputs to proposals
• Excellent inter-personal skills and team-work;
• Good numerical ability with a focus on financial awareness and ability;
• Ability to research and put together information needed for proposals.

Required Experience
• Experience in either external audit or internal audit/controls;
• Demonstrable knowledge of and interest in the world of international development or consultancy sector;
• Demonstrated experience of using initiative, client-orientation, delivery to timelines, and working in complex and pressured contexts 
• Experience of working in developing countries.

Responsibilities

• Perform internal audits & assurance assignments, following up on audit recommendations, and offering capacity building and technical assistance to staff in the country offices in implementing recommendations & meeting the compliance requirements.
• Undertake special investigations & carry out special reviews as required.
• Support the Director of Internal Audit in preparing the annual audit plan.

Requirements

• Qualified accountant with significant experience in audit, specifically in grant audit with demonstrable knowledge of the compliance and requirements of institutional donors including FCDO, ECHO and USAID, and also in delivering effective internal audit assignments.
• Demonstrable experience in working to tight deadlines.
• Strong communication skills, both written (report writing) and oral, in English. Working knowledge of an additional language, such as French or Arabic is highly desirable.
• Strong interpersonal skills, able to be tactful and have sensitive/challenging conversations.
• Significant travel overseas, including to fragile states.

The Assistant Project Administrator has to assist in providing project coordination for the full life cycle of any assignment offered to our clients; from the proposal process, contract management with the client, assignment planning, through to assisting with the report writing, and ultimately billing the client.

Contract Responsibilities

·Assist with proposal and tender submission, including preparing project budgets and schedules, liaising with prospective staff and ensuring all proposals are submitted within the respective deadlines

·Ensure that contracts are as per the issued proposals, that all terms agreed are in best interests of org and support the Managers/Partners in any contract administration required

·Assist with planning the fieldwork of the project, including agreeing dates with the beneficiary, liaising with internal and external staff to ensure they can perform the required service on the agreed dates and that all parties have the necessary information to ensure the project fieldwork runs smoothly

·Assist with  the drawing of contracts

·Monitor and track project progress and on our ‘Control Schedule’ to ensure all stakeholders are kept up to date with any project developments

·Act as the point of contact for all stakeholders (including the client, the beneficiary, internal/external teams and management)

·Assist the manager in any report-writing tasks that may be required & deliver final product to client

·Monitor internal staff working hours & expenses incurred, to ensure project budgets are adhered to

·Check and process external suppliers’ invoices, making sure all days worked and expenses incurred are within the agreed budget, liaising with finance as and when issues arise

·Assist in client billing, ensuring that all bills issued are as per the contractual terms between the firm and the client, that all costs are accounted for, and that bills are paid by the client in a timely manner

·Create and maintain comprehensive project documentation for future use, ensuring that all projects are properly logged and can be used in future proposals/tenders

·General: translate documents, maintain filing system of documentation by client and by assignment, archive files when necessary

Requirements

Essential

·Fluent English in both verbal and written with excellent communication skills

·Second language, French

·Competent using MS Office

·Strong organisational and time management skills with ability to prioritise and multi-task

·Able to meet deadlines

·Good numeracy skills

·Able to work under pressure with accuracy and focus

·Good eye for detail and the ability to follow through tasks

·Able to be a self-starter and work on own initiative

·Able to demonstrate problem solving skills

·Comfortable within a changing and developing environment

·Able to apply relevant skills to new scenarios

About the Role

The International Assurance Services team are a small but committed team delivering to international governments, donors, public sector bodies, charities and INGOs. They also work closely with our public sector internal audit teams delivering work for the UK Government.

They are looking for qualified internal & external auditors to join their team. Ideally Institute of Internal Auditors qualified, the role involves working with our public-sector clients both in the UK and overseas.

Our work is diverse, so you need to be adaptable, proactive and a self-starter, you could be seconded to a UK government department auditing major change programmes or assigned to audit beneficiary data on a cash transfer programme for the ultra-poor in Zambia; supporting an emerging nations National Audit Office undertake their first forensic assignment or working with the United Nations. Rarely are two weeks the same.

We are looking for adaptable people with a ‘can do’ problem solving attitude. You should be prepared to work away from home occasionally in conflict/post conflict environments or in countries where 5-star comfort comes second to life experiences. Full training will be provided. Ideally, we would like a second language, French, Portuguese, Spanish or Arabic. You will be required to undertake security clearance.

To match our continued growth across Africa we are particularly interested in candidates with experience of / interested in long term overseas posting and those with experience delivering training or mentoring. We are also interested in those who joined internal audit later in their careers where their prior experiences would add real benefits to our clients.

Essential

• IIA/ACA qualification

Desirable

• Masters degree
• 5 years post qualified
• Experience of central government public sector
• Fluent in a second language
• Experience of delivering training or mentoring
• Experience working in developing economies
• Experience in the health sector

This long-established and highly-skilled dept's work includes the audit of grants awarded to various organisations, both private companies, governmental organisations and non-governmental organisations, in various fields including humanitarian aid, civil protection, culture, research, energy etc. Working with the partners and SMT your role wil be to ensure that staff resources are best used to service the diverse portfolio of international clients.

For full specification - click apply or email jobs@afid.org.uk

Skills and Qualifications

The ideal candidate will be skilled in the following areas; • Substantial grant audit management experience; • Proven skills in managing a portfolio of assignments; • Proven skills in managing staff; • Substantial external commercial auditing experience; and • A keen interest in specialising in the Not For Profit and Grant Auditing sector.

Qualifications ACA or ACCA, or equivalent, qualified.

Language skills Fluent English; ideally written and spoken French or Spanish to intermediate level. Any other European language skills would be considered beneficial.

Our clients include a number of well-known organisations in the sector undertaking a wide range of activities from working to protect endangered species to undertaking scientific research to providing grants & support to social entrepreneurs.

The division is led by partners who have extensive first-hand experience in the not for profit sector. This enables us to understand the challenging environment these organisations face, which is heightened by an increasing demand for services with greatly constrained resources. Our people have a passion for the sector. Many of the team have worked directly in the not for profit sector before returning to practice, and everyone shares a passion for delivering strong social outcomes as well as financial sustainability – we describe ourselves as sector people who happen to be in practice.

You will be responsible for the planning, on-site running and completion of a portfolio of audit assignments to a range of clients in the not for profit sector. This will include providing on-the-job training to more junior members of the team. The team is also one of the largest providers of international grant verification audit work, through which we work with some of the largest internationally-recognised charities and humanitarian organisations. The role will provide the opportunity for involvement in these which can include global travel opportunities.

Specific responsibilities 

• Attend the pre-assignment discussions with the audit team. • Complete the planning sections of the audit file and draft the Audit Planning Report. • Input into our audit risk assessment, test design and budgeting procedures. • Take ownership for the completion of the audit testing across the file to a high quality. • Allocate work appropriately to junior members of the audit team. • Provide coaching to junior members of the team, review their work and provide feedback. • Ensure that the work undertaken on site is in accordance with the approved plan and time budget. • Communicate effectively, pro-actively advising the manager of any issues or developments that may impact on the timeline or result in adjustments being raised. • Develop an effective working relationship with key client contacts, which could be at FC / FD level. • Respond to all client queries and concerns in an efficient and professional manner, often dealing directly with senior management. • Suggest practical solutions to any issues or problems arising. • Maintain a complete log of outstanding issues and queries. • Clear any manager and partner review points raised, and follow up any outstanding queries. • Provide sound advice to clients and demonstrate knowledge of business issues. After the completion of the on-site audit visit, the senior will be expected to: • Assist with the drafting of the Audit Findings Report issued to the client, in particular regards to control issues and recommendations identified during the audit visit. • Assist with the completion and close-down of the audit file.

Person Specification Skills and Qualifications • A passion for the Not for Profit sector and in developing wider knowledge of the issues affecting our clients. • Accountancy training - audit based. • ACCA or ACA, or equivalent, qualified. • Proven skills in external audit. • Proven skills in audit planning, fieldwork and file completion. • Proven skills in supervising and managing staff. • Enthusiasm to assist with departmental responsibilities beyond the audits, for example business development activities or training of juniors.

Travel opportunities

Geographical location of clients typically London with some work for the European based Donor institutions - so there is scope to travel internationally, the extent to which is largely dependent on the individual.