MYANMAR – FINANCE COORDINATOR (H/F) – YANGON

Desired start date: 01/03/21

Duration of the mission: 12 months
Location: Yangon, possible visits to the bases

ABOUT THE MISSION

SI has been in Myanmar since 2008. For the first three years SI worked in the Delta in response to the devastating Cyclone Nargis. In 2011, SI expanded to three new regions (Dry Zone, Rakhine, and Chin State) focusing on Livelihoods, Food Security, Shelter, and WASH. In January 2012 SI expanded to Kachin State to respond to an emergency situation created by the displacement of Kachin population affected by the arm conflict.

Today, SI currently has a coordination base in Yangon, with field bases in the Rakhine and Kachin States. Each office is operational with a Field Coordinator and between 50 (Kachin) and 263 (Rakhine) employees. In 2020, 18 international staff and 317 national staff are working within SI to implement 7 contracts (on-going) in WASH, FSL, Emergency programs (NFI, Shelter, WASH, Food) funded by OFDA, DFID/HARP, ECHO, CIAA, OCHA, CDC and UNICEF.

The overall budget is: 6.5 million Euros/year

To learn more about the Myanmar mission, please click here.

ABOUT THE JOB

General objective

Under the direct management of the Country Director, the Finance coordinator will direct and coordinate all accounting and financial services associated with the mission.

• He/She is responsible for the mission’s financial balance.
• He/she will monitor adherence to Solidarités administrative procedures and donor procedures as well as to the laws of the country in which intervention is taking place.
• He/she is the point of reference for the mission, and the link between headquarters and the mission for all financial matters.

The Finance Coordinator is managing a team of 3 employees: Deputy Finance Coordinator, Accounting Manager and Accounting Officer. The team will welcome a new position in 2021: Compliance Officer. The Finance Coordinator is the functional manager of the Finance Manager of Sittwe base and the Administrative Manager of Kachin base.

The overall budget is: 6.5 million Euros/year

Responsibilities and main activities

• Financial, accounting and budgetary management
• Cash management
• Administrative management of the mission
• Reporting/communication

Main challenges:

• Myanmar’s currency, the MMK, has been gaining strength towards our donor currency. This has to be continuously monitored, and forecast adjusted.
• The increased volume of the mission (HR set up- salary grid increase etc.) has to be balanced with funding opportunities
• SI is working with implementing partners, and the financial management of these partnerships require a lot of time and support.
• Working in remote due to COVID causes delays in archiving, which has to be pro-actively followed. It also causes delays in operations, that lead to budget readjustments (ex: no cost extension) and difficulties to assess the cash needs of the mission.

Priorities for the first months:

• Proposals: Finalization of OFDA proposal and launch of a multiyear budget preparation for DFID
• Reports: Regular reports submission for open grants
• Audits: Preparation of OFDA yearly audit, taking place in HQ in June (repatriation of archives of 2020)

YOUR PROFILE

Education: Bachelor (or Master’s) Degree in, Business or Public Administration or Accounting or related field

Experience:

• 2 years proven experience in a similar position required.
• Previous experience at Finance coordination position with significant financial volume (> 5 millions EUR at least recommended), multiplicity of donor’s contracts (6 at least recommended)
• Proven experience in team management, team structuring;
• Proven experience in training & capacity building;
• Previous experience of project management in NGO / humanitarian fields;
• Previous experience with SI would be an asset

Technical skills and knowledge:

• Knowledge in Financial management;
• Knowledge in Audit management;
• Knowledge of DFID / ECHO / OFDA-USAID, UN agencies & other donors assistance policies, guidelines and financial reporting requirements
• Knowledge of Solidarités International rules and procedures in terms of all administrative matters preferred but not essential

Transferable skills:

• Prioritization and self-organization;
• Ability to multitask and delegation;
• Rigor;
• Diplomacy;
• Priority setting;

Languages:

• Full working proficiency in English (read, spoken & written)

• Capacity to work with non-native English speakers (most of national staff speak limited English, especially at Base level)

• French and Burmese are added assets.

Other desirable qualities:

• Good analytical and reporting skills;
• Ability to work in multi-cultural environment;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Excellent interpersonal & communication skills;
• Experience in working in Myanmar or in another South East Asian country would be an asset;

SI WILL OFFER YOU

A salaried position
According to experience, starting from EUR 2400 gross per month (+ 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly i.e. EUR 2640 gross per month) + a monthly Per Diem of USD 700/month.

A housing pack is possible for this position.

SI covers accommodation costs and travel expenses between the expatriate’s country of origin and the place of assignment.

Breaks

During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of 7 working days every 3 months. For a one-year assignment, the expatriate will have a 7 working days break at 3, 6 and 9 months (with USD 850 allocated by Solidarités – USD 1240 in case of international flight).

In addition to these, SI adds 1 additional rest day per month of work, i.e. 12 additional days off for a one-year contract.

Insurance package
Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which covers all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system, including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.

Living conditions

Yangon is the biggest city of the country, and provides very good living conditions for international employees: access to health facilities, supermarkets, banks …

There are no security and safety concern in Yangon. However, like in any other country, the COVID 19 pandemic can impact people’s movement (ex: lockdown).

The climate is hot and wet tropical.