Finance and Administration Officer- International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

Directly reports to: Finance and Grants Manager

Indirectly reports to: Program Director

Location: Harare, Zimbabwe

Terms: Full time

Duration: Permanent

About

IFAW is an international NGO with its Headquarters in Washington DC, USA. IFAW works to improve the welfare of wild and domestic animals throughout the world by reducing commercial exploitation of the animals, protection of wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress. IFAW Seeks to fill the position of Finance And Administration Officer to support the regional and landscape conservation program director with the financial aspect of managing IFAW’s Zimbabwe Office.

Duties And Responsibilities

Role and responsibilities

Finance

Assist in managing day-to-day finance and administrative resources of IFAW’s Zimbabwe Office in Harare with travel to the field project sites as necessary; Interpret and explain operational realities, especially those pertaining to the disbursement and accounting of funds, to local and foreign based stakeholders; Initiate disbursements to various pay points based on approval to facilitate both Program and Operational needs; Provide administrative and training support to field based operational staff and partners, this will require regular visits to the field; Provide the key link between the funding needs and accounting responsibilities in coordination with the Harare office, Cape Town Office and IOC / HQ; Monitor expenditure in the various budget categories and provide reports and other analysis to to support Project and Department Managers with their management of expenditures of the various budget categories; Account for the expenditure of funding, in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders, responsible for the expenditure reporting and budget tracking; Respond to routine inquiries from project and institutional stakeholders related to accounting and finances; Process invoices and payments for the Zimbabwe Office, ensuring proper authorization, procedures and allocations are adhered to; Manage petty cash for the office with adherence to required internal controls and procedures; Provide financial and administrative support to manage federal and other donor restricted grants and contracts; Working with Project Managers, review expenditures charged to restricted grants and other budgets to ensure that costs are reconciled to budgets and are in compliance with Standard Operating Procedures and grant or contract terms and conditions; Review staff expense reports for completeness, accuracy, compliance, and coding; Support financial month-end closing process and coordinate with Cape Town and IOC Finance teams for any required reviews or analysis; Serve in a review and liaison role between project staff and Cape Town Office regarding wire transfers to stakeholders and for routine vendor payments, where applicable; Supports design and implementation of financial solutions to help operations.

Administration

Support office compliance with donor, IFAW and local procedures including travel, services and procurement; Ensure that the physical office environment is comfortable for staff; Assist with all logistical arrangements for workshops, seminars and IFAW events including drafting and sending out letters of invitation, following up invitations , preparing agendas, preparing materiais, workshop packs, travel, logistical and administration arrangements; Make transport plans and arrange accommodation for all staff and visitors to the office in conjunction with the Cape Town Office; Ensure the availability of valid lease agreements for all property rented by the IFAW; Ensure all assets are well maintained and insured; Maintain ongoing contact with IFAW offices accordingly, providing requested information in timely manner; Manage documentation and records in compliance with IFAW record retention policy.

Grants

In processing payables, review expenditures charged to the grant and administrative budgets, ensuring that costs are checked against budgets and are in compliance with restricted funding; Assist in conducting monthly financial reviews of; sub grantees, contractors, and partners; Monitor grantee advance and liquidation balances closely to ensure timely liquidations; Review program reports from sub grantees to ensure programmatic compliance against program description and prepare summary of reviews for Project Manager approval and sign-off; Ensure grant compliance with appropriate regulations; Maintaining and updating grants matrix; Review all payments requests to ensure that they meet the standards of allowable, allocable and reasonable; In coordination with Project Manager, monitor grantee budgets so that they do not exceed allowable amounts; Ensure that all the required documentation is well kept and per grant specific requirements; Provide back up during grant close out process; Travel will form an essential part of this position, both regionally and international.

Qualifications and education requirements

Bachelor’s degree preferred with a strong financial and administration background; At least 5 years’ experience in the accounting / finance / administrative field; Firm understanding of Zimbabwe banking systems and financial regulations; Successful completion of short business training courses; Excellent oral and written communications and problem solving ability; Ability to work as part of a team in a dynamic and fast-paced business environment; Ability to work under pressure, handling multiple tasks and be well organized; Proven ability to work within the people and proven interpersonal skills; English language skills required; Experience with Microsoft Office and accounting systems; Preferable experience in specialized financial and accounting systems that fall outside of the Microsoft Office suite of products.

Position type / expected hours of work

Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand and overtime may be required. All overtime hours must be pre-approved by your manager.

Other duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities will change from time to time to meet the needs of the department and our company.

At IFAW, we aim to create and foster a workforce that reflects and contributes to the diverse, global community in which we work to improve the lives of both animals and people. We are dedicated to fostering justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion so we actively encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds.