Roles and responsibilities

Financial Management and Reporting

1.     Preparation of regular and timely finance monitoring reports. Preparing team finance reports and submitting to each team their finance report at least one day before the meeting. This promotes accountability by the spending teams and ensure challenges such as slippages are identified and resolve in a timely basis.

2.     Conducting challenge meetings with teams/local budget holders/spenders to ensure accurate forecast expenditure, anticipate and mitigate risks to expenditure profiles and strengthen VFM. You will do this in a way that is constructive and builds capability. Identifying action plans from each of the finance meetings and following up with the various team members.

3.     Monitoring programme budgets. Ensuring all budgets are accurately profiled monthly across the financial year on a resource accounting basis on the Financial Management System (HERA) prior to the start of the financial year. Ensuring all budgets are managed in-year to ensure that FCDO remains within its overall budget and ring fences (resource budget allocation). Working closely with spending partners, Advisers and SROs to create accurate budget profiling for outer years.

4.     Proactively managing financial forecasts, working closely with programme teams to create realistic and up to date spending forecasts over the Financial Year ensuring all project financial forecasts are updated monthly on HERA and are a realistic and central view of the end of year position. Raise issues or errors noted in the programme budgets and forecasts in the monthly finance meetings and ensure these are regularly updated and any issues are resolved.

5.     Lead to provide day to day support to Programme Senior Responsible Owners (SRO), Programme Responsible Owners (PRO), Programme Managers, advisers and other members of the team on financial aspects of programme design (including Business Cases and due diligence assessments), implementation, planning & forecasting, monitoring, reporting and delivery of results.

Stakeholder Engagement

6.     Maintaining regular engagement with implementing partners to improve standards of financial awareness and financial management including strengthening the links between planning of activities, forecasting, reporting and managing risk. This includes presentations during the partner days.

7.     Building and maintaining effective relationships with finance, Risk and Assurance colleagues from HQ and from across the network (UK, Manilla, Pretoria). You will also work closely with stakeholders from other professions across FCDO, government departments and international partners to ensure excellence in financial performance and financial capability in their business area.

8.     Quarterly update of Development Assistance Database (DAD) – Updating the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) development assistance database (DAD) on a quarterly basis with all financial aid commitments and disbursements to help the GoR in the coordination of donor activities. Checking the accuracy and completeness of the annual report prepared by MINECOFIN with regards to FCDO’s financial aid information, other Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding in Rwanda and responding to information requests relating to FCDO contributions.

 Risk and Assurance roles

9.     Leading on corporate finance returns such as financial planning submissions, month-end, interim and year-end accounting packs, monthly large cash forecasts and variance analysis. Communicate clearly to provide regular, detailed financial analysis and business insight to the Senior Leadership Team and Central Finance Business Partnering Team to support effective planning, strategic decision making, fiduciary risk management and programme delivery.

10.  Leadership for cross office compliance and assurance. Supporting teams to review the Management Assurance Process (MAP) and making sure that all programmes are working towards being green, updating the compliance checklist and action plan and conducting spot checks against the checklist. Supporting internal and external reviews and audits including follow-up and delivery of associated recommendations.

11.  Risk Management – Ensuring quarterly update of the programme risk registers on the Aid Management Platform (AMP) by the programme teams. Updating Finance risks on the BHC Kigali office wide risk register and flagging them in monthly finance reports and meetings. Conducting quarterly follow-up of Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate (IAID) Audit recommendations and Management Assurance Process (MAP) Action plan.

12.  Programme Audits – Reviewing audit terms of reference and giving input for audits commissioned by FCDO and implementing partners. Reviewing audit reports and recommendations.

13.  Governance committees – Support the Finance, Risk & Assurance sub-team Lead on the maintenance and strengthening of the internal control environment to mitigate risks. Ensure the smooth running of Country and Programme Boards (Key oversight forums of the office).

14.  Assistant Fraud Liaison Officer – Working with the Finance, Risk & Assurance sub-team Lead on the cross-office approach and strategy for addressing fraud. – Developing and implementing a Counter Aid Diversion (CAD) Action Plan. Monitor fraud cases as they arise, working closely with the Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate (IAID) to resolve and close all priority cases in line with guidance. Work with programme teams to determine how to resolve the business managed cases including reviewing investigation reports and helping to approve the closure of cases. Provide updates to IAID team on status of business managed cases every six months. Promote awareness of fraud to staff and implementing partners in the multiple cross office for a (team finance meetings, quarterly programme board and partner days etc).

Capacity Building and Advisory role

15.  Building capacity of colleagues and management on the new Financial management system HERA and support them with system requirements including providing any system updates that impact programme management work. Help to raise the standards of financial management across the Delivery Excellence Team and wider office – working closely with the platform finance manager and sub team lead to drive forward improvements.

16.  Provide additional capacity building for programme teams and implementing partners on financial management, counter aid diversion and risk management. This will help to improve financial performance, ensure better management of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget and provide added assurance. Support the teams in conducting due diligence assessments and Quality Assuring the financial management sections of these assessments.

Operational Finance Roles

17.  Supporting operational finance/Imprest functions to ensure business objectives are fully met. Participating in the weekly and monthly cash counts and counter signing the cash movement/reconciliation report and cash count report. Reviewing imprest report, ensuring spot checks happen every quarter and recommendations are implemented, reviewing imprest cash requests and signing off replenishment requests.

18.  Monthly update of the Country Based Staff (CBS) Hardship Loans tracker. Ensure the monthly deductions are accurate, new loans are included in the payroll changes on a timely basis and fully repaid loans are reconciled and deductions from payrolls halted.

19.  Monthly update of the Country Based Staff (CBS) pay Model, ensuring all assumptions are supported, joiners and leavers pay is incorporated on a timely basis and monthly pay forecasts are updated on HERA.

20.  Review payroll changes before they are communicated to staff (including terminal gratuity computations for CBS staff) and submit to the. Finance, Risk & Assurance sub-team Lead for Approval.

Finance, Risk & Assurance sub-team Lead cover

21.  Support to the Finance, Risk & Assurance sub-team Lead. Support in the FRA STL roles in the absence of the Finance, Risk & Assurance sub-team Lead.  Support in the preparation of other key standing reporting requirements including for example thematic pillar reporting, Official Development Assistance (ODA), International Climate Fund (ICF) and financial year targets. Support to the Finance Risk and Assurance sub TL in delivering finance training on key theory and principles and also the dissemination of corporate messages, including new and current rules, policies and guidance.

• University degree in Finance/ Accounting or a related field
• At least 5 years experience in a reputable organization
• Experience in management accounting, variance analysis and reporting to senior management
• Ability to effectively communicate with non-financial managers and external stakeholders such as implementing partners.
• Advanced knowledge of MS excel data analysis including pivot tables
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Posses a results oriented mindset
• Experience using financial management systems
• Full working proficiency in English (Written and spoken)

• To hold or be studying towards a professional qualification (ACCA, CPA, CAI, ICAS,CIPFA,ICAEW,CIMA)
• Experience working in a multi-cultural environment
• Knowledge of donor policies and procedures

Learning and development opportunities:

The post holder will have access to a range of Learning and development opportunities within FCDO and externally. The FCDO follows the 70:20:10 learning model. The post holder will be expected to undertake all mandatory training required to get up to speed with the role which includes training on Financial Management systems and software.

Working patterns:

Full time with opportunities of flexible working to be agreed with the Line Manager upon appointment.