Catholic Relief Services, an international non-governmental agency specializing in relief and community development, is seeking highly qualified individuals to fill an opening with AIDSRelief, a dynamic HIV/AIDS treatment program. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is leading the implementation of the AIDSRelief project in Haiti in partnership with Futures Group (FG), the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) and Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB). AIDSRelief is funded through the US Government’s President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The AIDSRelief program is a multi-year, multi-million dollar project that delivered high quality, durable anti-retroviral therapy (ART) during the first five years of the program. AIDSRelief Haiti is implementing a three-year sustainability plan which involves transfer of key program responsibilities to local organizations in Haiti.

The Finance and Compliance Officer (FCO) will be responsible to ensure staff and partner compliance with all CRS financial policies and procedures and donor regulations as applicable. The FCO will ensure that donor grant reporting and compliance regulations are clearly understood and met by partner networks, the transition NGO and other transition partners and management staff. The FCO will provide finance and compliance support to local partners in accordance with related sub-agreements. The FCO will conduct trainings on compliance; perform internal control assessments; provide onsite mentoring and technical assistance; conduct financial reviews and ensure follow-up of recommendations; identify training needs; and develop site-specific curriculum as needed. The FCO will implement strategies to prevent or reduce compliance-related liabilities. The FCO will report directly to the Deputy Chief of Party and liaise strongly with CRS Finance and Internal Audit Departments.

Operational Contacts: CRS Program staff and Administration, CRS Finance and Internal Audit Departments; implementing partner networks, donors and other stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

Grant Management and Compliance:
1. Serve as principle point of contact on finance and compliance issues.

2. Monitor all partner agreements and budgets and ensure compliance with CRS and donor financial regulations and guidelines.

3. Prepare and implement annual training and technical assistance plans to address capacity needs and reinforce grant management, e.g., financial management, budget analysis, policies and procedures, etc.

4. Conduct regular trainings and provide onsite mentoring for CRS staff and all partners to ensure conformity to donor regulations, CRS policies and procedures.

5. Conduct monitoring visits to partner organizations to assess adequacy of internal controls and to provide onsite mentoring and technical assistance, with increased frequency of visits to accommodate partner needs.

6. Ensure that partner files are organized, legible and locally developed to document management, accounting and logistics systems.

7. Prepare site visit reports on internal controls, procurement, human resource management, asset management and budget utilization. Detail site findings and ensure implementation of recommendations and follow-up requirements.

8. Report on partner capacity in meeting grant reporting and compliance regulations and ensure implementation of recommendations for corrective measures.

9. Actively participate in program meetings as appropriate to effectively plan and collectively coordinate financial and programmatic activities in conjunction with partner capacity building initiatives.

10. Coordinate planning and implementation of institutional capacity assessment and periodic review of potential new partner organizations.

11. Organize external firm audits in accordance with grant requirements.

12. Advises Consortium Members on donor compliance regulations related to program activities.


Financial Management/Oversight:
1. Provide technical support to partner organizations to develop and finalize annual budgets and to detail budget notes outlining all projected expenses.

2. Perform ongoing monitoring and assessment of partner capacity to accurately record and post all transactions.

3. Ensure timely receipt and review of monthly expenditure reports from partner organizations.

4. Ensure documentation of partner liquidation reviews outlining justification of all rejected expenses and detailing improvements required.

5. Verify estimates of partner cash needs and develop quarterly cash forecast to ensure sufficient cash flow and timely disbursement to support activity implementation.

6. Maintain project holders register outlining all funds advanced to each partner organization, the liquidation patterns and the balances at any particular time.

7. Ensure that all advances are liquidated in a timely manner and that all accounts are settled in accordance with CRS policies and procedures.

8. Verify and ensure processing of all check requests for project advance funds.

9. Ensure accuracy and completeness of all vouchers before transfer of funds.

10. Produce monthly expenditure analytical reports of actual financial performance against approved budget with explanations of adverse budget variances.

11. Develop budget monitoring tools to assist monthly tracking of all financial transactions including project advances and liquidations of expenditures.

12. Organize and conduct bi-annual inventory tracking of material resources, e.g., equipment, commodity, etc. purchased with grant funds at each partner organization.

13. Ensure adequate response and monitoring to implement recommendations of all financial audits and new partner capacity assessments.

14. Ensure that partners keep supporting documents for all financial transactions and ledgers for Fixed Assets, Purchase Requisitions, Cash Receipts and Disbursement.

15. Ensure that partners have systems of effort reporting and bidding process for procurements in collaboration with the procurement officer.

16. Organize selection of financial management software and associated technical support for implementation at partner organizations.

17. Conduct staff orientation in donor and CRS financial management policies, procedures and standards.

18. Advise on GAAP and basic accounting records for partner organizations.


Supervision
1. Supervise 2 Project Accountants.
2. Oversight for annual performance plans and quarterly/monthly work plans.
3. Provide ongoing guidance and management support.
4. Conduct annual evaluations and ensure that staff receives appropriate training in development of management approaches in compliance with institutional principles.

1. University qualification – Bachelor of Accounting degree
2. OCPAH member. Audit experience a plus.
3. Significant management experience (5 years) handling project fund accounting and working with local community institutions.
4. Past experience with international NGOs and USG grants.
5. Experience with financial management of Health programs preferred
6. Excellent communication and writing skills in French and English; fluency in Haitian Creole.
7. Proven ability to be an effective supervisor of staff.
8. Excellent skills in assessment, analysis and information synthesis to effectively produce written summary narrative reports.
9. Computer literate in Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
10. Experience with major financial management software, e.g.Quickbooks, ACCPAC, Sun Systems, etc.
11. Flexibility and capacity to work under pressure in a fast-paced, security-challenged environment.
12. Demonstrated self-motivation and leadership skills.
13. Prior experience working in multi-agency, multidisciplinary teams.
14. Ability to work as a team player and actively collaborate with colleagues across all levels of institution and partnership members.
15. Demonstrated commitment to principles of local community development involving partnership and capacity building initiatives and also, of social justice – all of which directly pertain to program goals for expanding access to care, treatment and community support to effectively counter the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Haiti.
16. Willingness and ability to travel extensively in Haiti (up to 60% of the time).

NOTE: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, efforts, duties and responsibilities associated with the position.

Organization’s values related to the position:
Dignity of the human person. / Common good. / Option for the poor. / Applies a positive, action-oriented attitude.

Interested candidates should send their curriculum vitae with a cover letter, and copy of certificates in a sealed envelope with the mention of AR—FCO--0310, before july 02, 2010,

2010-07-02