Date of expiration: Sunday, August 20, 2023 | Corporate Services Coordinator | Africa Various Locations

Corporate Environment

With a network of 191 National Societies as members, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the largest humanitarian organization in the world. The main objective of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” Prior to, during, and after catastrophes, medical emergencies, and other crises, IFRC strives to provide for the needs of vulnerable people and enhance their quality of life.

Together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the IFRC is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement). The core values of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntarism, unity, and universality serve as the foundation for the IFRC’s activities.

The Secretary General of the IFRC is in charge, and Geneva, Switzerland serves as its headquarters. The Headquarters is divided into three primary divisions: management policy, strategy, and corporate services; global relations, humanitarian diplomacy, and digitalization; and national society development and operations coordination.

In Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas, the IFRC operates five regional offices. Additionally, the IFRC has national delegations and country cluster delegations all across the world. The IFRC Secretariat is made up of the Geneva Headquarters and the field organization (regional, cluster, and national).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo/Congo Brazzaville, Rwanda, and Burundi are all supported by the Kinshasa nation cluster. There are roughly 123.7 million people living in these three Congo Basin nations. With 2.345 million km2, the DRC is significantly larger than the other 3 nations (Rwanda (26,338 km2), Burundi (27,834 km2), and Congo (342,000 km2), which are all quite small in comparison.

These nations face a number of similar humanitarian issues, including as hazards from disease and epidemics, food insecurity and malnutrition, poverty, armed conflict, climate-related shocks (such floods, droughts, and landslides), as well as widespread population shifts and displacement.

Job Objective(Corporate Services Coordinator | Africa Various Locations)

The Corporate Services Coordinator will organize and assist the provision of comprehensive and efficient corporate services for enabling IFRC activities and programs in the DRC Cluster office, reporting to the Head of the Country Cluster Delegation. The position holder will oversee and coordinate the cluster’s administrative, fleet and logistics, purchasing, and information technology support service areas in addition to their core responsibility of managing the cluster’s finances. Depending on where the best applicant can be located, this position will be based in one of the four Cluster countries (DRC, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, or Burundi).

Job Responsibilities and Duties for Corporate Services Coordinator | Africa Various Locations

• To maintain a strict internal control environment, make sure that all expenditure is within Project Expenditure Approval Request (PEAR) approval, that all spending is legitimate, and that all spending complies with the IFRC processes.
• Monitor inactive working advances, guarantee the flow of spending clearance from staff working advances, and confirm Mou & project agreements are in place for all National Society working advances. The budget breakdown, project proposal, and timetable for spending and reporting should all be included in project agreements. Monthly working advance reconciliation between IFRC and NS must be completed.
• Support the application of the organization’s financial policies, practices, and guidelines as well as the conclusions of internal and external audits.
• Manage the cluster’s finances and financial resources, including cash flow, cost control, and payment, cashier, and bank signatory management.
• Maintaining the correctness of the statistics and managing the monthly financial cycle will help to achieve good audit reports and favorable assessments of the financial aspects of cluster activities and operations.
• Be fully informed of potential commitments and planned initiatives. Record and report separately on operational and programmatic financial obligations (external agreements, pipeline purchase orders, program commitments, etc.).
• Monitor and follow up on the Cluster cash promises and income, look for dormant or past due cash pledges, and promptly flag underspending for potential pledge timeline extensions.
• Ascertain that all dates for donor financial reporting are met, and that the reports’ accuracy, integrity, and promptness are upheld.
• As the finance controller, you must protect the IFRC’s legal commitments and obligations and make sane financial decisions, such as keeping track of donor balances and ensuring accurate expense coding.
• Prior to signing funding agreement agreements, give the Head of Country cluster and Strategic Engagement and Partnerships (SEP) colleague a thorough technical review and advice on donor grants and proposals while making sure that finance validation is completed before concluding the funding agreements.
• Coordinate the creation of the operational and program budgets, oversee the budgeting cycle (Appeal, operational Budgets, and Project Ceilings), make sure that the Country Delegation receives precise, doable budgets, and give managers budgetary advice.
• Maintain close communication with the finance analyst, those in charge of the budget, and the head of the country cluster, keeping them informed of all important financial matters affecting the operation and soliciting their advice, input, and instructions as needed.
• Manage the supply of accounting services, carry out the month-end financial closure procedure, and oversee the daily processing of transactions in accordance with established protocols, including cash and bank payments.
• Ad hoc knowledge and assistance on financial management issues relevant to operations and programs should be provided to project management. Financial key performance financial indicators should also be monitored weekly and managers should be given guidance on how to improve.
• Coordinate the creation of donor financial reports, ad hoc financial reports as needed, financial reports for management, and support program and year-end audits.

Job responsibilities and duties (continued)

• Effectively manage the resources available for national projects and operations, in accordance with organizational guidelines, and with an eye on reducing the risk of loss. Managing bank account balances to reduce foreign exchange volatility on funds retained for programs and operations also include keeping an eye on field bank account balances, creating precise and timely cash requests, guaranteeing prompt reporting and invoicing, and monitoring field bank account balances.
• serve as the cluster’s focal point for risk management in locating and reporting potential hazards associated with operations carried out within the cluster and putting in place effective measures for risk mitigation with the cooperation of the HoC and regional risk management;
• Continually evaluate and update the risk register in light of context changes;
• Include a framework and control mechanism for risk management in the cluster’s operations and programs, and train IFRC and NS staff to use risk management as a tool or approach for managing projects and programs on a daily basis.
• Lead and mentor the cluster’s support service officer to ensure successful work completion.
• Ensure that the IFRC asset inventory is kept up to date in all offices around the Cluster.
• Assure that personnel and guests have timely access to suitable accommodations, travel, airline arrangements, and airport transportation while also taking into account cost.
• Make sure that all event management-related responsibilities, such as budgeting, venue selection, hotel reservations, visas, catering, and training inputs, are coordinated adequately and on schedule.
• Assure prompt processing of visas for foreign-recruited employees, consultants, and tourists traveling to cluster countries, and follow up with pertinent diplomatic offices regarding the visa of DRC employees traveling abroad on business.
• Make sure that all IFRC administrative and logistical policies are followed worldwide (fleet, procurement, assets, etc.).
• Organize more difficult or important purchases for the office or operations.
• Review internal policies and documentation on a regular basis to make sure they adhere to local laws as well as IFRC standards and criteria.
• Before extending any framework agreement, make sure the vendor database is updated, the vendors are examined every two years, and you evaluate the support areas where you need to hire a vendor or service provider.
• Maintain a contract tracking table with all the necessary data for any required or anticipated action to make sure that all the contracts (lease, service, framework agreement) are in place and extended as soon as possible.
• Organize training and refresher classes on e-contract administration and application for the cluster team in conjunction with the legal department.
• Develop a strategy for dynamic fleet management within the cluster to meet the needs for vehicles and any other fleet services or assets in the event of emergency operations and programs, for instance, by planning the operationalization of a hub.
• Assure that the Cluster’s departments receive timely assistance in order to satisfy their digitization needs, including testing, implementing, and operating digitalization solutions in cooperation with regional leads.
• Assure the timely and appropriate deployment of digital data collection tools and IT surge capacity in emergency scenarios.
• Assure appropriate coordination and consulting services to support the National Society’s capability for IT and digitalization.
• Ensure the cluster has access to efficient, superior, and purpose-specific IT services and support.

Education

University degree that is relevant (master’s in business administration, audit, or an equivalent degree)
Accountant with a professional designation (Chartered Accountant, CPA, or similar)

Experience for(Corporate Services Coordinator | Africa Various Locations)

10 years or more of at least related professional experience
a minimum of five years in a position of financial management
2 years minimum of experience working for an international organization, non-governmental organization, NGO, or government development organization
practical knowledge of the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement
knowledge of remote support and team management
Knowledge in financial planning, budgeting, reporting, treasury management, and external financial audit.
Working in a multiethnic setting experience

Knowledge, skills, and languages for Corporate Services Coordinator | Africa Various Locations

• Service-oriented, with the capacity to guide, assign, and administer remotely
• capable of guiding transitions within a matrix management framework, results-driven
• demonstrated sound judgment, the capability to operate with the utmost integrity and discretion while working with others, and the ability to serve as both an individual and a team role model.
• Excellent judgment, tact, and compassion while dealing with internal and external stakeholders
• excellent communication, networking, and representation skills
• advanced proficiency with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook on computers
• advanced understanding of accounting principles
• Advanced knowledge of financial management and reporting applications (such as UNIT4 and Business Objects), including knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards or an equivalent
• Knowledge of treasury management and internal control concepts
• abilities in financial management
• the capacity to deliver training on financial and administrative management topics with effectiveness, contributing to a culture of learning, sharing information, and engaging partners
• English and French are both written and spoken with ease.

Skills, Values, and Comments

Values: Integrity, professionalism, professionalism, and accountability.
Communication, cooperation and teamwork, judgment and decision-making, national society and customer interactions, creativity and innovation, and trust-building are among the core competences.
Strategic orientation, alliance building, leadership, and empowerment are functional competencies.
Managing employee performance and staff development are managerial competencies.

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Corporate Services Coordinator | Africa Various Locations