Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Closing date: 19 Aug 2018
Salary: £30,000
Location: Haywards Heath, West Sussex
Sightsavers implements projects in over 30 countries in Africa and South Asia. Our aim? To eliminate avoidable blindness and promote the rights of people with disabilities. The Project Finance and Risk Officer works closely with country office staff and other support teams to ensure that projects funded by donors run smoothly.
This job may be for you if:
You are proactive by nature and have initiative. You are comfortable taking decisions and have a good sense of when to escalate issues.
You are quick to notice irregularities yet you do not lose sight of the bigger picture. You enjoy solving problems and have a keen eye for improvement.
You communicate clearly. You adapt your language and pace to suit your listeners. You are confident holding close working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
Last but not least, you are comfortable working in an international context and travelling to the countries we work in.
A typical day could include:
- Calling the Finance Manager of Senegal to discuss pending issues in the financial report of their Eye Health project
- Noticing an area for improvement in our review process. Making a note of it to bring up in our team meeting next week
- Dealing with ad-hoc requests about exchange rates and budget flexibility
- Attending a meeting with stakeholders across the organisation to kick-start the proposal application for a £1mn European Commission grant in Mali
- Filling out a payroll journal that charges staff time to donors
- Pausing your work on the payroll journal to review and sign-off that Senegal financial report that just came in your inbox. You send it to the Institutional Funding team who then submit it to the UK’s Department for International Development. Job done.
Jobholder Requirements
Essential:
- Willing and able to travel on average twice a year if required (1-2 week trips)
- Excellent numerical skills
- Proficient in Microsoft Excel
- Finance and accountancy experience (computer-based)
- Organised and able to prioritise, especially in the face of competing deadlines and various risks
- Good communication and stakeholder management skills
Desirable:
- Fluency in French is highly desirable
- Some experience of institutional donor contract management, especially USAID, EC, and DfID[1] funding
- Strong attention to detail with a willingness to follow issues through to resolution
- Continuous improvement mind-set
- Awareness of international development context
- Understanding of the project cycle from financial and programmatic perspective
- Conversational or fluent in Portuguese
[1] USAID – United States Agency for International Development; EC – European Commission; DfID – Department for International Development (UK government).
How to apply:
https://jobs.sightsavers.org/job/project-finance-and-risk-officer-24-month-fixed-term-contract/