Democratic Republic of the Congo: Finance and Operations Consultants - NEAR (5 Vacancies)

TERMS OF REFERENCE: FINANCE AND OPERATIONS CONSULTANTS - NEAR (5 VACANCIES)

Organization: NEAR - Network for Empowered Aid Response, www.near.ngo

(Hosted by Adeso - African Development Solutions, www.adesoafrica.org)

Project: NEAR Capacity Strengthening Program

Position Type: Consultancy

Study/Assessment Topic: Capacity Strengthening support

Position Location: Turkey, Nepal, South Sudan, Somalia or DRC

Duration: 2-5 Months

Reporting To: NEAR Programs Manager

Working With: NEAR Capacity Strengthening Team

Starting Date: Immediately

Application Deadline: 27^th May, 2018

Vacancy Contact: Please send applications to jobs@near.ngo - Adeso will only respond to short-listed applicants.

ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

Adeso is an expanding and vibrant African based international development and humanitarian organization. At Adeso, we work with African communities who are yet to realize their full potential; working inside these communities to create environments in which Africans can thrive. Our belief that economic, social and environmental security is the bedrock of a healthy community drives the nature and intent of our programming. We work to prevent and overcome situations that adversely affect community well-being by: reinvigorating the economy, developing skills for life and work, providing humanitarian aid, and influencing policy.

ABOUT NEAR NETWORK

Adeso together with other local and national NGOs have come together to form a global network which was launched in May 2016 at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. The network, NEAR (Network for Empowered Aid Response), is a movement of local organizations with a bold ambition – to reshape the top-down humanitarian and development system to one that is locally driven and owned, and is built around equitable, dignified and accountable partnerships.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The NEAR Network Capacity Strengthening Program is funded by OFDA and ECHO and works with 30 partners in five countries (Nepal, South Sudan, DRC, Somalia and Turkey). The goal of the program is to strengthen members’ ability to manage and deliver quality emergency preparedness, response, recovery and resilience programs. It aims to strengthen organizational capacity of members and raise awareness, commitment and understanding of humanitarian principles and standards across members. The program focuses on providing in-depth support to a small number of members to develop their leadership, compliance and operations management, communications and fundraising.

BACKGROUND FOR CONSULTANCY

The Finance and Operations Consultants (FOCs) will be responsible for providing one-on-one support to local NGOs in the development and improvement of their financial management systems and procedures (including procurement procedures) in order to meet institutional donor compliance.

The FOCs will work with members to address their capacity development through review of financial and procurement manuals as well as capacity self-assessments and plans. Support members to implement new or revised procedures through accompaniment, technical expertise, training and long-term capacity development, using participatory learning processes so members improve their organizational systems and staff capacity. Support members to develop strong systems and procedures for program management and accountability. Develop and support members’ leadership, management and core humanitarian skills, work with consultants and staff from other NGOs to provide training or run workshops as needed.

The FOCs oversee the work of direct members per country to assess and prioritize their financial capacity development needs and strengthen their ability to meet donor compliance. They will support members through providing ongoing guidance and advice. The post-holders will design, coordinate and facilitate participatory learning processes with members’ finance staff.

SCOPE OF WORK

· Provide accompaniment support, coordination, monitoring and review of the members’ financial management capacity.

· Develop and follow detailed work plan.

· Detailed desk review of members’ financial systems and procedures/manuals, including procurement procedures.

· Make recommendations for improving accounting, procurement and reporting processes and templates across the members.

· Strengthen the capacity of members finance staff.

· Collaborate with NEAR capacity strengthening team to meet program objectives.

· Monitor and track progress made based on individual baselines and identified gaps.

CONSULTANCY PERIOD

· 2 - 5 months

DELIVERABLES

· Ensure participating organizations (local NGOs) develop or revise operations manuals in line with donor compliance.

· Ensure bi-monthly reporting of progress to the capacity strengthening team.

· Ensure end line organizational assessment of members financial management capacity is completed at the end of the project.

QUALIFICATIONS

· Accounting or equivalent tertiary qualification

· Three or more years’ experience in an audit, management accountant or program accountant role

· Proven successes in working with local organizations in capacity building particularly in financial management

· Previous experience of working in the humanitarian/ development sector

· Experience and understanding of institutional donor requirements

· Strong networking skills and the ability to build relationships with finance and program teams

· Excellent Microsoft Excel skills

· A commitment to NEAR’s vision, mission and values

· Experience of organizational capacity assessments and capacity development plans

· Demonstrated initiative, resourcefulness, flexibility and cross-cultural understanding

· Experience of developing and using program cycle management tools including monitoring and evaluation frameworks and data collection and analysis tools

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

· Previous experience of working in the humanitarian/ development sector is an advantage

· Fluent in written and spoken English, Arabic, French and/or Nepali (depending on location)

· Experience of working in multiple currencies

COPYRIGHTAND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

In consideration of the fees paid, the Consultant expressly assigns to NEAR any copyright arising from the works the consultant produces while executing this contract. All images (whether used for online or print purposes) must however bear the consultant’s photo credit, as specified by international intellectual property rights. The consultant may not use, reproduce or otherwise disseminate or authorize others to use, reproduce or disseminate such works without prior consent from NEAR.

All applications should be sent to jobs@near.ngo by 27^th May, 2018 with “**Finance and Operations Consultancy**” on the subject line. The selection committee will review all applications as they arrive. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above, and those unable to meet these requirements will not be considered.

Each application package should include the following:

• An application letter addressing the selection criteria including how the consultant’s previous experience matches the consultancy objectives as well as the interest for the position. It should also indicate the candidate’s availability and consultancy rates. The letter should be no longer than two pages;
• Updated CV including relevant work experience and qualifications;
• Contact details of 2 references.
• Applications not including all of the above information will not be reviewed. Adeso is an equal opportunity employer