Sub Award Finance Officer (Applications will only be accepted if submitted through the link provided)

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps seeks to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression around the world. We recognize that instances of sudden change within a country or region are rare moments to enact significant, lasting change. Mercy Corps, with its global experience working in countries undergoing major transitions, brings knowledge, expertise and strong management skills to position the agency as a partner of choice for progressive change in Middle East. Mercy Corps has been operational in Middle East since 2012 and is looking to expand our scope and impact by promoting governance through our work with local civil society actors and community-based organizations.

The Mercy Corps Sub-award and Compliance Department supports all financial and compliance aspects of sub granting.  In its role as a support to the Middle East Program Department, the Sub-award and Compliance Department is responsible for ensuring sub recipients are compliant with donor regulations as well as Mercy Corps’ internal policies and procedures.  It supports the Program team to ensure that financial resources are used efficiently and effectively.  The Department is involved in pre-award and due diligence processes, contracting, financial report support, reviews, and approvals, payments, capacity development, compliance reviews and audits, close-out.   The Department is also a main actor in ensuring Sub-award strategy is embedded in programming, by providing on-the-job and ad-hoc support to Partners on all finance and compliance related issues in order to ensure compliance and also importantly to build the financial and compliance capacity of partners.

The Position (General Position Summary)

Working in the Sub-award and Compliance Department under the direction of the Sub-award Finance Coordinator and Senior Sub-award Finance Officer, the Sub-award Finance Officer will work closely with Partners to ensure exhaustive financial reporting in compliance with donor and MC subawards policies and procedures.

Essential Responsibilities

Subgrant Management

1. Serve as focal point for partner financial management, including attendance at kick off meetings, monitoring meetings and closeout meetings, financial focal point for formal and informal partner support and capacity development, and kick off, implementation and closeout (including payments, financial reports, audits and so on);
2. Provide support and first review of due diligence (including, Partner Pre-award assessment of financial responsibility, COI and RPS) as per MC Sub-award procedures;
3. Draft Partner monitoring plan for Sub-award Finance Manager and Sub-award & Compliance Director review,
4. Provide first review of partner budgets according to partner budget review checklist,
5. With the support of the Senior sub-award officer, assist the Partner to prepare the supporting document matrix for their budget (through meetings with Partner finance staff as needed),
6. Review sub-award financial reporting package, amounts, calculations and supporting documents, ensuring compliance with supporting documentation matrix, compile all comments in one document and once agreed with the Sub-award Finance Coordinator and Sub-award & Compliance Director, follow-up issues with Sub-award Finance staff,
7. Assist in sub-award site monitoring visits as per monitoring plan and provide report to Subaward Finance Coordinator.
8. Maintain subgrant financial files, process sub-award payments and reconcile subgrant financial tracking to general ledger reports.
9. Track financial reports submissions and Partner’s payments, and update Partner Trackers.
10. Track Partners’ expenditures against budgets and flag any issues to Programme team and Finance Managers.
11. Make sure that reports and all supporting documentation is prepared and filed according to MC procedures.
12. Assist in the training and support for local NGOs, including answering daily questions, training new hires, making  visits to Partners’ offices, etc
13. Assist the Finance Managers in responding to audit inquiries and requests for financial information.
14. To know and be familiar with the subgrant manual, field finance manual, procurement manual and any additional local policies (National Staff Policy Handbook, cash management, local travel, etc).

General

1. Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission
2. Other duties as assigned

Supervisory Responsibility

N/A

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Senior Sub-award Finance Officer / Sub-award Finance Coordinator

Works Directly With: Sub-award & Compliance Director, other Finance staff, Program and Administrative Staff, HQ Finance Team

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Two or more years of general ledger accounting experience is required.
• A university degree in finance, accounting or a related business field is required. 
• Two years of experience in the Finance Department of an non-government organization is an asset
• Familiarity with major international donor rules and non-profit accounting
• Prior experience with computerized general ledger software
• Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly Excel and Access. 
• Strong analytical skills coupled with a solid understanding of grant management rules.
• Excellent oral and written English skills
• Familiarity with Lebanese accounting rules and procedures

Success Factors

The ability to interact effectively with international and national personnel is required.  A demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities is necessary.  A high professional standard of finance and procurement ethics as well as the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential.  The ability to take financial data and present it in meaningful financial reports is essential.  The Finance Officer must be willing to travel to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.