Organizational Context
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian network, with 191 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. IFRC uses the Triple R – response, resilience and respect – to deliver on Strategy 2030. IFRC responds to disasters and crises, ensuring timely, coordinated and locally led humanitarian action. IFRC supports its members in building community resilience in the areas of climate and environment, health and wellbeing, and migration and displacement. IFRC promotes respect for our fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality, including in our work on values, power and inclusion. The IFRC focuses throughout on our core mandate – our raison d’être – of strategic and operational coordination, humanitarian diplomacy, National Society development, and accountability.
IFRC is led by its Secretary General and has its Headquarters in Geneva and five regional offices in Africa (Nairobi); the Americas (Panama); Asia Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); and MENA (Beirut) as well as representation offices, service centres and delegations across the globe.
The IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.
The IFRC plays a crucial role in supporting the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies by coordinating international relief efforts, providing development assistance, and ensuring the integrity and protection of National Society interests. As auxiliary to the public authorities in humanitarian services, the National Societies provide aid for vulnerable people in need during disasters and non-emergency contexts, using their extensive in-country assets, human resources and government and civil society relations for the effective and efficient implementation of activities across all sectors. The IFRC Country Office in Armenia was established in 1992 and forms part of the IFRC Country Cluster Delegation for Turkiye and South Caucasus.
In Armenia, the IFRC supports the Armenian Red Cross Society by strengthening strategic and operational coordination, fostering National Society development and advancing humanitarian diplomacy with an emphasis on accountability and agility as a cross-cutting theme. It also enhances the auxiliary role of the National Society by facilitating regular meetings with key government stakeholders.
Job Purpose
The Senior Finance Officer is responsible to ensure the provision of effective and efficient accounting and treasury services at the Armenia Country Office. This position is also responsible for supporting effective project management by providing financial oversight of ongoing programmes and operation, providing regular budget vs expenditure reports to project managers. The position will support the following functions: Financial Polices and Processes, Budgeting, Validation of transactions, Treasury, Supplementary Services, Shared Office and Service Costs, Accounting verification, Balance Sheet items review and reconciliation, Month end close routines, Financial Analysis and donor reporting, Capacity Review and Risk Assessment – Fund Transfer to Armenian Red Cross Society.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
Financial Policies and Procedures
- Have a deep understanding of the financial federation procedures that will allow validating the transactions accordingly (e.g. Supplementary Services, Shared Office and Service Costs, etc.).
- Advice project staff in the appropriate interpretation of the financial procedures so the transactions to be performed are in compliance with them.
- Provide feedback to project managers on documentation submitted with incorrect coding or inadequate supporting documentation.
Budgeting
- Provide technical support and advice to the project managers and / or programme staff during the preparation and/or revision of budgets.
- Provide analysis of actual expenditures vs. budgets with its respective analysis of the variances (if there is any) and recommendations.
- Coordinate the expenditure reallocations when it is necessary to align planned expenditures vs. the budget lines.
- Do consolidations of budgets of the respective portfolio.
- Prepare outlooks in terms of the estimated expenditures of a project to complement the information provided to the project manager.
Validation of transactions
- Ensure that all the transactions related to his/her portfolio are validated following the expenditure authorization procedure and others.
- Ensure all accounting transactions are properly authorized and documented by original and valid supporting documentation. Provide feedback to the project managers when findings have been identified in terms of documentation that does not meet the requirements or transactions that are not within the approved budget.
- Follow up with the project manager or unit staff that the forecasts, journal of expenditures, working advance and travel per-diem claim forms and other documents are presented within the established deadlines in order to validate them
- Provide monthly account statements to staff to reconcile the balances and obtain. the reimbursement or the settlement of the liability.
Treasury
- The post will be responsible for the monthly cash request analysis submission.
- Ensure there are sufficient funds at the delegation level.
- Manage appropriately the transfers of funds between bank accounts to minimize foreign exchange risks due to currency revaluations.
- Prepare periodic cash flows and ensure monthly petty cash reconciliation is completed.
- Timely revision of petty cash policy including segregation of duties.
- Preparation of bank account reconciliations and follow up to clear dormant uncleared items.
- Ensure that daily, weekly and monthly petty cash counts are being done
- Ensure timely submission of cash disbursement memo with appropriate threshold, segregation of duties and revision on bank signatories.
Supplementary Services
- Validate the Partner National Society transactions related to the provision of supplementary services.
- Ensure the accuracy of the booking of these transactions.
- Prepare the draft invoice and ensure the content matches with the supplementary services report.
- Ensure all the bookings related to services provided have been reflected in the accounting.
- Timely submission of Administrative Services Invoice through ERP workflow.
Accounting verification
- Review the accounting transactions booked in the accounting at least on a weekly basis to ensure that they reflect adequate coding, clear descriptions, document codes are the correct ones, document dates are correct, duplications of the same entries do not exist, etc.
Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)
Shared Office and Service Costs
- Provide technical support to the project managers during the preparation of the shared office and service costs budgets.
- Gather the required information to fill in the calculation spreadsheet.
- Explain to each project manager of the related function the results of the analysis.
- Do the booking on a monthly basis.
- Coordinate revisions when it is required.
- Provide interpretation of the Shared Office and Service Costs management report to each related project manager.
Balance Sheet items review and reconciliations
- Conduct emergency funds counts (surprise or planned).
- Ensure the same amount that was counted match with the amount reflected in the accounting system.
- Validate the transactions in the petty cash.
- Reconciled account statements of the outstanding balances of staff.
- Ensure that other balance sheet items are reconciled (e.g. prepayments, guarantee deposits, supplier balances, etc.).
- Coordinate that corrections are done if required.
Month end closed routines
- This post will be responsible to run all the routines related for the closing of the month (e.g. currency revaluation, allocation, booking of provisions, etc.).
- This post is responsible that the accounting team confirms the closing of the month within the established dates.
- This position will conduct the preparation of the ERP checklist.
- Ensure monthly KPIs are monitored and address with Project Manager to avoid project pledge deficit and expenditure above operating budget.
Financial Analysis & donor reporting
- Prepare ad-hoc financial analysis as per demand of the projects under his/her portfolio.
- Interpret financial indicators to project managers and provide quality advice to increase the performance or minimize or mitigate risks.
- Ensure timely preparation and submission of donor financial report.
- Provide monthly financial analysis report to Head of Delegation on various KPIs.
- Validate donor proposal and pledges in line with IFRC Costing Principles.
Capacity Review Risk Assessment (CRRA) – Fund Transfer to the Armenian Red Cross Society
- Ensure transfer of funds are within signed project agreement.
- Provide finance validation on e-contract work flow.
- Provide training to the Armenian Red Cross Society on funds transfer budgeting and reporting template.
- Perform verification on supporting documents at the Armenian Red Cross Society premises once reports are submitted.
- Prepare spot check reports accordingly.
Relationships with other stakeholders:
- Liaise with project managers and unit staff to provide effective services with the aim to contribute to the achievements of the plans and results.
- Support Internal and External auditors in terms of clarification or providing supporting documentation.
- Conduct briefing and debriefings to unit staff under his/her portfolio.
Others
- Provide assistance in case of long term vacancies, absence or illness to ensure continuity of the finance function.
- Be prepare to deliver training to IFRC finance, IFRC non finance or the Armenian Red Cross Society Staff (if it is required).
- Work actively towards the achievement of IFRC’s goals.
- Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles.
- Perform any other work-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager..
Education
- Relevant University or Master’s Degree in Administration, financial management accounting.
- Professional qualification in finance or accounting (Chartered accountant, CPA or equivalent).
Experience
Required:
- At least 3 years of professional experience in a finance or accounting department
- Experience of managing and supporting staff
- Experience of working with the Red Cross / Red Crescent movement.
Preferred:
- At least 2 years of field experience in a humanitarian organization.
Knowledge, Skills and Languages
Required:
- Self-supported in computing systems (e.g. accounting software package and MS Office).
- Excellent communication skills.
- Time Management Skills.
- Demonstrated core proficiency in (a) digital communication & collaboration, (b) basic digital content creation, (c) digital safety & security, (d) data literacy, and (e) problem solving with technology (including responsible use of AI assistants.
- Understanding of and commitment to IFRC’s mission and values.
- Fluent spoken and written English.
- Fluent spoken and written Armenian.
Preferred:
- Skills in training and developing staff.
- Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic).
Competencies, Values and Comments
Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability.
Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust.
