Finance Assistant

Job Description This position is expected to perform key tasks in the areas of financial management and reporting, he/she will provide support and guidance to the project manager by working with the program team and the IFRC Finance staff with tasks related to treasury & accounting, banking, budgeting, procurements follow up and financial management to ensure full compliance with rules and regulations of financial processes, financial records and reports and audit follow up, as well as implementation of the effective internal control framework. Main Responsibilities: The finance assistant will be responsible for: Employ financial oversight and control mechanisms and procedures to ensure that all program expenses are in accordance with IFRC financial policies, procedures and rules and regulations. Review and provide support for the financial aspects of contract execution of local implementing partner. Ensure the smooth implementation of project accounting activities, including (but not limited to): monitoring of expenditure levels against budget and funding obligations, financial projections and submission of financial reports Provide the management team with information and guidance on program financial performance.

Regularly prepare and present financial reports, analysis, and recommendations concerning relevant financial issues. Review partner spending in relation to budgets, Verify accuracy and compliance of expenses and expense reporting Accounting: Processes all accounting transactions on a timely manner (e.g. payment requests, working advances, clearances of working advances, supplier invoices, per diems, accruals, adjustments, expenditure reallocations, forecasts, payroll, etc.) Verifies that all transactions are properly supported with valid justifications. Provide support to issue accounts statements for the staff to get confirmation of balances Closing of the Month: Supports the Regional Finance Officer with the end of month closure routines according to the accounting checklist Support if necessary, during the preparation of the spreadsheet of outstanding work in advance of the National Society and staff to gather the correct financial codes and book the provisions and allocations against the appropriate codes.

Follows up on any outstanding issue highlighted by the Finance Analyst and Senior Finance Officer resulting from the past and current revision of period. Financial reporting: Support to his/her finance counterpart in the National Society on the documentation of all the financial transactions related to the projects being implemented. Ensure that documentation that has been submitted properly Retrieve documentation on demand Provide support to the auditors if necessary Other tasks: Advises proactively to the Panama project manager, the National Society and the Regional Finance Officer on systems and process improvement that will contribute to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the accounting tasks Supports finance staff activities to ensure continuity of services. Education: A university or professional school degree in an accounting or finance related area Experience: 3+ years of professional experience in a finance or accounting department 2+ years of field experience in a humanitarian organisation Knowledge, Skills and Languages: Self
- supported in computing systems (e.g.

accounting software package, MS Office programmes) Excellent communication skills Time management skills Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously; A high degree of integrity, accountability, energy and flexibility; Good analytical skills and solution-oriented Teamwork skills Ability to communicate effectively, maintaining a two-way communication Fluently spoken and written Spanish Fluently spoken and written English